Jeff Greene made a fortune in the housing market, as much as $3bn or more, and he’s indulged in the Southern California nine-figure home speculation with a house he once asked $195m for (but couldn’t sell.)

The Palm Beach Daily News talked to Greene about his art collection which includes Picasso, Monet, Bonnard, Kandinsky, Miro, Magritte, Neel Leger and something like 70 works by Picabia. Here’s the Palm Beach Daily News:

He’ll be the first to tell you he’s not an art connoisseur. “My knowledge of art even now is not one of my strengths,” he said.

He’s guided by his adviser, Jeffrey Deitch, a former contemporary art dealer and ex-director of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

After Greene amassed his fortune and he and his wife, Mei Sze, started associating with other affluent people, he saw that many derived enormous pleasure from owning art.

“I noticed how people’s homes had a different feeling when they had great art in them,” he said. “We decided when we built this house to put together an art collection.”

Billionaire Jeff Greene of Palm Beach delights in collecting art (Palm Beach Daily News)