What is Jay Jopling’s net worth?
Jeremy Michael “Jay” Jopling is a British gallerist and art dealer who has a net worth of $50 million. He is best known as the founder of the contemporary ‘White Cube’ art galleries found throughout the world.
Jopling was born in June 1963, though the exact date is unknown.
He grew up on a farm in Yorkshire, England, and is the son of Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling – a Conservative MP who served under Margaret Thatcher.
Jopling attended a private boarding school as a boy, followed by the prestigious Eton public school.
At age 14, Jay bought his first work of art that cost £16.
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He majored at Edinburgh University, where he studied the history of art and English literature.
His first job, reportedly, was selling fire extinguishers door-to-door.
According to Joplin himself, his dramatic sales pitch involved pouring lighter fluid onto his suit sleeve before putting it out with the fire extinguisher.
Jopling claimed to be able to sell fire extinguishers to people who already owned them using this technique.
Art Career
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Jopling traveled to Manhattan during his student years, where he was able to befriend several affluent Americans and persuade them to donate works of art to a charity venture he was involved with.
He also struck up a friendship with the celebrated artist Damien Hirst during this time.
Upon completion of his Master of Arts, he moved to London.
White Cube
In 1993, Jopling opened the first branch of his now-famous ‘White Cube’ art galleries.
The gallery was not intended to exhibit any one collection for a prolonged period of time, and instead operated a revolving-door policy of temporary exhibitions.
Kate Moss and Jay Jopling attend White Cube party on October 14, 2004 in London – @Getty
The first White Cube was hugely successful, attracting influential luminaries from across the art world, including Damien Hirst, Runa Islam, Tracey Emin, Lucian Freud, and a great many others.
In 2000, Jopling moved White Cube to a larger space in a converted industrial building.
This second White Cube, known as ‘White Cube Hoxton Square,’ remained open for 12 years before closing its doors – an eventuality that Jopling stated was always going to come to pass.
Jopling later opened a White Cube just around the corner from the location of the original art gallery.
A third branch was opened in Bermondsey in 2012, following the closure of the Hoxton Square gallery.
Jopling has presided over the opening of two international branches of White Cube.
The Hong Kong branch of the gallery opened in 2012, and remains open to this day.
Meanwhile, the Sao Paolo branch opened in 2012 and closed in 2015.
Recently, Jopling has stated that he has been working on hosting exhibitions somewhere in Brazil.
Wife
Jay Jopling was married to the artist Sam Taylor-Johnson from 1997 until their divorce in 2008. During their time together, the couple had two children – Angelica (born in 1997) and Jessie Phoenix (born in 2005). The couple remains, reportedly, on good terms.
Jay Jopling and Sam Taylor-Wood – @Getty
Sam married Aaron Taylor-Johnson in 2012.
In 2023, Jopling’s daughter, Angelica Jopling, opened Incubator, an art gallery in London for emerging artists. Angelica also said in an interview that “the commercial side of things is not my ultimate goal and drive.”
Angelica Jopling – @Getty
Jay Jopling subsequently married the US-born art curator Hikari Yokokama in 2016. The two welcomed their first child – a girl named Djuna Mei Jopling – into the world in December 2019.
Jay Jopling and Hikari Yokokama – @Getty
Net Worth 2024
So, how much is Jay Jopling worth? Jopling earned most of his wealth from founding and managing the art gallery White Cube. White Cube was established in 1993 in London. The art gallery represents many artists, including — Raqib Shaw, Virginia Overton, Julie Mehretu, Anselm Kiefer, and Tracey Emin. Therefore, Jay Jopling has an estimated net worth of $50 million.
In November 2022, Courtney Willis Blair was named senior director of White Cube in New York. “White Cube New York will be a launchpad for exciting initiatives,” she said.
In 2023, Jopling’s art gallery will open an outpost in Asia in Seoul, Korea. It will be located in the center of the Gangnam district.
He also invested in Paddle8, an online auction house based in NYC. Paddle8 was founded in May 2011 by Osman Khan, Aditya Julka, and Alexander Gilkes — the fiancé of Maria Sharapova.
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Lee Parry is a writer and blogger originally from Manchester, UK, and he has a B.A. in Modern Languages from Manchester Metropolitan University. Parry occasionally teaches English and spends most of his free time reading.