How does No. 5, 1948 elucidate its Ownership?
Jackson Pollock: 1948 – January 1949
Alfonso A. Ossorio: January 1949 – Unknown
Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr.: Unknown
David Geffen: Unknown – November 2006
Efthimios HatzisAccording to a report in The New York Times on November 2, 2006, the painting was sold by David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of DreamWorks SKG, to David Martinez, managing partner of Fintech Advisory Ltd, in a private sale for a record inflation-adjusted price of $140 million. It is speculated that Geffen sold the painting, along with two others, to raise enough funds to bid for the Los Angeles Times. 
The sale was reportedly brokered by Sotheby's auctioneer Tobias Meyer, however, the law firm of Shearman & Sterling, LLP, issued a press release on behalf of its client, David Martinez, to announce that contrary to recent articles in the press, Martinez did not own the painting or any rights to acquire it. In addition to the refutation issued by Shearman & Sterling, the auction expert Josh Baer indicated that Martinez was not the buyer of the painting.
Alfonso A. Ossorio Fintech Advisory David Martinez The New York Times Jackson Pollock DreamWorks SKG Geffen Records New York David Geffen Tobias Meyer Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr. Sotheby's Shearman & Sterling inflation Los Angeles Times