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the rich

Merrill Deal Makes Bloomberg $4 Billion Richer That would bring the total, on paper at least, to $16 billion. Not a bad day for the mayor. [Business Sheet]

scandal

Vanity Fair Editor Arrested for Infiltrating Elite Private Club

Vanity Fair writer Alex Shoumatoff got himself arrested for crashing Bohemian Grove, a private men's club in northern California for the upper echelon of the rich and powerful. He was there to spy on the three-week camp they hold every July, where said rich and powerful relax while living in tents in their private woods. (Nixon was a member, but called it "most faggy goddamn thing that you would ever imagine.") The backstory on the weird club, plus the reason for the trespassing and arrest? More »

Listicle

Wasting Daddy's Money

British Tetra Pak (an "aseptic solutions" company) heir Hans Kristian Rausing was just charged, along with his wife Eva, of possessing crack cocaine. What a shame! Rausing's father is worth billions. Other wastrel heirs? More »

the rich

The Law Of Aerial Spying

When reporting on The Rich, it's critical to prove that they are, in fact, rich. This is most easily accomplished by showing their homes, because every reader can immediately tell that they couldn't even afford the solid gold horse stable, much less the platinum guest house or uranium master bedroom. But most of The Rich aren't gauche enough to allow a photographer to set foot on their property. What to do? Hire a helicopter, of course. You can spy on wealthy barons from the air all you want, and it's perfectly legal! Here's the proof, and the pudding: More »

Public relations

Naomi Campbell, Wealthy Mogul Save Nigeria By Partying

Nigeria is a country afflicted with rampant corruption, looting of the government treasury, oil piracy, illiteracy, grinding rural poverty, and a dire lack of clean water. But media mogul and public servant Nduka Obaigbena is committed to fixing all that and making Nigeria a model of good government. His unique prescription for social change: parties with Naomi Campbell, bespoke suits, and a penthouse at the Ritz Carlton: More »

the olds

A Guide To The Media Methuselahs

"I don't want to die. I love what I'm doing," said Viacom chief Sumner Redstone on CNBC yesterday. My, what a positive and also extremely sad quote! Coming from an old, old man like Redstone, it's more of a last-ditch prayer to Father Time than a peppy statement of on-the-job satisfaction. After the jump, a complete guide to the top five elderly figures in media moguldom. They're a cast that could end up having spent decades in power—probably because the younger counterparts who should be overtaking them decided to go into the tech industry on the West Coast instead (except Nick Denton). May these old men all live, um, a lot longer: More »

trendwatch

Media, Fashion Elites Introduce Us To "Shorts"

When the winter snows retreat and the spring gives way to the warming rays of the summer sun, urban gentlemen customarily carry an extra handkerchief to dab the sweat that accumulates within their long trousers. But in this modern age, it seems, some fashion-forward men are turning to an odd form of above-the-knee abbreviated breeches, casually referred to as "shorts." The New York Observer kindly explores the world of the daring striders who are unafraid to expose their lower legs on the streets of our metropolis: More »

the rich

Exclusive Hamptons Social Networking Site Letting the Wrong Kinds of People In Already

The Hamptons are always of interest. Why? Because rich people and social strivers go there! Hamptons Undercover, an "exclusive networking and resource site dedicated solely" to the summering spot, will help you get your foot in the door. More »

cartoons

Seth MacFarlane Will Now Take Over The Internet

Seth MacFarlane, the creator of Family Guy, still remembers when his show got pulled from Fox. Then it came back, and now it's one of the network's biggest hits. But even though the FCC lets him make edgy jokes now, it will never allow him to make edgy enough jokes. So MacFarlane is teaming up with Google to distribute a new, top secret internet show that will change everything and make him the most fabulously wealthy poop joke maven the world has ever seen. More »

the rich

Laurel Touby Is a Middle-Class Millionaire

Boa-wearing internet entrepreneur Laurel Touby shocked and awed the media world when she sold her freelancer-helping website MediaBistro for $23 mil, despite her famous inability to use e-mail. "I thought, 'O.K., a car and driver and a new apartment and a whole new life.' In fact, I can only afford two out of three," she told the Times last year. She must be on some sort of branding campaign, because she's still complaining about her millions. She is seriously and totally not that rich! she tells CNBC. For God's sake, she lives in a sixth-floor walkup! Click for the other indignities of being a middle-class millionaire.

Crime

The Case Against Raffaello Follieri

The Smoking Gun has the entire criminal complaint against Anne Hathaway's ex-boyfriend Raffaello Follieri, the hustling con artist charged with fraud and money laundering earlier today. Much of the information came out in previous stories and investigations, but it's still pretty stunning to see the extent of the guy's fraud laid out all at once. Payoffs, luxury, deception, and a crooked reporter—all in there. And you can understand why Hathaway stayed with him so long; if your boyfriend had an unlimited pot of (other people's) money to fly you around the world with, you'd like him too: More »

douchebags

The Man Behind the Worst Dating Events in NYC

Jeremy Abelson's dating events for Pocketchange NYC—such as a cougar-dating night and the infamous Fashion Meets Finance clusterfuck—double as publicity stunts and are always overrun with press. It works pretty well because 80% of us get all outraged by the idiocy of the idea, 10% actually attends the event, and the other 10% is press. Joshua Stein gets to know the hustler in Page Six magazine. Revelations? He calls his redheaded girlfriend "Big Red" and sometimes plays the character of the site's spokesman, a fictional and obnoxious WASP called "Richard Nouveau." More »

The rich

Your Future Job: Superyacht Deckhand

Don't feel too bad about the economy, members of the creative underclass: the superrich are still doing okay. While ordinary people like you fret over your outstanding subprime loans and plug the leaks in your rickety little rowboat with used chewing gum, the superrich are doing well enough to ensure that the Superyacht (an actual term!) industry is growing strongly. There are nearly 20% more requests this year for yachts longer than 130 feet. How many feet does one need? But god bless our economic superiors for providing the liquidity to fuel this crazy global economy. And don't be jealous; there's a benefit here for commoners, too: More »

The rich

Carl Icahn To Be World's Richest Blogger

Billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn launched his very own blog in January, with the totality of its content being the words "Blog coming soon." This caused the NY Post to put a clock on its website counting the minutes until Icahn actually posted something, just because they knew it would be annoying. But now Icahn says he's finally set to post his first entry, about corporate accountability, today. A rich guy talking directly to you—so exciting! Right now it just says "This page is parked free, courtesy of GoDaddy.com." But we know it's gonna be awesome! [NYP]

Salaries

Some Sports Journalists Are Incredibly Rich

Sports reporters are making bank. Some of them, at least. While foolish idealistic journalists shell out cash to go to J-school and get petty jobs reporting on corporations or wars or political campaigns, a handful of lucky guys sit around spouting completely unverifiable opinions on ballgames and burning $100 bills to fuel their tailgating barbecues. A few of these people—who do nothing that an average American male does not do every weekend, for free (yap about sports)—are making millions. Millions, we say! The Big Lead has a list of the (estimated) top earners in sports journalism, which we have assembled into a handy chart, after the jump. Contemplate the fact that the 15 highest-paid reporters average close to $1 million per year; then go read Deadspin to find out how many of these guys are pricks. More »

the rich

Money Doesn't Matter, Billionaire Oprah Tells College Grads

Talk-show host and self-made billionaire Oprah Winfrey was the commencement speaker for Stanford grads this past weekend. Her advice for the new grads? Do what you're meant to do! "When you're doing the work you were meant to do, it feels right. And every day is a bonus, regardless of what you're getting paid." Easy for her to say. Following your dreams! It's a great prescription for poverty. (As if every talented person who followed them ended up rich!) More »

Nightlife

Beyond The Velvet Rope: Just Another Crappy Bar

Whenever you think you've truly gained access to an exclusive club of some sort—particularly in New York—think again, fool. There is always another inner sanctum far too exclusive to admit the likes of you. That was a great piece of wisdom passed down by Graydon Carter long ago, and confirmed in former Gawker-er Josh Stein's new article in Page Six Magazine, which takes a peek "Beyond the Velvet Rope" at the hottest spots in the hottest city where the hottest people go. And you want to know the even bigger secret? The most exclusive places in the city are just as boring as everywhere else you've ever been: More »

trendwatch

Russian Billionaires Are Buying All The Pop Stars

Russian billionaires: they're powerful, they're flush with profits from semi-monopolized industrial concerns, and they're ready to party. So they think nothing of paying outrageous sums to international pop stars to come play private parties for them and their closest friends. The most recent example is poor drug-addled soul singer Amy Winehouse, who will be pocketing a cool $2 million to play a show for the girlfriend of billionaire politician and businessman Roman Abramovich. All $2 million of which will surely be spent to further Winehouse's ongoing demise. The point is, she's not the only superstar who's been seduced by a gig like this. Soon you won't be able to see anyone from Madonna to Rihanna without a plane ticket to Moscow and tight connections to the vestiges of the Kremlin's power structure. It's a trend! More »