collectors, is trying to wrest back control of a $2.7 billion fortune from the Thybo Trustees Ltd., whom he put in control of a Bermuda-based trust in 1983.

The trust's main asset is Thyssen-Bornemisza Group, an industrial conglomerate that earned $100 million last year. The baron is attempting to dissolve the trust, claiming that since 1995 his son has not paid him the full 40 million Dutch guilders a year that was agreed on.

The arrears now amount to about $70 million, the baron's lawyers say.

For the past year, all the disputes preliminary to the actual case have been fought in private hearings in a judge's chambers. Preliminary disputes over evidence is now before the Court of Appeal. Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza, 78, a citizen of Switzerland, is married to Spanish beauty queen Carmen. In 1993 he sold his art collection, one of the world's largest then in private hands, to the Spanish government for $350 million. The collection is housed in Madrid in the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and might become part of the dispute if the Bermuda trust is dissolved.

The trust's beneficiaries are Georg Thyssen-Bornemisza, chief executive officer of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Group, and the baron's four other children, and an adopted son. The trust was set up to keep the industrial conglomerate together and avoid disputes over inheritance.

The case is expected to begin later in 1999 and last for up to a year.

BUSINESS BUC