A New Yorker profile of Sotheby's and its billionaire owner Patrick Drahi reveals the chaotic aftermath of the auction house's failed 2024 fee restructuring. The plan, announced in February 2024 and enacted that May, standardized seller's commissions and buyer's premiums but backfired, driving away business and causing profits to plummet. By December, Sotheby's reversed course. The article quotes former and current employees who compare Drahi's management style to Donald Trump's tariff disputes, and recounts a tense June 2024 meeting where contemporary art chairman Grégoire Billault told Drahi he was losing business, only to be told by Drahi that everyone is replaceable.
The story matters because it exposes the fragility of Sotheby's under Drahi's ownership and the risks of aggressive, top-down business strategies in the high-stakes art market. The fee debacle highlights how even a dominant auction house can suffer from misjudging client relationships and market dynamics, with repercussions for collectors, dealers, and the broader art trade. The profile also underscores the growing scrutiny of billionaire-led art businesses and their management practices.