Elvis Has Left the Building
The blonde Elvis, that is. Â My second Crain’s New York Business column is a paean to Richard Johnson.
Buy This Book (and it’s not one of mine)
Matt Taibbi‘s upcoming book Griftopia is excerpted in the new issue of the ever-better New York Observer.  Here’s an excerpt of their excerpt, in which he discusses the reaction to his Rolling Stone story likening Goldman Sachs to a vampire squid:  “As interesting as the actual material in the original piece was what happened after we […]
An Angle I Agree With
The Boston Globe’s The Angle blog takes a stand today against vile e-mails like the ones I got from Ann Coulter‘s fans after she mixed me up with another writer and sent her banshees screaming into my in-box. At the time, I asked her to correct her mistake. Just to update Gripebox readers, she hasn’t. […]
Sunset Empire (ain’t it POM Wonderful?)
Here’s a little preview of my next book, a 740-Park-like look at the lives and real estate styles of Los Angeles’ wealthiest. Billionaires Lynda and Stewart Resnick have been much in the headlines lately. They financed a new Renzo Piano exhibition hall at LACMA, aka the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and were feted […]
Is Networking Working?
Please “like” my brand-new Facebook page. Click through here.
In Trustees We Trust
Steven Rattner, the former Metropolitan Museum of Art trustee, New York Times reporter, BFF of Arthur Ochs “Pinch” Sulzberger Jr., investment banker, Democratic party moneybags, financial counselor to Mayor Michael Bloomberg (with him above) and briefly, Obama car demi-czar, has reportedly settled charges by the Security and Exchange Commission that he arranged kickbacks, paying off […]
Happy Birthday, John Lennon
It’s John Lennon’s 70th Birthday tomorrow. Imagine.
Just Peachy
Scroll past the bio and you’ll find a pretty funny interview with me conducted by Peachy Deegan of whomyouknow.com. An excerpt: Q: It came up in a Fitzgerald/Hemingway discussion that “The rich are different from us/Yes they have more money” what do you think of this and why? A: Staff. It’s all about staff. They […]
Abraham Lincoln on the American Plutocracy
Just found this great comment by Abraham Lincoln on the plutocracy and thought it worth sharing: “It is more despotic than a monarchy, more insolent than autocracy, and more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces as public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes.” POSSIBLE CORRECTION: A friend notes that the […]
Requiem For a Heavyweight: Tony Curtis, R.I.P.
Tony Curtis died last night at his Las Vegas home. I thank my lucky stars I was able to conduct one of the last interviews with him just a few weeks ago for my next book on trophy real estate in Los Angeles. This clip is from one of his greatest films, The Sweet Smell […]