Skate's published the first part of its annual art investment report with the dim conclusion that the super wealthy are paying surging prices for an even smaller group of big-name artists.

Based on Skate's numbers for its Top 5000 ranking of the most valuable 5000 artworks ever sold at auction, the report focuses on the upper echelon of sales and not the broader market.

Sales for these priciest of artworks, fetching $2.3 million and above, totaled $33.3 billion, with Gerhard Richter, Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol leading the pack for most auction sales overall.

Joining Richter and Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat bucked Picasso in the most repeat sales (above $2.3 million) category.

In 2012, the total capitalization of artworks in Skate's ranking went up 9%, while the number of new artists appearing in the ranking fell to 38 from 81 the year before.