Some people's entire lives were created just to help the tabloids stoke class warfare. There's no other explanation for Swedish countess Marie Douglas-David, who needs $53K per week just to survive. She can prove it!
When it was revealed in late January that John Thain spent $1.2 million renovating his office at Merrill Lynch in early 2008—back before the global financial meltdown was truly upon us—people were up in arms. Such a stupid move! So tone deaf! When it was reported yesterday that Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit was getting his office redecorated, like, now? Well, it's good thing the news broke when everyone was consumed with the mess over at AIG, huh?
Today we have a marriage of convenience, credit stealing hip hoppers, a young couple having public sex, a washed-up actor with a fetish, and a frustrated reality star.
Ruth Madoff better get used to ordering in a lot of take-out, since it doesn't look like she's going to be making it to the grocery store for the foreseeable future. At least not without creating a major fuss. Bernie Madoff's wife ventured out to the Food Emporium on Third Avenue last night, but ended up getting spooked and leaving the store empty-handed after a flock of photographers descended on her. She had to leave her American and Jarlsberg cheese behind, and she never did get to buy the laundry detergent that was at the top of her shopping list. The good news is that she won't have to worry about buying as many groceries now that she'll be shopping for one for the rest of her life. [NYP, NYDN]
Some very unfortunate goings-on in New Jersey are threatening one of the basic human rights—to have hair ripped out of one's cooch with hot wax—of everyone in the state. Following Brazilian-related infections that left two women hospitalized (yes, crossing your legs right now is an entirely natural reaction), leading one of them to sue, the state Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling may ban "genital waxing" altogether—creating a situation where desperate Jersey residents, like red state teens seeking abortions, will have to cross state lines if they want to maintain their landing strip. Which, on the bright side, is great news for waxers in Manhattan—not that spatula-wielding Russians need the extra PR!
• Socialite Debbie Bancroft (left) and her husband Billy have dropped the price of their full-floor apartment at 132 East 72nd Street by 15 percent. The home, which was occupied by George Gershwin in the 1930s, is now priced at $1.675 million. [WSJ, BHS]
• Lifestyle guru, celebrity party planner, and Oprah BFF Colin Cowie has paid $4.5 million for two unfinished 1,400-square-foot units at The Emory on West 19th Street. [WSJ]
• Ross Heller, a managing director at NewOak Capital, and his wife Yael, paid $3.75 million for a three-bedroom condo at 60 Beach Street. [Cityfile]
Possibly the most unfortunate name to have at the moment: Bernie Madoff, of course. A man named Bernard Jeffrey Madoff says his phone has been ringing off the hook the last few weeks, calls that have come "at all hours of the day and night," from "people who were either upset or unhinged or both." For the record, though, he doesn't pronounce his name the same way. He goes with MAD-off, not MADE-off. [NYT]
Spike Lee turns 52 today. Fashion designer Nicole Miller turns 58. Lady GaGa is 23. Holly Hunter is turning 51. Actor William Hurt is 59. Mike Francesa, the radio and TV talk show host, is 55. Author Kathryn Harrison turns 48. BET host and author Touré is turning 38. Photographer Mary Ellen Mark is 69. Christopher Heinz, the son of Teresa Heinz and stepson of John Kerry, is 36. And actor/director/writer Carl Reiner turns 87 today. Weekend birthdays after the jump!
• Lindsay Lohan is reportedly moving into a temporary "therapeutic environment" run by Stephen and Daniel Baldwin, where she can "go to work and meetings," and "remove the negative influences in her life." Sounds like the basis for a great sitcom, too. [Fox 411]
• Holly Peterson—socialite, daughter of billionaire Pete Peterson, and author of The Manny—is calling it quits with her husband of 15 years, Goldman Sachs exec Richard Kimball Jr. [P6]
• Whitney Port and actor Robert Buckley hooked up at a party in Miami and were later spotted "making out at Nobu." [P6, OK!, E!]
• Fashion editors: They're just like us! Vogue's Andre Leon Talley was spotted "chowing down on chimichangas at Chili's" at LAX on Tuesday night. [P6]
• Yesterday the House approved a 90% tax on bonuses paid to execs at certain firms that received government aid. Now some lawmakers are talking about banning all bonus payments at bailed-out firms. [Reuters]
• It's unclear if the 90% tax will hold up in court. It's also possible it will do more harm than good and ultimately "wreck what's left of our economy." [BI]
• Andrew Cuomo says AIG has provided him with a list of employees who earned bonuses, but he won't release the names until the security situation has been sorted out, which is good news since it's getting a little rough out there what with all the death threats and protests. [AP, NYT, Reuters]
• Just who knew about the AIG bonuses—and when they knew it—is being closely scrutinized, although Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner says he is prepared to accept full responsibility. [NYT, CNN]
A day for relationship regrets: The author of The Manny is losing her husband-y; Madonna's pet model realized she's a control freak; and Rihanna's many regrets supposedly include a sex tape.
They thought they were safe in their Connecticut palaces, but oh no: top AIG execs face death threats, angry neighbors in their driveways and tabloid photographers. Then there's the roving band of irate poors.
Got nothing exciting on the agenda this weekend? A group called Connecticut Working Families is organizing a "field trip" to visit the homes of AIG execs tomorrow. If you can't attend the oh-so-exciting tour of Fairfield in person, you can always join their "AIG Cribs" Facebook group: 43 members and counting! [AIG Bus Trip]
This is actually totally enraging. I worked at AIG for a year (yeah yeah, stone me later, I didn't get any of the money), and the cubicleland drones have been wigging out since last September. Everyone keeps getting fired, no one knows what's going on, work is both sporadic and overwhelming (they give you a demanding task, and when it's 80% complete the project gets axed)...
