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the riches
Crazy Socialite Brings Broadway Divorce Battle to Youtube
Socialite/playwright Trisha Walsh-Smith is the soon-to-be ex-wife of Philip Smith, president of the Schubert Organization—which means he's super rich because Schubert owns all those theaters and produces all those fabulous Broadway plays. But the silly blonde went ahead and signed a pre-nup with the old man, who's 25 years her senior, and now she's all in a fuss. In some kind of whacky bid for leverage, Walsh-Smith is hitting YouTube to air her fears that the old man and his daughters are out to destroy her—trying to kick her out of her swank Miami pad, stealing her $500k annual pension in the event of Smith's demise, and leaving her with all sorts of dirty sex paraphernalia that Smith certainly never used on her. More »
the riches
Even Rich Students Bone to Get Ahead
New research shows that wealthy college students will trade sexual favors to get what they want. Researchers interviewed 475 undergraduate students and discovered that 25% of them would exchange sexual currency for provisions. The attempted trades included: tickets to the University of Michigan vs. Ohio State game, studying assistance, laundry washed, a Louis Vuitton bag and voice lessons.More »
the riches
Moneyed Wusses Prepare for Doomsday
“'I’m not a gun-nut, camo-wearing skinhead. I don’t even hunt or fish,' said Bill Marcom, 53, a construction executive in Dallas. Still, motivated by a belief that the credit crunch and a bursting housing bubble might spark widespread economic chaos — 'the Greater Depression,' as he put it — Mr. Marcom began to take measures to prepare for the unknown over the last few years: buying old silver coins to use as currency; buying G.P.S. units, a satellite telephone and a hydroponic kit; and building a simple cabin in a remote West Texas desert." Yes, Mr. Marcom, when the apocalypse hits, Lord Humongous will gladly accept your old sliver coins as "currency." More »
horace mann
Horace Mann-Sense: Li'l Roy Cohn Sad, Former School Head's Spitzer Connection
Little public figure Charles Stam was the villain of New York Magazine's cover story on the terrible nonsense that goes on at tony prep school Horace Mann. Stam harassed a teacher for being a liberal feminist, and even lied about having a tape of her calling him a Nazi in an attempt to get her fired. He was promptly elected student body president! We posted a small picture of him from the Horace Mann yearbook earlier this week, and that made Stam sad. He emailed Gawker boss Nick Denton to ask that we remove his "personal material" from the site. Instead, we will reprint his email. It's after the jump, along with the sad tale of school head Thomas Kelly's toxic waste playground for the poor kids, and why it's all Eliot Spitzer's fault. More »
exclusive
Meet the Horace Mann Scandal Crew!
So you read the New York cover story about the mess at high-falutin' private prep school Horace Mann, but maybe you wanted more. Maybe you wanted to meet the faces behind the names. You are in luck, kind reader. With help from SECRET GAWKER SOURCES we found photos and bios for two of the anonymous rich assholes who gave the story its depressing color—the wealthy trustee mom whose daughter inadvertently engineered the whole scandal, and "Jeffrey Robbins," the Young Republican anti-Max Fischer who rose from liberal-baiting history class gadfly to misogynist class president. After the jump, meet the leaders of tomorrow! More »
what makes jared run
Why Did Ivanka and Jared Break Up?
Cute li'l real-estate magnate and newspaper-owner Jared Kushner broke up with oddly attractive-despite-her-family Ivanka Trump! This is according to Page Six, who note that Ivanka has gone to parties by herself, which is irrefutable proof. They've been together for almost exactly one year, which is, if you ask us, suspicious. What's Jared up to? Why is he breaking up with his hot, brand-name girlfriend? Why is he pretending he's going to buy Newsday? Is he just toying with us?? More »
horace mann
Poor Mr. Janice Min
Remember New York's cover story this week about the Horace Mann teacher who was shocked—shocked—to learn that students at that tony prep school exchange bitchy gossip and say terrible things on the Facebook? The alarmed history teacher—who, for his role in publicizing the Facebook fracas was forced to take a sabbatical—is Peter Sheehy, husband of Us Weekly editor Janice Min! So, obviously, this "gossiping about people" thing was totally foreign to him. (J/k! Us is the nice one.) SAD UPDATE: Ok. Former Horace Mann history teacher Peter Sheehy's current gig? "Research intern" for award-winning internet blog Talking Points Memo. No, seriously. [NYM]
racism
Prestigious Boarding School Students Shocked By Decidedly Non-Quirky Problem
Kids at St. Paul's—the boarding school of John Kerry, New Yorker scribe Nick Paumgarten, heiress/psychiatrist Samantha Boardman, former Paris Review deputy publisher Lea Carpenter, and n+1 co-founder/zeitgeist-capturing novelist Ben Kunkel—have just witnessed their very first act of the kind of racism that isn't subtly ingrained in the system that allowed them to attend that prestigious institution: a black student received a threatening letter in the mail. "The top of the letter said 'Get Out,' John said. There was a bulls-eye in the middle and on the bottom, it said, 'Bang Bang,' he said." Three other black students received similar missives, all of which were "postmarked Manchester, through which all of the state's mail is routed." Don't worry, John. One of your classmates will get to the bottom of it in a thinky piece for The Believer in a couple years. [Concord Monitor]
The Kid's All Right
Hey, rent is due soon. Oh, which reminds me: Daniel Radcliffe, the alter-ego of magical British wizard Harry Potter, has just purchased his second New York apartment, for a rumored $4.9 million. He'll divide his time between his fabulous New York pads and the cupboard under the stairs he sleeps in back in Little Whinging. [Showbiz Spy]
Hey, rent is due soon. Oh, which reminds me: Daniel Radcliffe, the alter-ego of magical British wizard Harry Potter, has just purchased his second New York apartment, for a rumored $4.9 million. He'll divide his time between his fabulous New York pads and the cupboard under the stairs he sleeps in back in Little Whinging. [Showbiz Spy]
we hate your kids
Yuppie Shock: Rich DINKs Not Equipped For Parenthood
It turns out, according to today's Times, that when you have children, you might have to slightly compromise your aesthetic design sense and maybe even tape the corners of your designer furniture. Or put it in storage! All because the little puke you finally conceived after putting it off for a decade or two spent finally snagging that prewar apartment and filling it with dead-tech post-modernistic bullshit might hurt himself on the sharp edges of your Barcelona chairs. Or smudge your glass-top Noguchi coffee table. The obvious answers to the problem—belt-delivered beatings should young Atticus get near the Ligne Roset brown microsuede one-arm sofa, locking young Libertad in your minimally appointed sleek modernist basement until he's 18, abortion—are not provided. [NYT] Photo: Evan Sung for The New York Times
the riches
Rich Begin Hating On Harvey Weinstein's Elitist Club
Elitist social networking site ASmallWorld.net is starting to annoy the pompous rich and famous it was designed to attract. In a likely effort to reverse traffic declines, the site began spamming its members to encourage them to post status updates and check out what their snooty friends are doing, a tactic that did not go over well with the "my time is money" set. Moneyed social divas, meanwhile, are not happy with "interface changes and the ever-expanding presence of advertisers," which have robbed ASmallWorld of "the same level of elitism it was once so admired for," in the words of Ashley Simko, left. If movie mogul Weinstein had a clue about the Web — ASmallWorld was heralded as his first internet investment — he would know about Metcalfe's law, which basically says that when networks compete, second place is worthless. Which is why even the riches prefer Facebook's unwashed masses to ASmallWorld's alleged elite. After the jump, evidence of just how completely Facebook is eating ASmallWorld's lunch. More »
he's very very rich
Bloomberg, Still Not Running For President, Amasses Support
Rich people across the nation (or more specifically rich people residing exclusively in New York and California) are thrilled at the prospect that tiny and uninspiring mayor Michael Bloomberg may buy his way into the presidential race. Even though he lacks the charm of Ross Perot, the last zillionaire to attempt it, Bloomberg has so much money that people who only have almost as much money as him think he is probably the perfect man to run this country. So, according to the Sun, "technology entrepreneur" Jon Fisher "has held meetings with more than 100 executives and entrepreneurs during the past few months to gauge support for a Bloomberg bid and prepare a team to assist the possible campaign." Because America just loves technocrats! Bloomberg keeps denying that he's running for anything but his insane aide Kevin Sheeky keeps convincing every reporter in New York that his boss is a sure thing. [The Sun]
the riches
Surviving The Recession On The Upper East Side
We totally missed this little gem in a Saturday's Times story about the oft-ignored plight of the rich New Yorkers forced to downsize in our current economic straits. A screenwriter interviewed for the piece describes her reaction to the sitch: "I’m a freelancer, so I’m like, ‘Oh, my God.’" Seriously. What else are people giving up? "The newspaper,” says one guy, “I never buy it anymore." Why bother, really, when your neighbor's will do just fine? Far more moving though, are the sacrifices of this disposably-incomed damsel in distress: "Now she gets manicures at a less expensive salon, meets her friends at California Pizza Kitchen and sends her sheets and towels to a laundry service instead of the dry cleaner." We ourselves mostly just leave the linens to Olga and Maria. Did she say California Pizza Kitchen? Sakes alive.
money changes everything
Jon Fine Would Rather Not Discuss His Billions of Dollars
Former Gawker editor Choire Sicha interviewed BusinessWeek's Jon Fine—husband of confused gazillionaire Mediabistro lady Laurel Touby—for this internet video thing called Bloggingheads. And he sorta made Jon uncomfortable! No one likes to talk about money, especially when they have lots and lots of it. "This short clip is my final, incoherent (and actually feverish) attempt at rehashing his wife Laurel Touby's complaints about her riches in the New York Times," Choire says. Enjoy Jon's hip Ramones shirt and admire his vast record collection, after the jump! More »
the riches
Snootastic 'Metropolitan Diary' One-Liners
Oh, New York Times Metropolitan Diary, how we do love thy exceptionally pretentious and mildly prejudicial ways so far this year, and really, every year. More »
knocked up
Someone Is Having Alex Kuczynski's Baby
New York Times rich people beat reporter, billionaire-marrier, possible orgy enthusiast, and over-sharing plastic surgery addict Alex Kuczynski is expecting! Expecting a surrogate mother to carry and deliver her baby, that is, according to Liz Smith. Alex and her ridiculously wealthy (and ripped) husband Charles Stevenson have reportedly tried "several times" at this child-having thing, to no avail. Stevenson has five children from other women, a set-up the Kucz has commented on with approval on other occasions. (All you have to do is cheer them on at graduation—no weight gain or unseemly marks or scars!) So, we ask you, the Gawker readership: who on Earth is currently feeding and growing the spawn of the Amazing Plastic Woman? More »
new york magazine
