At Miami’s Art Basel, a picture of global inequality in times of pandemic

At least part of that shine has been made out of Art Basel, which for all its finesse is at its core the serious art business as a financial instrument. Since the show’s debut in 2002, the global elite have flocked to Miami each December in fleets of private jets, fueling a boom in a burgeoning local arts scene. and creating a second, third, fourth or fifth home in Miami is just another piece to the comprehensive collection. Russian, Chinese people and Turkish joined the wonderfully wealthy Latin Americans and Europeans who had long pioneered the pied-à-terre palace in South Florida.