Yes, spending 14 hours a day online has turned us all into ADHD-afflicted social misfits who can't watch a film/talk on the phone/cook a meal/have sex without surfing or texting at the same time. But, it turns out that while our brains are indeed being totally warped by technology, it's mostly in a good way.
John Howard, the CEO of Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and a ubiquitous presence on the social scene (he's pictured on the left with Michael's owner, Michael McCarty), has a new name for his firm now that Bear Stearns is no more. It's now called Irving Place Capital and happens to be named for the posh four-story townhouse he owns at 80 Irving Place.
♦ It looks like Modell's Sporting Goods CEO Mitchell Modell has picked up a bargain on the East End. He paid $6.95 million for a seven-bedroom spread in Bridgehampton, which is $1.545 million less than the home's original asking price. [Newsday]
♦ French author, columnist, and pundit Guy Sorman and his wife Marie-Dominique have paid $5.1 million for three-bedroom a penthouse apartment in the Metropolitan on East 90th Street. [Cityfile]
♦ Fashion designer Adrienne Vittadini has lowered the price of her five-bedroom home in Water Mill: After lingering on the market for a year, it's now down to $6.495 million from the original asking price of $7.6 million. [Newsday, Sotheby's]
Not everyone shuns Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he visits New York. Real estate mogul Joe Moinian and his socialite wife Nazee make it a point to meet with him to discuss politics! "When Mr. Amadinejad, the President of Iran was in town last year for UN Week, and again this year, Nazee was able to wangle an invitation to dine with him." says David Patrick Columbia. Hopefully Nazee also uses it as an opportunity to gift him some of those scent sprays and candles she sells at her Melonie de France on the UES. We're guessing he could use it. [NYSD]
On Saturday night, Allison Sarofim hosted her annual Halloween party at her West Village house, and the strict theme was Japanese anime. So how did social ubiquity Sarofim come up with such an inspired idea? You know, the same as anyone might: "I was at a dinner in Moscow for Larry Gagosian, and I was seated next to [Takashi] Murakami, and I thought, 'Oh, anime.'" If you were lucky enough to snag an invite, you'd have seen Allison herself as Japanese weapon-toting superhero DNA, Sony honcho Rob Wiesenthal covered in lights as comic book character Lightning, Cynthia Rowley as a Harajuku girl, and Chris Benz in six-inch pink platforms and a matching catsuit. (Other guests included Padma Lakshmi (left), Ann Dexter-Jones, and Jennifer Creel.) Hey, no one said that being on the A-list wouldn't involve some emotionally-scarring experiences.
Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft (and, sadly, only the third-richest man in the world these days) turns 53 today. Closer to home, Pepsi CEO Indra Nooyi is also marking her 53rd. Others celebrating: Julia Roberts is 41. Joaquin Phoenix turns 34. Musician Ben Harper is 39. Bruce Jenner, the man to blame for bringing Brody Jenner into the world, is 59. Actress Lauren Holly is 45. And Dayanara Torres, former Miss Universe and former wife of Marc Anthony, is 34.
♦ You didn't expect to hear that Lydia Hearst actually wrote that column in Page Six magazine by herself, did you? In response to Hearst's accusation that Page Six fabricated her latest column—the one in which she bashed her family's publishing company—the mag now says that Hearst's writing process involved being interviewed by a reporter who then "put her thoughts into cohesive paragraphs." And they have the emails to prove Lydia's trash talk. [P6]
♦ Madonna is reportedly under pressure from the leaders of Kabbalah to reach a divorce settlement quickly, lest the mess cast a negative light on their freaky cult. Guy Ritchie, however, isn't making it any easier now that he's apparently rejected Madge's latest £20 million offer. [Daily Mail, ThisIsLondon]
♦ Michael Phelps got paid $100,000 to swim around at a pool party thrown by a TV network chief's wife. [P6]
♦ It's a match made in heaven: Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Jerry Ferrara, who plays Turtle on Entourage, are dating. [R&M]
♦ Better news from abroad today: global stocks rebounded overnight, with shares in Hong Kong climbing more than 14 percent. [CNNMoney]
♦ Goldman Sachs will name its new partners today; it's expected to be the smallest such group in the firm's history. [Telegraph, Clusterstock]
♦ The average hedge fund was down 8.4 percent in October. Layoffs in the industry are mounting: Glenn Dubin's Highbridge Capital is the latest fund to announce cuts, trimming 10 percent of the company's staff. [NYP]
♦ Barclays is seeking to raise $10 billion from Russian banks. [WSJ]
♦ Fidelity may lay off 4,000 employees. [Boston Globe]
♦ Following reports in July that Tory Burch was offering a 30 percent stake in her hugely successful womenswear and accessories label, she now says that the company is not for sale. Also, she says the economy has had an impact on her designs: "I don't think women want to be over-the-top anymore. They want something that's chic and elegant, but not such a big statement." [WWD]
♦ If you've noticed slightly fewer giraffe-like teens with unplaceable accents on the streets of Manhattan, it's because in a sobering indicator of just how bad things are, Elite has slashed 60 models from its roster. [Fashionista]
♦ New York's Adam Platt visits Bobo and Bloomingdale Road this week, and while he isn't thrilled with Bobo chef Patrick Connolly's portions (they're "barely large enough to feed a flea"), it still earns a two-star review. Bloomingdale Road isn't quite as lucky: It gets a zero-star review thanks to its "bizarro conception and spotty technique." [NYM]
♦ A look inside Michael Huynh's new BarBao on West 82nd St. [Eater]
♦ Brussels chain Rouge Tomate and Tom Valenti's West Branch are both slated to open this week, while the Plaza's Oak Room is expected to open its doors "early next month." [NYM]
♦ New York is experiencing a "coffee renaissance," apparently. [NYT]
♦ Tips on how to create the perfect menu for your election night bash. [RG]
Natasha Boncompagni is responding to the lawsuit filed against her by her sister, Tatiana, who claims she authored the forthcoming HarperCollins novel, Hedge Fund Wives, without any help from her sister. Natasha claims Tatiana's lawsuit was an attempt to "preempt" a lawsuit of her own, and says Tatiana couldn't have written the book by herself since it was based on her "Wall Street career" and "insider's knowledge of the social workings of the hedge fund community." There's more: Natasha also says her sister's "history of lying" is a "well-known fact both within our family and with her current publisher, HarperCollins," and that she only landed her first book deal after she lied about being descended from an Italian princess. Thanksgiving dinner at the Boncompagnis is going to be a blast this year, huh? Natasha's full response after the jump.
In 2000, New York magazine published a story by Mark Jacobson called "The Return of Superfly," which detailed the life and times of Frank Lucas (left), the drug dealer who cornered the Harlem heroin market in the late '60s and early '70s before he was brought down in 1975. The article was later turned into the movie American Gangster starring Denzel Washington, and now, eight years later, it's spurred a lawsuit. Late last year, New York republished "The Return of Superfly" on nymag.com and repeated an allegation by Lucas that the NYPD and DEA agents who raided his home also stole millions in cash. The retired cops, furious that they have been depicted as thieves, are now suing Lucas, Jacobson, New York, and Primedia (New York's former parent) for "no less than" $5 million for defamation and the "severe emotional distress" they've since had to endure. The full lawsuit is after the jump. But the ex-cops shouldn't be surprised if they don't get a timely response: The lawsuit was sent to New York at its former address on Madison Avenue, which hasn't been the mag's home for close to a year now.
One more sign that these are tough economic times: more and more women are selling their eggs for cash. According to fertility specialists, the number of women willing to go through with the ordeal of hormone treatments and fertility drugs has risen 30 to 40 percent over the past few months as more women are tempted by the a payday that can be between $5,000 and $10,000. The trend isn't limited to eggs. Sperm donations are up, too, which may explain what former Lehman Brothers bankers have been doing as of late (when they're not selling stuff on Ebay, of course). [ABC News]
Think the meltdown on Wall Street will ruin bonus season for bankers in town? Not necessarily! Merrill Lynch has set aside $6.7 billion to pay annual bonuses. Goldman Sachs plans to dole out $6.85 billion in total, an average of $210,300 for each employee. And Morgan Stanley has $6.44 billion for bonuses, or $138,700 per person. And you were concerned the $700 billion bailout would be misspent. [Bloomberg]
Lesley Stahl of 60 Minutes has a new gig: She's promoting Little Barrel, a line of "clothing based on the love of drinking wine." The company was apparently founded by Stahl's daughter and neckties with images of little wine glasses go for $75. The site's tag line? "Enhance your vineyard lifestyle." [Fox News]
Socialite novelist Tatiana Boncompagni (Gilding Lily) might write about frothy stuff like clothes and parties, but don't think she's sentimental when it comes to family: She's suing her sister Natasha over a forthcoming HarperCollins novel, Hedge Fund Wives, which Natasha apparently claimed co-authorship of following her "input" during the writing process. Tatiana has filed a copyright infringement suit—she says her sister secretly copied parts of the novel during family visits—and is asking for monetary damages as well as a court order declaring her sole author.
♦ Campbell Brown is reportedly pregnant. [TVNewser]
♦ Arianna Huffington and Tina Brown aren't in competition. They're best friends! [NYT]
♦ The Robb Report is on the market. The price? "Upwards of $100 million." [Folio]
♦ NBC has exiled the struggling Lipstick Jungle to Friday nights. [Variety]
♦ CNN's new (and appallingly unfunny) political humor show starring D.L. Hughley debuted this past weekend. [NYT]
Billionaire Carl Icahn has said he's selling his 177-foot yacht for $37.5 million to trade up to an even bigger boat. Well, this might just be a the bargain he's looking for: Saddam Hussein's former palace at sea, the Basra Breeze, is now on sale for $31 million. That's not all that much money considering the 272-foot vessel is bulletproof, comes with its own operating room, is fitted with surface-to-air missiles, and has enough china to serve dinner to 200 guests. The bad news? "The décor is a monument to 1980s bad taste," and it will probably cost another $30 million to refurbish. [Times UK]
Once upon a time if a reality TV star was lucky enough to be granted a full 15 minutes of fame, he or she would grab every single money-making opportunity, regardless of where it came from. But Christian Siriano, the diminutive winner of Project Runway season 4, catchphrase coiner, and assymmetric haircut standard-bearer, represents a new breed: He's not for sale to just anyone. Well, not quite.
