Wang Jianlin

Billionaire Wang Jianlin, head of the Dalian Wanda Group, in China in September. (Tomohiro Ohsumi / Bloomberg)

Wang Jianlin, the president of the Dalian Wanda Group and currently the richest man in China, flexed his muscles on the international art market Tuesday by purchasing a Picasso painting for $28.2 million.

The price Wang paid was much higher than what Christie's estimated it would sell for: $9 million to $12 million.

The Picasso painting, "Claude et Paloma," was being offered at a Christie's auction featuring works that belonged to the late modern-art dealer Jan Krugier, who died in 2008.

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Christie's said  Wang purchased the art by bidding over the phone.

The New York auction brought in a total of $113.7 million, which fell short of Christie's estimate of $171.4 million to $244.3 million.

Dalian Wanda is a Chinese conglomerate that has interests in entertainment, real estate and many other industries. Last year, the company acquired the AMC chain of cinemas in the U.S. for $2.6 billion.

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The Chinese company recently donated $20 million to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the planned movie museum to be built on the campus of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Wanda is currently building a massive movie studio in the city of Qingdao, China, having recently wooed a number of Hollywood stars to appear at a groundbreaking ceremony. 


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