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Paul Allen's Art Collection Tops $1 bn at Christie's

'The Conversation' by David Hockney, part of Paul Allen's art collection, is on display at Christie's Los Angeles on October 12, 2022 Frederic J. BROWN AFP
'The Conversation' by David Hockney, part of Paul Allen's art collection, is on display at Christie's Los Angeles on October 12, 2022 Frederic J. BROWN AFP
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Paul Allen's Art Collection Tops $1 bn at Christie's

'The Conversation' by David Hockney, part of Paul Allen's art collection, is on display at Christie's Los Angeles on October 12, 2022 Frederic J. BROWN AFP
'The Conversation' by David Hockney, part of Paul Allen's art collection, is on display at Christie's Los Angeles on October 12, 2022 Frederic J. BROWN AFP

Paintings and sculptures from the collection of late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen were auctioned off for a historic $1 billion Wednesday, Christie's auction house said, with records set for works by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Gauguin, Seurat and Klimt.

At the end of the night Wednesday, five paintings entered the exclusive club of works of art sold for more than $100 million at auction, the New York auction house said.

The most expensive piece of art of the evening, Georges Seurat's 1888 work "Les Poseuses, Ensemble (small version)", a renowned work of pointillism, fetched $149.24 million, including fees, Christie's said.

The auction house had announced that all the proceeds would be donated to charity, said AFP.

While only 60 of 150 lots were sold on Wednesday, with the rest to be auctioned off Thursday, the value of the collection has already surpassed the previous record for the Macklowe collection, named after a wealthy New York couple, which fetched $922 million at competitor Sotheby's earlier this spring.

The two-day sale in New York came as experts say the super wealthy are viewing art as a safe investment this year amid a tumultuous global economy and Russia's war in Ukraine.

Allen made his fortune with the establishment of the PC operating system with his better-known Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1975.

He amassed a huge art collection which he used to lend to museums before his death in 2018 at the age of 65.

Allen left Microsoft in 1983, due to health problems and a deteriorating relationship with Gates, who remained in charge of the company until 2000.

Despite their strained friendship, Allen signed Gates's "Giving Pledge" campaign and all proceeds from the auction are to be donated to charitable causes.

At auction Wednesday, French painter Paul Cezanne’s "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire" fetched $137.8 million, almost double the artist’s auction record.

A work by Vincent Van Gogh, "Orchard with Cypresses," broke the Dutch artist's previous record, bringing in $117.2 million.

A painting from Paul Gauguin's Tahitian period, "Maternity II," brought $105.7 million.

Austrian painter Gustav Klimt's "Birch Forest" brought in $104.6 million.

Another 95 works from Allen's collection go on sale Thursday.

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Chesney the Kangaroo Scales Tall Fence and Flees Petting Zoo for 3 Days on the Lam

This photo provided by Cara Johnson shows her husband and drone operator, Colton Johnson, left, sitting next to Stacy Brereton as she holds a kangaroo named Chesney at Sunshine Farm, in Necedah, Wis., Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Cara Johnson via AP)
This photo provided by Cara Johnson shows her husband and drone operator, Colton Johnson, left, sitting next to Stacy Brereton as she holds a kangaroo named Chesney at Sunshine Farm, in Necedah, Wis., Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Cara Johnson via AP)
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Chesney the Kangaroo Scales Tall Fence and Flees Petting Zoo for 3 Days on the Lam

This photo provided by Cara Johnson shows her husband and drone operator, Colton Johnson, left, sitting next to Stacy Brereton as she holds a kangaroo named Chesney at Sunshine Farm, in Necedah, Wis., Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Cara Johnson via AP)
This photo provided by Cara Johnson shows her husband and drone operator, Colton Johnson, left, sitting next to Stacy Brereton as she holds a kangaroo named Chesney at Sunshine Farm, in Necedah, Wis., Saturday, March 28, 2026. (Cara Johnson via AP)

How does a kangaroo escape a petting zoo?

It's not the opening line to a dad joke. If you're Chesney the kangaroo, you scale an eight-foot (2 1/2 meter) fence and go on the lam for three days, giving your keeper sleepless nights and sending residents of a small Wisconsin town on a search that would end happily on Saturday.

The unprecedented leap at Sunshine Farm in Necedah, Wisconsin, last week was precipitated by some stray dogs that rushed the enclosure and spooked the 16-month-old Chesney, said his keeper, Debbie Marland. She and friends then trekked hither and yon in this town about 160 miles (255 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee.

They chased reports of sightings and even rented heat-seeking drones, which proved effective in narrowing down the wanderings of the high-jumping adventurer.

“I was putting on about 37,000 steps per day looking for him,” Marland said Sunday. "I haven't done so much exercise in a very long time."

Chesney and his roommate Kenny are named for country-music starKenny Chesney. They're among 25 animals at Sunshine Farm, with horses, sheep, alpacas, Kunekune pigs, Highland cows and a Bactrian camel. The farm is generally open Fridays through Sundays from mid-May through mid-November and tours are offered to visitors who can interact with the animals.

Chesney escaped about 11:15 a.m. last Wednesday. Though he stayed within a three-mile (5-kilometer) radius of the farm, he kept his pursuers guessing.

Colton Johnson, owner of Midwest Aerial Drone Services, has used heat-sensing drones to help hunters recover deer and reunite missing dogs with their owners. Add a kangaroo to the list.

Johnson spent three days trailing Chesney alongside Marland and a team of volunteers. His strategy was similar to the ones he uses to find lost pets, but Johnson said the appearance of Chesney's heat signature on the drone footage was unique.

“It almost looked like a dinosaur running through the woods,” Johnson said. “It's got a long tail, and the way it was moving and hopping, that's the only way that I can describe it.”

The team caught up with Chesney on Wednesday and again Thursday night, but Johnson said the frightened kangaroo slipped away — once by jumping into a cold river — and Johnson lost track on the drone.

According to Marland's friend, Stacy Brereton, who helps out at the farm routinely, Friday was a tough day. No one had spotted Chesney all day and searchers feared he had wandered farther afield into even more unfamiliar territory, Brereton said.

Then, Friday night, Chesney was discovered nestled under a tree in a wooded area. A group of searchers surrounded him, but ever fleet of foot — 20 mph (32 kph) is no stretch for him — Chesney eluded them.

Marland returned to the area Saturday morning with Chesney's favorite treats and pieces of material that had his and Kenny's scent. Other searchers later joined her. But with no sign of the kangaroo, they started packing up. Just then, they spotted the long-eared kangaroo with outsize back legs approaching.

Brereton stepped up with a delicate touch.

“He had a very calm attitude when he walked up, obviously you could tell he wasn’t in fight-or-flight mode, so I just went with that,” Brereton said. “I just stayed calm with him and I just kind of went and sat and let him come to me.”

Chesney heard the voices and wanted attention, said Brereton, who eventually scooped up the 40-pound (18-kilogram) animal.

“I do believe he heard our comforting voices, he smelled the familiar smells of home and it just made him feel safe," said Brereton, adding, “I'm just glad he loves me as much as I love him.”

Marland said the “the community really did come together" for the kangaroo, who is now something of a celebrity. A Sunshine Farm fan has written a children's book about Chesney's adventures, which Marland hopes to publish and sell to recoup some of the search costs.

Kenny, who with his marsupial mate has the run of Marland's house, was happy to be reunited with Chesney. Though hungry and tired, Chesney was otherwise healthy but will get a checkup with the veterinarian shortly.

To be safe, Marland added, a new mesh top will be placed over the kangaroo enclosure to prevent any more high-jumping hijinks.

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UN Body: Forty New Migratory Species Win International Protection

Migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a field at a key stopover site for migratory birds near the West Bank city of Jenin, 26 March 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a field at a key stopover site for migratory birds near the West Bank city of Jenin, 26 March 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
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UN Body: Forty New Migratory Species Win International Protection

Migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a field at a key stopover site for migratory birds near the West Bank city of Jenin, 26 March 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH
Migrating White Storks (Ciconia ciconia) in a field at a key stopover site for migratory birds near the West Bank city of Jenin, 26 March 2026. EPA/ALAA BADARNEH

The UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) on Sunday approved the listing of 40 new species for international protection, including the snowy owl featured in the Harry Potter saga.

The decision came at the conclusion of the COP15 summit on migratory species in Campo Verde, Brazil, which brought together representatives from 132 countries and the European Union.

It is one of the world's most important global meetings for wildlife conservation.

Also on the new list for protection along with the snowy owl (Bubo scandiacus) are the Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) -- a long-beaked shorebird threatened with extinction -- and the great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran).

The new list featured land mammals like the striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) and other aquatic wildlife such as the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis).

The countries that are party to the CMS are legally obliged to protect species listed as at risk of extinction, conserve and restore their habitats, prevent obstacles to migration and cooperate with other range states.

Campo Verde is in Brazil's biodiversity-rich Pantanal wetlands, in the southern Amazon.

According to a report released ahead of the summit, nearly half (49 percent) of all species catalogued by the CMS are showing signs of declining numbers, and nearly one in four are threatened with extinction on a worldwide scale.

Another major UN assessment, published on Tuesday as the summit opened, warned that migratory freshwater fish populations crucial to river health and sustaining the livelihoods of millions of people are in freefall and risk collapse.

Habitat destruction, overfishing and water pollution from the Amazon to the Danube threaten the very survival of hundreds of species whose epic voyages along the world's great rivers go largely unnoticed.

Last November, Brazil hosted the COP30 climate summit in the Amazonian city of Belem.

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Saudi Companies Showcase ‘Saudi Made’ Products at IFE 2026 in London

General view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
General view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Saudi Companies Showcase ‘Saudi Made’ Products at IFE 2026 in London

General view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
General view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The Saudi Exports Development Authority (Saudi Exports) is participating under the “Saudi Made” identity in the International Food & Drink Event (IFE) 2026, held at ExCeL London from March 30 to April 1, 2026, with a pavilion featuring 14 leading national companies, the Saudi Press Agency reported Sunday.

The participation aims to enhance the global presence of Saudi products and expand non-oil exports, particularly in the food sector. Companies are showcasing competitive, high-quality products that reflect the development of the Kingdom’s food industry and strengthen confidence in Saudi products in international markets.

IFE is one of the leading food and beverage exhibitions in the United Kingdom. It brings together global companies, suppliers, importers, and decision-makers in the food and hospitality sectors, offering a platform for partnerships and export opportunities.

Saudi Exports’ participation in international exhibitions reflects ongoing efforts to enable national products and services to access global markets and support companies in developing export capabilities and enhancing competitiveness.