Benjamin Edwards

Benjamin Franklin Edwards III (October 26, 1931 – April 20, 2009) was an American stockbroker who expanded A. G. Edwards, a brokerage firm founded by his great-grandfather, from a regional firm to a nationwide stockbroking powerhouse, building it into the largest American brokerage firm headquartered outside of New York City. He built what was the world's largest collection of Imari porcelain, a 3,000-piece portion of which was sold at auction for $6 million.

Biography Edwards was born on October 26, 1931, in St. Louis, Missouri, where he lived his entire life other than during college and military service. His father, Presley W. Edwards, was managing partner of the family brokerage business. Edwards earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1953, and did a stint in the United States Navy. The collection was sold through Christie's for $6 million in a series of auctions that were held in 2003 and 2004. The collection was divided into 242 lots of one or more pieces, with each estimated to range in value from a few hundred dollars to more than $100,000.

Edwards had his primary residence in St. Louis, and had a second home in Naples, Florida. He died at age 77 on April 20, 2009, in Naples, due to prostate cancer. He was survived by his wife Joan Moberly Edwards, to whom he had been married for 55 years, their two sons, two daughters and 11 grandchildren.