Carlos de Beistegui

Carlos de Beistegui e Yturbe (31 January 1895 – 17 January 1970), also known as Charlie de Beistegui, was an eccentric French-born Mexican multi-millionaire art collector, socialite and interior decorator who was one of the most flamboyant characters of mid-20th-century European life.

His ball at the Palazzo Labia in Venice in 1951 is still described as "the party of the century". Beistegui was often referred to as "The Count of Monte Cristo".

He is not to be confused with his namesake uncle (1863–1953), whose collection of notable 18th- and 19th-century paintings was donated to the Louvre. Beistegui was born in Paris and travelled under a Spanish diplomatic passport.

In 1939 he acquired the Château de Groussay, at Montfort-l'Amaury (Yvelines), and spent the next 30 years improving its interiors and grounds, and expanding the structure by adding extra wings. These included a 150-seat theatre, inspired by the Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth, one of the most beautiful extant theatres in Europe. The gardens have been classified by the French government as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.

Beistegui was not troubled by the Germans during their occupation of France, because he had a Spanish diplomatic passport, and was treated as a citizen of a neutral country.

He occasionally undertook commissions for others – salons in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Madrid, a suite of rooms at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, and the library at the British Embassy in Paris (with the designers Georges Geffroy and Emilio Terry) – but he used his artistic talents almost entirely for his own pleasure. Winston Churchill and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were invited but did not attend. The host wore scarlet robes and a long curling wig, and his normal height (5 ft.6 in.) was raised a full 16 inches by platform soles. The sale was described as "a major event in the history and sociology of the decorative arts".