Prosper and Martine Assouline, editors: ‘Our next book will weigh 176 pounds, cost €20,000 and sell out in two minutes’

It all began with love at first sight. Prosper Assouline, who comes from a family of Moroccan-Jewish entrepreneurs, and his wife Martine, whose lineage traces back to the court of Louis XIV, fell in love with La Colombe d’Or, a small hotel in the south of France.

Back in the early 1990s, they decided to enter a field that they knew absolutely nothing about. The couple ventured into publishing, in order to create an object that would reflect their passion for that corner of the world. The hotel, adorned with paintings by Picasso and Matisse, struck them as the most beautiful place on Earth. “We were looking for a new way to do books. [We wanted something] very visual,” begins Martine, who handled the text.

“We didn’t want people to have the obligation to read [the book] in order to understand it. We wanted them to have the smell and then say, ‘Fuck, it’s interesting,’” Prosper adds. He focused more on the photography.

More than 30 years later, the Assoulines run an empire that’s dedicated to transforming something as tangible as a book into something as abstract as a luxury good. They welcome EL PAÍS into their splendid apartment in New York City’s Museum Tower, a building designed by the Argentine architect César Pelli.

Right next door is the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). From the Assoulines’ 26th-floor vantage point — after looking past the home’s eclectic, baroque décor — you can gaze out at the island of Manhattan.

In a long conversation with this newspaper, they share their optimistic, carefree vision of life — a worldview in which words like culture, art and luxury constantly recur. What started as a hobby has evolved into a full-time vocation that has led them to publish over 2,500 titles and open 18 stores worldwide, with flagship locations in London and Riyadh. Above all, however, the Assoulines have succeeded in changing the way people enjoy reading about subjects such as art, fashion, interior design, travel and sports.

They focus on books that are designed to be left in the living room, which you browse on occasion (instead of reading them from cover to cover). “Books are also beautiful. We take a lot of care in the production and the design of the book when it’s closed, because it’s going to be part of your life. It’s a kind of a luxury object. It’s like a necklace of pearls. Each pearl comes from a different country… but when they’re on the necklace, they’re all together, with the same spirit,” says Prosper, speaking with a very strong French accent, one that has remained undiminished despite his nearly 20 years in New York.

Assouline Publishing’s high-end books offer more than just a reading experience. The volume dedicated to the Palace of Versailles, for instance, includes a guided tour. “With the Ultimate Collection, we wanted to create something unique. The special editions are bound in Fortuny fabric from Venice. The textile alone costs $1,000. And, for the Formula 1 book, we created the smell of the rubber,” the 69-year-old publisher notes, as his wife nods in agreement. He immediately adds: “Our mission is to create things that haven’t been seen before.”

The Assoulines have no qualms about discussing their books’ exorbitant prices; in fact, they take pride in them. They state that their publishing house offers no sales and accepts no returns. Quality is their sole criterion.

“We’re obliged to [raise] prices,” says Martine, who was born in Ivory Coast 74 years ago. She explains that they’ve occasionally tried looking for other printing locations, but the results fell short of their expectations. Consequently, they always return to their preferred Italian printer, a firm that perfectly understands every detail that they value.

“Our most expensive book was the one we did on Jay-Z. Last August we released a special edition of just five volumes, in collaboration with the artist Daniel Arsham. We sold four for $100,000 each. The fifth was auctioned at Christie’s for $163,000,” Prosper notes. “We’re currently working on one about [the Colombian artist Fernando] Botero that will come out in the autumn.” He describes it as being 3.6 feet high and 6.5 feet wide when it’s open, weighing 176 pounds. “It’s fantastic,” Martine adds.” Prosper concurs: “It’s going to cost €20,000. And it will sell out in two minutes.”

Martine acknowledges that there’s a larger market for these products in the United States than in Europe: “They’re for the people who already have it all and want things that are truly spectacular and unique.”

When producing these little treasures, do they ever lose sight of the cost? “100%. It is what it is,” Prosper shrugs, settling the matter.

Husband and wife constantly interrupt each other. Sometimes, one of them finishes a sentence that the other has left hanging, or they chime in to voice their disagreement on a matter. After so much time together, they still seem to enjoy their work and each other’s company. “We’ve been married for 35 years. But she was my best friend for 10 years [before that],” Prosper confesses.

Both reflect on how the luxury industry has changed over the last half-century. Prosper describes how, “30, 40 years ago, the wealthy people were completely different. It was all old money. Today, we have no idea who the clients are. [A buyer] could be 20 years old and a tech billionaire. New money… you never know where it’s from.”

The couple’s son, Alexandre Assouline — who has served as the company’s president since January 2025 — focuses on these new generations. They have deep pockets and tastes that are very different from their parents.

Alexandre is at his mom and dad’s home during their interview with EL PAÍS, though he doesn’t take part in the conversation. “He helps us understand that world. Old money wanted to preserve the culture exactly as they expected it to be: impeccable. But ‘new money’ wants us to be more edgy [and] less focused on culture. It’s now more about the object,” Prosper explains.

“[Today], there are new stars. People from the sports world come by, to have a book done by us. And that crowd, you know, they’re also attracting new people,” Martine adds.

Both publishers are aware that the luxury sector is facing difficulties. Yet they maintain that these constraints don’t affect them. “For now,” Martine clarifies, noting that they try to act with great caution, given that they’ve grown into a powerful company with a large payroll to meet (they don’t specify exactly how many employees they have).

Both share an optimistic outlook on life. They’re not afraid of change, nor do they fear that the technological revolution will destroy a business like theirs, which is rooted in paper. Prosper Assouline is certain about this. “I can tell you one thing: I’m Jewish. I was born with a book. The Torah is still here… and it will remain here. Everything digital might disappear, but the book will still be there.”

The Assoulines are more concerned about the transformation that they’re witnessing in New York City, currently governed by a Democratic Socialist mayor, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who has pushed for a pied-à-terre tax on multi-million-dollar non-primary residences and has spoken out against the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu. “We have a mayor who doesn’t reflect the city’s spirit. He’s someone who tries to divide, instead of upholding the fantastic energy that the people here have. We welcome everyone because it makes us happy to be welcomed ourselves. That’s the spirit of the United States, but above all, of New York.”

The day after the interview, Martine sends this reporter an email reminding him that the extraordinary Raphael exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art is about to close. It’s yet another source of aesthetic pleasure that, she believes, no one in their right mind should miss.

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