German Coup: The 740 Park Connection
Nine far-right plotters accused of seeking to overthrow the German governmenty went on trial in Stuttgart today, including their leader, Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss. “In all, 27 people face charges, including high treason and belonging to a terror organization, but they will be tried in three separate courtrooms in different cities,” CNN reports. One of Prince […]
R.I.P. Alice Mason, 100
I’m quoted in today’s New York Times obituary of Alice Mason, the real estate broker and hostess. For lesser beings like me, an invitation to one of her dinner parties was a signal of, if not acceptance, then a certain achievement. I still recall my thrill when I saw fury in the eyes of the […]
A Confederate Descendant in 740 Park
John Thain‘s financial acumen helped him win jobs running the New York Stock Exchange and Merrill Lynch but it didn’t make him lucky in real estate at the legendary 740 Park cooperative. Thain bought Enid Annenberg Haupt’s jewel box penthouse on the building’s 17th floor in 2006 for $27.5 million, listed it for sale in […]
WASPs Take Flight
Though it does not yet have a jacket, and won’t come out until November 14th (the waiting is the hardest part), my new book, Flight of the WASP: The Rise, Fall and Future of America’s Original Ruling Class, is now available for pre-order from the bookseller of your choice. From Bookshop.org From Barnes & […]
(Not) Everyone Loves a Rogue
Richard Avedon’s mural sized group portraits and off-takes from their making drew me to the Metropolitan Museum of Art this weekend, where I also confirmed that Rogues’ Gallery, my 2009 expose of the museum’s leaders, is still banned from sale in its store. (Flattered!) So, I’m delighted to say that, out of the blue, shepherd, […]
A Shaded View of Me
I first wrote about Diane Pernet when she was a New York designer in the mid-1980s. Now, she’s a fashion critic, entrepreneur, film festival founder, critic and blogger. Wearing that last hat at A Shaded View Of Fashion, she’s just posted a lengthy interview with me, looking both backward (I recall some of my favorite […]
This Duplex is a Tangy Treat at $26 Million
Virginia Smith at the Wall Street Journal reports a 740 Park duplex has come on the market at $26 million. The C-line apartment, on the 10th and 11th floors, appears to be the one owned since 1994 by Hamburg Tang, a semiconductor tycoon, and his wife Miranda. In 2016, Tang, then 85, sued neighbor Howard […]
Koch is It, Redux
Julia Koch, widow of mega-wealthy conservative political figure and Kansan conglomerateur David Koch (the couple are shown above, at an Avenue Magazine party in 2014), has been revealed as the record-setting buyer of a pair of co-0p apartments at 4 East 66th Street from the estate of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, according to Page Six […]
My First Flight on Air Mail
I make my debut on Air Mail this morning with Elon 1.0, a look back at the SpaceX, Tesla, and wannabe Twitter mogul in 2000, before he was enveloped in the musk of fame and fortune. Thanks to Graydon Carter, Alessandra Stanley and Mark Horowitz for running this blast from the not-so-distant past. (Caveat […]
Adele on Death Row
Back in February, the singer Adele bought Sylvester Stallone‘s mansion in Beverly Park (pictured) after a price drop from $110 million t0 $58 million. Hello, Adele! Today, the worldwide press is covering her move into what they now describe as a Beverly Hills mansion, even though the gated community of Beverly Park isn’t within the […]