$70 Million of Stolen Art Surrendered

Michael Steinhart, a billionaire investor and antiquities collector, agreed on Tuesday to surrender 180 stolen relics worth a combined $70 million, reports CNN. 

But that’s not all. Steinhardt, a hedge fund manager who accrued one of the world’s largest collections of ancient art, also agreed to a lifetime ban on acquiring antiquities.

Steinhardt had been under investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit, according to an official press release. 

The team looked into over 1,000 items acquired by the collector since 1987 and found him to be in possession of stolen artifacts that had been smuggled out of 11 countries by 12 different criminal networks. 

Some of the more noteworthy items (pictured above) include Stag’s Head Rhyton, a ceremonial vessel valued at $3.5 million; the Larnax, a small chest for human remains valued at $1 million, and a trio of death masks dating back to 7000 BCE that are valued at $650,000. The items will now be returned to their rightful owners.  READ MORE...