Collectibles That CEOs Treasure

Bargain Treasures

Michael Grimmé — Liquidation expert
Business: President/CEO of AMC Liquidators

Michael Grimmé furnishes his home with pieces his liquidation company acquires from businesses and high-end hotels. [Photo: Diane Bradford]

Michael Grimmé knows how to find a good deal. His 11,000-sq.-ft. home is filled with many of the pieces his liquidation company has acquired. In fact, Grimmé says, he and his wife, Pamela, are frequently switching out furniture. “It’s a constant process, our home,” says Grimmé.

While their home is full of his liquidation finds, it’s definitely upscale, “not like a collection of flea market pieces.”

That’s because Grimmé’s company only deals with high-end hotel and corporate liquidations. In fact, he has a buffet table he picked up from the Breakers after the resort remodeled. A mirror and tapestries from the Quail West Country Club in Naples adorn his living room walls. Marble tabletops sit on gargoyle pedestals from the Ritz-Carlton. Scattered throughout the home are Old English and French pieces collected during Grimmé’s years as an oil trader living overseas.

Grimmé finds inventory all over the country. After Hurricane Katrina hit, he flew to Biloxi, Miss., to salvage furniture from the Casino Grand and Casino Magic. He likes to do the deals himself. “I want to understand the deal,” he says.

One deal in particular, though, caught him by surprise — a painting that hangs in his living room. His wife paid $100 for the English landscape, brought it home and cleaned it up. Grimmé wasn’t thrilled with it at first. His wife had it appraised and learned it was worth well over $15,000. Now it’s a favorite.

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