They come for the security and stay for the tax treatment. For as long as goods are stored here, owners pay no import taxes or duties, in the range of 5 to 15 percent in many countries. If the work is sold at the Freeport, the owner pays no transaction tax, either.(Via) Read this cool article in the NYT - the interesting thing is that I believe that there are several "off-the-grid" such locations around the world, including a massive one just outside of Boston... cough, cough.