French fashion magnate François Pinault, also the owner of Christie's auction house, has been crowned the most powerful figure in the contemporary art world in 2006, according to the annual ranking by ArtReview magazine.

The list, in its fifth year, bases its rankings on commercial clout, intellectual influence and popularity.

François Pinault, the owner of fashion giant Gucci and auction house Christie's, has been named the most powerful person in the contemporary art world.
(Jacques Brinon/Associated Press)

Pinault climbed to the top because of three things: he is an avid art collector, he owns top art auction house Christie’s and he shocked the art world this year when he moved his collection from Paris to Venice.

When bureaucrats in the French capital thwarted Pinault’s plans to build a museum on an island on the Seine river, the Gucci head moved his collection to the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, Italy.

"Grassi had political repercussions as well," said ArtReview editor John Weich.

"[It’s] the latest blow to a French state that couldn’t keep one of the most profound contemporary art collections in France."

Pinault pushed British art rebel Damien Hirst off his 2005 No. 1 position. Hirst didn’t even figure in this year's Top 10, he was No. 11. The artist launched his career in the 1990s with his Natural History series in which dead animals were preserved either whole or cut-up in formaldehyde.

"With artists, we often find ourselves weighing selling success against intellectual pull," Weich told BBC News.

Previous winners include American collectors Larry Gagosian and Ronald S. Lauder and British marketing mogul Charles Saatchi, top dog on the first list in 2002.

Lauder recently bought a 1907 painting by Gustav Klimt for $135 million US.

The Top 10 are:

1. François Pinault
2. Larry Gagosian
3. Nicholas Serota, head of London’s Tate museums.
4. Glenn Lowry, director of New York’s Museum of Modern Art.
5. Sam Keller, director of the Art Basel event.
6. Eli Broad, U.S. collector.
7. Charles Saatchi
8. Matthew Slotover and Amanda Sharp, directors of London’ s Frieze Art Fair.
9. Bruce Nauman, U.S. artist.
10. Jeff Koons, U.S. artist.