Schoeni and Simon were already on friendly terms , and Schoeni had wanted to show him `` Execution , '' which had been covered up . Beijing artist Yue Minjun 's `` Execution '' sold for record 2.9 million pounds ( $ 5.9M ) In the painting , Simon saw metaphor for himself and his life in the bank world . Simon spent two-thirds of his annual salary on the painting in the 1990s . The painting was a gift from Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing to British Prime Minister David Cameron who had visited China earlier that year as part of an official visit by Cameron.
Beijing artist Yue Minjun 's `` Execution '' sold for record 2.9 million pounds ( $ 5.9M ) In the painting , Simon saw metaphor for himself and his life in the bank world . Simon spent two-thirds of his annual salary on the painting in the 1990s . The painting was a gift from Chinese billionaire Li Ka-shing to British Prime Minister David Cameron who had visited China earlier that year as part of an official visit by Cameron.