[1][2] It was founded by the former mining magnate Bernardo Paz[3] in 2004 to house his personal art collection, but opened to the public a couple of years later.

[7] Paz soon converted the then 3,000-acre ranch into a sprawling, 5,000-acre[8] botanical garden designed by his friend, the late landscape artist Roberto Burle Marx.

"[6] In order to make Inhotim self-sustaining, Paz announced in 2012 plans to build no fewer than 10 new hotels here for visitors, an amphitheater for 15,000 people, and "lofts" for those who want to live amid the collection.

[10] Paz also transferred stewardship of Inhotim to a team of well-known figures in the Brazilian and international art worlds, including Lucas Pessôa, Paula Azevedo and Julieta González.

[10] The pavilions include more than 500 works by noted Brazilian and international artists, such as Hélio Oiticica, Yayoi Kusama, Rivane Neuenschwander,[12] Anish Kapoor, Thomas Hirschhorn, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, Steve McQueen,[13] Cildo Meireles and Vik Muniz.

[6] In 2011, Inhotim joined the Brazilian government's official botanical garden association, and the staff has begun an inventory of its 5,000 plant species, including 1,300 types of palm alone.

[17] This represents more than 28% of botanical families known to man, and helped the institution receive the title of Private Reserve of Natural Patrimony of Inhotim (RPPN).