The Louvre Wants to Invest Even After So Much Wealth Has Evaporated

The markets have taken a brutal beating over the past year and more. For some that would spark a flight to safety. Not the Louvre. It’s taking the hundreds of million Euros it will receive from Abu Dhabi and starting an American-style museum foundation. Bloomberg reports that eighteen banks have been offered the opportunity to pitch the business. With markets down so much, this might be the ideal time to get fully invested:

The Paris museum says it is starting a U.S.-style endowment next month with the 175 million euros ($230 million) it received to set up an Abu Dhabi offshoot. It will get an additional 250 million euros from the Gulf emirate between now and 2027.

The funds will be managed by one of the competing banks, not spent. The Louvre, the first French museum to open an endowment, will use the money to improve access, build a storage and conservation center, renovate its Greek and Roman art wing and open new sections.

If you’re curious about the Louvre’s finances, the story offers a crash course in what it takes to run a museum that is funded by a hybrid of government payroll and private donations for expansion.

Louvre Seeks Money Managers to Start U.S.-Style Endowment Fund (Bloomberg)