Would you break the law if it made you a multimillionaire?

That’s what happened with Ken Perenyi - one of the most “successful” art forgers in the world.

His works have been sold all over the world, including in Christie’s and Sotheby’s, with one painting going for as high as $717,000!

He was also close friends with Roy Cohn - the notorious lawyer who helped Trump enter the New York market. The Independent called him the evil master architect who mentored Donald Trump (to Ken, he was just a great friend and protector).

Was hunted for decades by the Mafia and the FBI.

And got away with it all without even a slap on the wrist.

When the statute of limitation passed for his “crimes”, Ken then published a book telling everyone exactly how he did it. 😂

(Talk about giving everyone the finger!!)

And lest you wonder whether that’s all there is to Ken’s story, believe me.

It is not.

Ken’s childhood was spent hanging out with Tony, an influential Mafia member, who introduced him to the world of fine art.

He was so enamoured with art that he taught himself to paint. To crack the paintings and mimic the black spots that flies would leave on very, very old paintings.

He was also neighbours with Andy Warhol.

One memorable incident: He was sharing a flat with Tony who found an abandoned bathtub in the streets.

They didn’t have a bathtub so they decided to steal one (in a stolen car) and install it themselves in their flat.

The installation wasn’t done well.

Water leaked.

The flooring cracked.

And one evening, everything - the ceiling, bathtub and all - crashed from the first floor down to the ground floor, on top of a bustling Jewish restaurant.

Needless to say, Ken and Tony were kicked out of said flat.

And he spent a miserable 2 weeks wandering around New York before eventually finding a new place that would lead him to Roy Cohen’s doors.

*

This is just the tiniest glimpse of Ken’s life and it’s so epic - we ended up having a 3 hour conversation! - that I had to split his story into 2 parts.

Are you ready to get started?

Highlights:

3:36 An Unlikely Artist growing up in the summer of love
5:51 Life changed forever when…
6:36 Hanging out with the real New Yorkers
8:12 Being introduced to fine art world
9:23 Being friends with a Mafia associate
12:06 Trying out art forgery
16:53 Imposter syndrome when calling himself an ‘artist’
19:10 Self-validation?
21:53 Andy Warhol - his neighbour
23:53 The bathtub
26:59 His biggest regret with Andy Warhol
31:15 Making fake art to survive
32:46 Finding his niche in life
35:24 Being evicted - another great turning point in life
37:35 The notorious Mafia fixer & lawyer, Roy Cohn
41:49 Donald Trump’s mentor
51:20 The greatest validation of his work
56:15 “I had a fantastic career…”
59:43 Entering the elite art world
1:03:04 How much art isn’t genuine in art galleries?
1:08:05 Is it harder to sell fake art today?

🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/

🧠 Build Your Why course: https://ling-yah-wong.mykajabi.com/joinus

📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/152

🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/QmsqswrOCN4

💌 Subscribe to the weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile

Ep 152.1: Art World's Greatest Con Man: How Ken Sold Fake Art For Millions & Escaped the Mafia & FBI!

Powered by Wave AI