Sotheby's — Ethics Grade C

Sotheby's receives an overall ethics grade of C (55/100) on CancelCo's corporate accountability database. Sector: Retail. Market cap: Mid Cap.

Category scores

• labor: 70
• privacy: 65
• consumer: 45
• environment: 65
• humanRights: 30

Documented incidents (3)

• Auction Commission Cartel (high, 2000) — A long-standing price-fixing conspiracy with Christie's resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in overcharges to buyers and sellers.
• New York Tax Evasion Settlement (medium, 2020) — Sotheby's settled allegations that it helped art collectors evade sales taxes by using sham resale certificates over a period of 10 years.
• Cambodian Antiquities Looting (high, 2021) — Investigative reports frequently link items in its auctions to the illicit looting of temples in Cambodia and other conflict zones.

Documented good deeds

• Auction Green Initiative — Committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% across global operations and catalogs.

Ethical alternatives

• Phillips — Lower incidence of historical antitrust litigation and more modern provenance tracking.