Business
A three-foot tall, shiny, stainless steel rabbit has set the art world buzzing after it sold for $91.1 million at Christie's this month. "Rabbit" by Jeff Koons now holds the record for the highest price paid at auction for a living artist. (While the buyer was art dealer, former Goldman Sachs executive, and father of the current Treasury Secretary, Robert Mnuchin, it's since been reported that he purchased it on behalf of hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen. Cohen is well-known for his art collection and for his previous firm S.A.C pleading guilty to insider trading.) Spending that much money on a big, metal bunny might sound like a risky investment. Is it worth it? And what does the record sales price tell us about what's going on in the economy and how it affects the rest of us? This week on Money Talking, economist and journalist Allison Schrager talks with Charlie Herman about what she learned writing her book, "An Economist Walks Into a Brothel” about the intersection of risk and economics. “Art reflects our culture” said Schrager. “What we’re getting now is this superstar effect.”