Does the name Leonardo da Vinci ring a bell? If you are a historian or probably an art lover then you’d certainly know who he is. Regarded as one of the most famous and leading artists of the high renaissance, the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci’s artworks have continued to speak volumes about his extraordinary talent. Although it’s been many centuries since he passed away, his legacy has continued to live on through his works, which have inspired the later generation of artists.
Born on the 14 or 15th April 1452 in Vinci, the Republic of Florence (now known as Italy), Leonardo da Vinci was best described as a polymath. Although he never had formal educational training, he is often referred to as the prime example of Universal Genius and an individual of unquenchable curiosity by many scholars and historians. Amazingly, his versatility cut across many areas, including science, music, engineering, architecture, cartography, sculpture, paintings, drawing, and invention, among others.
While he is widely regarded as one of the greatest painters that ever lived, it is known that only about fifteen of his paintings have survived. Amongst his masterpieces is the portrait of Mona Lisa, which is undoubtedly the most famous portrait ever made. The portrait is being preserved at the Louvre in Paris and is listed as the artwork with the highest insurance value ever by Guinness World Records. More so, his painting of The Last Supper is equally dubbed as the most reproduced religious painting of all time.
If Leonardo da Vinci were to be alive today, he would no doubt rank among the richest artists of all time. Although posthumously, most of his famous paintings are either privately owned or preserved at museums, Da Vinci being alive today would have meant a great percentage of their monetary value would be his. But that is just one potential source of income for the Florence genius. Because our mind lends itself to imagination and curiosity like yours, we took a stab at what Leonardo Da Vinci’s net worth would be today. Check it out.
Leonardo Da Vinci Would Be Very Rich
Considering he is one of the most popular artists in history, and his works still attract millions of dollars in sales and revenue till today, it would be easy to think Leonardo Da Vinci would be a rich or wealthy man. After all, at $450.3 million, he owns the record for the most expensive painting ever sold. But that might not necessarily be the case.
It is important to note that a critical factor driving the price of Da Vinci’s paintings is his death. His death meant an everlasting scarcity of his works, which is one of the biggest value determiners of art. The genius of Leonardo Da Vinci’s paintings would have made him a celebrated artist. But, perhaps not celebrated enough for someone to pay $450.3 for one of his works.
A historical analysis of his personality suggests that Leonardo Da Vinci was famous at the time for not finishing his commissions. He was also apparently slow to complete his paintings, meaning, of the few paintings he managed to finish, he took a lot of time to complete them. Having these qualities would have limited the extent of money Leonardo Da Vinci could make as a painter.
But that is not to say he wouldn’t have been rich. After all, even before his paintings became the legend they are today, he was a financially comfortable man who shared his wealth with the rich and the poor. So, between the fact, his paintings would fetch a lot of money, and the fact he was a slow-working perfectionist, it is safe to say Leonardo Da Vinci would probably be rich if his personality didn’t drive clients away from him.
How Leonardo Da Vinci Would Make His Money
As a polymath and genius, there is no doubt that Leonardo Da Vinci would have found a variety of ways to become a man of great wealth if he were alive today. Although there is an argument to be made if he would have any interest in accumulating wealth. Regardless, thanks to his knowledge bank and unmatched levels of creativity, Leonardo Da Vinci, at the very least, would have made a large amount of money from his art and technology.
Art – Paintings, Photography, And Sculpting
The super-talented polymath was one of the leading artists of the high renaissance, and while he was alive, he completed a good number of paintings. Unfortunately, many of his works were lost over the years, but the fifteen of them that are still alive suggests Leonardo Da Vinci would have built a significant net worth from the sale of his art.
Leonardo’s most expensive artwork is the Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) Painting. This piece, which depicts Jesus in Renaissance outfit, making the sign of the cross with his right hand, while holding a transparent, non-refracting crystal orb in his left is also regarded as the world’s most expensive artwork in history. In 2017, it was acquired by Saudi Arabian Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, a close ally of the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, at Christie’s auction house in New York City, the United States for $450.3 million.
But a lot of that figure was due to the fact he is dead. Still, such a masterpiece would have fetched him a huge amount of money. Leonardo’s other works, like the Mona Lisa, which is currently valued on insurance papers at US$730 million, would have made Da Vinci a multimillionaire, perhaps one with eight-figures.
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Tech Company Founder/Investor
Scientific insight and invention were also other aspects of Leonardo Da Vinci’s legend, and no doubt would have been a major contributor to his net worth today if he were alive.
Taking advantage of the abundance of scientific knowledge and our technological advancement, Da Vinci would probably have created a tech company that solves a major global problem. For all we know, Tesla and Space X could have been the companies of the man from Florence.
One other way he could also have achieved his net worth is investing in technology. A man with his foresight and mathematical genius would probably have figured out the stock market and invested in a bunch of companies before the rest of us knew they existed, making several billions of dollars in the process.
How Would He Spend His Money?
According to some historical accounts of Leonardo Da Vinci, he was much the party animal as he was a great mind. If those accounts are anything to go by, a modern Leonardo Da Vinci would have spent a considerable portion of his money like Bruno Mars would – buy mansions and drive luxury cars.
However, it would not all be lavishness for the inventor. According to those accounts, he would also be quite the philanthropist, meaning he would probably be closer to Rihanna than he would be to Bruno Mars.
