In December 1943, the Van Meegerens moved to Amsterdam where they took up residence in the exclusive Keizersgracht 321. His forgeries had earned him between 5.5 and 7.5 million guilders (or about US$25–30 million today). He used this money to purchase a large amount of real estate, jewellery, and works of art, and to further his luxurious lifestyle. In a 1946 interview, he told Marie Louise Doudart de la Grée that he owned 52 houses and 15 country houses around Laren, among them "grachtenhuizen", mansions along Amsterdam's canals.