The Longest Au Revoir: Good Riddance 2008, Good Luck 2009
Tomorrow is the last day on the job for Metropolitan Museum of Art director Philippe de Montebello (above right), whose retirement earlier this year was first revealed by Gripebox. On Thursday, Thomas Campbell (above left) becomes the latest director of the greatest art museum in the world. Next year will also bring the publication of […]
People Who Live in Glass Countries Should Throw Shoes
Yesterday, I went to the funeral of a friend’s father, Harold Snyder, the generic drug pioneer, Democratic party stalwart and philanthropist. His son Brian Snyder offered some tender reminiscenses —and one well-aimed barb worth repeating. Brian remembered one of his last conversations with his father, who wished that all of his friends would send a […]
The murky world of Ezra Merkin
Today’s New York Times has an in-depth look at the relationship of 740 Park’s J. Ezra Merkin with the disgraced investment advisor Bernie Madoff, who “could not have had a more effective recruiter than Jacob Ezra Merkin, a lion of Wall Street who would be president of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue,” The Times reports. “Mr. […]
Debt, Divorce and Death
There are, realtors, say, three reasons why great real estate comes on the market. Death stalks us all — as it has 740 Park this year, where several elderly apartment owners have gone on to less limestoney pastures. But this week, debt and divorce have taken center stage, thanks to hedge hog J. Ezra Merkin‘s […]
The Big Chill at 740 Park
Weeks ago, Gripebox took a look at how some 740 Park residents were faring in the Great Recession. This week another, hedge fund honcho J. Ezra Merkin entered the 9th Circle of Financial Hell when it was revealed that he was one of the big investors — to the tune of $100 million — in […]
Salve, baby!
Two of my fellow alumnae from Vassar College (hence the headline, above, which refers to the school’s traditional greeting), publisher Judith Regan and the media gadfly Michael Wolff, are engaged in a colorful public dispute which, given their, ahem, outgoing personalities, is likely to provide tabloid readers with plenty of entertainment in months to come. […]
Blogging at 39,000 feet
This just to say that flying isn’t fun these days, but I love curbside check-in and in-flight wi-fi and don’t care that I had to pay for both. As long as my bag meets me on the other end, that is.
Wintour Wonderland
All the hoo-ha this week about rumors of Anna Wintour’s allegedly immanent departure from the editor chair at Vogue reminded me of the days in 1987 when I was assigned by the New York Times to track down a rumor that Wintour, then editor of British Vogue, would be coming to America and replacing American […]
Her Body, But How Many Babies?
A mystery deepened at 740 Park this weekend when the prestigious co-op’s First Lady, Alex Kuczynski (above, right, aka amazon book critic Walter Winchell), published a piece about the birth of her first child via a surrogate. Oddly, the story mentioned neither recents reports that she and her fecund hedge fund husband, Charles Stevenson were […]
Real Estate Viagra
I reviewed Jeff Hyland‘s The Legendary Estates of Beverly Hills in yesterday’s New York Post.