The Museum of Natural History has turned many children into wannabe paleontologists — but leave it to Leo to actually go out and buy fossils of his own.
The 40-year-old “Wolf of Wall Street” actor is officially one of the world’s top art collectors, according to a 2015 list compiled by ARTnews magazine, out Tuesday.
Among his prized possessions: artwork by Basquiat, Picasso, Andreas Gursky, Takashi Murakami, Ed Ruscha, Elizabeth Peyton and Sarah Lucas; fossils of predatory dinosaurs; and vintage movie posters from the golden era of Hollywood. His most recent acquisition includes a 2015 sci-fi painting, “Nachlass,” by Brooklyn-based artist Jean-Pierre Roy.
Leo’s interest in collecting art, which began after his 1996 hit film, “Romeo + Juliet,” couldn’t differ more from the trend of his love life — a rotating roster of blond models under the age of 25.
“As a kid, I was constantly at the natural-history museum, so when I grew up I wanted to fulfill my childhood fantasies and have some pieces in my house,” DiCaprio told the Wall Street Journal in 2013. “I have a few predatory dinosaurs.”
Also among his childhood fantasies? Dating Sports Illustrated Swimsuit models.
Although little is known about what fossils make up Leo’s collection, there’s at least one treasure he doesn’t have: the 67-million-year-old skull of a Tyrannosaurus bataar (a relative of the T. rex), which fetched $270,000 at auction in 2007.
DiCaprio was poised to take home the prize, which at the time was the largest dinosaur skull to ever be sold. But at the last minute, Nicolas Cage foiled his plans by phoning in the winning bid.
Luckily for Leo, his two biggest passions merge twice a year, at both Art Basel Switzerland and Miami. At 2014’s Art Basel Miami, Leo and his man bun were spotted leaving the 1 Oak pop-up club with 20 women, after dropping nearly a million bucks for a 1973 Frank Stella work.
The scruffy actor does lend his art prowess for good, too. In 2013, his foundation partnered with Christie’s for an environmental charity art auction that raised $38.8 million.
