On a chilly afternoon in New York, just as the lunch crowd was starting to gather, Nicolas Berggruen sat down at his usual table outside Café Boulud, a few blocks away from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was business alfresco for the globetrotting investor. He set aside his BlackBerry, gave the menu a cursory glance and settled on the Vermont chicken breast. Then it was back to work: constant phone calls, the interview and greeting other regular patrons.

Such is the life of the scion and heir of the late art collector and donor Heinz Berggruen, whose artworks are considered one of the world’s most important private collections of modern art.