He may know much about art

But he's no slouch at financing it too;

Max Hollein, who was born in Vienna in 1969 as the son of famous architect Hans Hollein, is known for connecting money and art like no one else in the German museum landscape. The different buildings of the Städel Museum [in Frankfurt] were largely financed by private donors. Time and again Hollein has come up with new partners to bring art to the market.

Together with German drugstore chain "dm," Hollein and his Städel Museum now want to offer 100 art pieces as prints for people's living rooms. Hollein, who is well connected in the city of Frankfurt am Main, knows where to get funding for his museum temple and manages to walk the line between art and commerce. 

Actually he erases the line, recognizing that it's just business;

I grew up in a very artistic household, in a family that was deeply entrenched in the art scene and actually still is. I started dealing with art early on, at the beginning maybe not completely voluntarily, but I was confronted with art and artists who were friends of the family. That's how I grew up. It was a completely natural environment. But at the same time I developed certain interests outside of the art world, namely for economy and the world of finance. That's how I ended up studying both art history and business administration. In this respect, two souls are dwelling in my chest [as Goethe once said], but I was able to combine them, and I still am.

He knows what he likes, and what others do too.