Jianlin's $20.1M Art Buy Bought a Monet Water-lily Painting for About $20.1 Million
Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by Wang Jianlin, bought Monet's 1913 Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers at Sotheby's.
By the Rich vs Reality desk May 2015 10 sources

Could have saved
3,655
lives.
Dalian Wanda Group, controlled by Wang Jianlin, bought Monet's 1913 Bassin aux nympheas, les rosiers at Sotheby's. Forbes reported $20.1 million while SCMP reported $20.4 million.
Reported by Forbes, May 2015 and South China Morning Post, May 2015.
$20.1 million could have saved an estimated 3,655 lives through malaria prevention.
$20.1 million could have changed these lives
Instead, it went on this.
3,655
lives saved from malaria, most of them children under five
GiveWell estimates its top charities save a life for $3,000 to $5,500. We use the higher figure: $5,500, the cost through Against Malaria Foundation bed nets. Source
183,562
hungry kids fed three meals a day for a whole year
No Kid Hungry: $1 can help provide 10 meals for kids. Three meals a day for 365 days is 1,095 meals, about $110 per child per year. Source
1,126
years of rent for a homeless veteran
At the U.S. median rent of $1,487 a month (Census, 2024), about $17,844 a year. Source
Or: 502,500 people given clean drinking water; 563 families escaping domestic violence given a safe home for two years. Every rate and source.
Wang Jianlin
About $20.1 million
For everyone else, that's
Could have saved 3,655 lives.
Drag the seam between the two worlds.
Measured against a typical American household: $87,460 a year, $192,900 net worth.
The receipts
- Forbes, May 2015
- South China Morning Post, May 2015
- Net worth: No published estimate
- U.S. Census Bureau, Income in the United States: 2025 (Sept 2026)
- Federal Reserve, Survey of Consumer Finances 2022
- No Kid Hungry, What your dollars can do
- GiveWell, How much does it cost to save a life?
- charity: water, How much clean water will my donation provide
- U.S. DOJ Office on Violence Against Women, Transitional housing
- U.S. Census Bureau median gross rent, via USAFacts
See something wrong? Send a source to hello@richvsreality.com and we will correct it.
More from Rich vs Reality

Could have paid a year of rent for
7,285
homeless veterans.
To Thiel, it felt like $725.
Thiel's $130M Mansion He Won't Even Live There
Felt like $725 to Thiel.
Could have paid a year of rent for 7,285 homeless veterans.

Could have saved
18,545
lives.
To Brin, it felt like $83.
Brin Spends $100M+ Fighting A Billionaire Tax 90% Of It Would Pay For Healthcare
Felt like $83 to Brin.
Could have saved 18,545 lives.

Could have given
10 million
people clean drinking water.
Storonsky's $400M Yacht Bought a Superyacht Worth an Estimated $400 Million, Then Was Sued Over the Broker Commiss
Could have given 10 million people clean drinking water.