The dastardly
Following historic accusations about sir Philip Green’s boorish behaviour which recently moved into the public domain, are any other high-profile City figures worried about creepy-crawlies from their past emerging from the woodwork? I’m told of one banking bigwig whose former employer has a dossier of complaints made against him thicker than the Domesday Book, which is still lurking ominously in its vaults.
Spangly West Ham deputy chairman Lady Brady, who’s criticised for refusing to renounce her chairmanship of bullying Sir Philip’s holding company Taveta, advises her social media followers: ‘Make sure your own worst enemy doesn’t live between your own two ears.’ Or spend most of his time on a yacht in tax-friendly Monaco, she probably should have added.
As Wall street employees hit the slopes, swanky Colorado ski destination Aspen turns louche this time of the year. The resort’s see-and-be-seen lunch cabin Cloud Nine claims it sells more Veuve Clicquot than any other establishment in North America, despite only being open 135 days a year. Much of this is sprayed across the restaurant. This season, one unnamed big hitter arranged for 100 bottles to set aside for him at a cost of $13,000. Manager Tommy Tollesson says: ‘None of it will end up in his mouth. He only drinks Dom Perignon.’
Investment giant Blackrock has hired creaky former Federal Reserve vicechairman Stanley Fischer as adviser. The firm also employs our ex-Chancellor George Osborne, former German MP Friedrich Merz, Hillary Clinton’s ex-chief of staff Cheryl Mills and former chairman of Switzerland’s central bank, Philipp Hildebrand. Blackrock chief Larry Fink is thought to harbour political ambitions.
Further ridicule at fancy drawers designer Gucci, which withdrew a sweater last week after it was accused of resembling blackface. It’s now released a pair of tennis shoes which have been designed to look deliberately filthy. The sneakers are sold with scuffs and marks and come in a range of stained colours. Cost? £615. Well, to paraphrase an old saying, noone ever got poor underestimating the stupidity of the paying public.