Esther Grether

Esther Grether (nee Kast, 4 April 1936 – 27 August 2025) was a Swiss art collector and businesswoman. In August 2025, Forbes estimated her net worth at US$2.3 billion. She was on the Swatch Group's board of directors from 1986 to 2014. Grether owned Bacon's Triptych, May–June 1973 (one of Bacon's three "Black Triptychs" ) which she purchased at auction in 1989 for $6.3 million, a record price for a Bacon painting at that time. She is also believed to have owned three other Bacon triptychs from the 1970s.

In December 1962, it was thanks to a bank guarantee provided by Hans Grether, secured on Doetsch Grether shares, that the Basel art dealer Ernst Beyeler was able to buy the American collector G. David Thompson's entire collection of 70 Giacometti works. She died in Basel on 27 August 2025, at the age of 89.

Personal life Grether was born on 4 April 1936 in Basel.

She was married to Hans Grether until his death in 1975.