He shows up with too expensive cars, too young and too beautiful ladies in his arms, wearing size 12 Converse Chuck Taylors, breaking dress codes – these alone could misguide the casual observer.
You may become increasingly confused when you look into his activities. He could be characterized as an Eastern European artist who had an unconventional start, followed by an untimely break in his career. You may know him as a real-estate developer who ventures into perilous yet highly profitable projects. As an investor who achieved his independence through an intuitive – though many would say insane – strategy, getting into online gaming right on time and, more recently, exploiting the opportunities of the Metaverse, Web3, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs. He has traveled the globe, is attracted to Buddhism, practices judo and boxing, paints, and brings sculptural and architectural visions into existence.
He is daring. A rebel. A provocateur.
He is decadent and lives life in the fast lane.
There is no inherited family wealth behind him, no political support – he truly is a self-made man. Should you try to learn anything about him by looking at his friends, you’ll soon realize that the wisdom of birds of a feather... seems to be off in his case: I have been amazed for decades at how heterogeneous his company is. I can account for leading contemporary artists, but influential bankers, stock market gurus, world-class surgeons, producers, political prophets, lobbyists, modern-day heroes, financiers, and ministers pass through his place. And Coelho himself, to up the ante even more.
The surface will tell you little of what goes on in the deep. I find – and perhaps after leafing through the pages of this blog, you will also agree – that he is a sensitive, creative artist struggling with family tragedies, adapting to the ever-changing current reality, and propelling himself towards seemingly unattainable new goals. He is either a madman or more brilliant than all of us. He dives into projects that no architect would dare to do. Some directions no sculptor would take, he will bring those to life. He paints as no one else would. He lives as no one else dares. Nothing is too big; nothing is too expensive. He will walk to the very edge and not fall off. He will laugh, looking back at us.
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Written by Tamás Nagy
