Wolfgang Flöttl (born 1955 in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

) is an Austrian investment banker. After receiving a J.D. from

Vienna University The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1978, he studied for an MBA from

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

in 1981 as well as from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. He joined Kidder, Peabody & Co., where he advanced to vice president. In 1987, Flöttl formed an investment fund along with

BAWAG BAWAG (Abbreviation of , , ) was a bank in Austria founded in 1922. On October 1, 2005, it merged with the separate ''Österreichische Postsparkasse'' (P.S.K.) to form the "Bank für Arbeit und Wirtschaft und Österreichische Postsparkasse AG", s ...

, an Austrian bank which was a major investor in the fund. After ten years of substantial returns the fund suffered heavy losses when the dollar lost over 15% in value against the yen in a matter of days. In 2006, the management of the bank was charged with breach of trust and Flöttl with assistance of breach of trust. On 4 July 2008 he was convicted of assistance of breach of trust. He appealed the court's decision. In December 2010, the

Supreme Court of Austria The Supreme Court of Justice ( or ) is the final court of appeal of Austria in civil and criminal matters. Along with the Supreme Administrative Court and the Constitutional Court, it is one of Austria's three apex courts. The Court does not hav ...

set the conviction aside. The prosecution decided to retry the case with a new trial. On 18 December 2012, he was acquitted of all charges. On 15 May 2013, with the prosecution’s decision not to appeal, the full acquittal became final and legally binding. In 2007, it became publicly known that Flöttl had purchased

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

's '' Portrait of Dr. Gachet'' in 1997 or 1998 from

Ryoei Saito was the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing in Japan. He was noted for his purchase of expensive art. Specifically, at consecutive auctions by Christie's and Sotheby's in New York in mid May 1990, Saito bought Van Gogh's '' Portra ...

. Later, he had to sell the painting to a private collector who remains anonymous to date.

References

Living people 1955 births Businesspeople from Vienna Harvard Business School alumni University of Vienna alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics {{Austria-business-bio-stub