Tag: Bloomberg

The Mystery of Thomas H. Lee – Clinton-Epstein Conspiracy Theories Continue

Matthew Steeples examines whether the recent suicide by gunshot of “the envy of Wall Street” billionaire Thomas H. Lee was in any way linked to a clear association with Bill Clinton and a possible one with Jeffrey Epstein

Thomas H. Lee did not appear in the 95-page infamous ‘Little Black Book’ associated with Jeffrey Epstein or Ghislaine Maxwell. Now, however, after his apparent ‘suicide’ this billionaire financier has not only described as “considerate, generous and unpretentious” and a “constant presence” in her life by Hillary Clinton, but also as having “links” to Jeffrey Epstein.

Sparking rumours of yet another example of the ‘Clinton Body Count’ – the much disputed conspiracy theory that as many as fifty people with close links to the Clintons have died in nefarious circumstances – Stephen M. Lepore for the DailyMail.com shared a photograph of Lee at a New York shindig with another billionaire named Robert Kraft and a couple named Glenn and Eva Dubin. Swedish Ms Andersson-Dubin dated Jeffrey Epstein prior to his 2008 conviction and continued to “socialise with [him] after his time in jail,” Bloomberg reported in 2019.

The 78-year-old Harvard graduate and founder of Lee Equity Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners was best known himself for having bought the soft drinks brand Snapple Beverages in 1992 for £112 million ($135 million, €127 million or درهم496 million) and sold it for a 334% profit to Quaker Oats for £1.4 billion ($1.7 billion, €1.6 billion or درهم6.2 billion) in 1994.

Known also for being an “avid art collector,” father of five Lee also served as a trustee of Lincoln Center, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Jewish Heritage, Brandeis University, Cardozo Law School at Yeshiva University, Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, Harvard University, the Intrepid Museum Foundation, NYU Medical Center, and Rockefeller University.

In a statement currently opening the homepage of their website, Lee Equity Partners shared:

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our Founder and Chairman, Thomas H. Lee. He was a great partner and wonderful friend whose vision will continue to influence us for many years to come.”

“Tom’s determination, commitment and strategic vision will continue to inspire all of us at Lee Equity Partners. He was a leader, a friend, a partner, and our mentor. We know he will be proud as the firm continues on, with strength. We will work every day to meet the high standards he has set for us and the entire industry. On behalf of our employees, management teams and investment partners, we mourn his loss and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.”

Clearly illustrating that something might be amiss in the financial community, a member of the Wall Street Oasis forum last week remarked of Lee’s death:

“Self-inflicted gunshot wound. Wonder if he knows something about the future…”

Another added: “Perhaps another private equity guy with Epstein connections about to get exposed.”

Going further on Monday, Fortune shared an article with the headline: “Thomas H. Lee’s sudden death shocks partners at his $3 billion private investment firm – with a $1 billion fundraise in the balance.”

For the publication, Dawn Lim and Amanda Gordon added:

“Since then, Lee Equity’s executives have been forced to confront a difficult moment. In at least one conversation, they discussed the importance of reassuring clients that there’s no connection between his death and Lee Equity’s financial health or fund performance.”

“Lee’s death has ushered in a new level of public attention for a shop that manages £2.5 billion ($3 billion, €2.8 billion or درهم11 billion) and doesn’t have a formal media-relations team. It also comes at a critical juncture for the 40-person firm, which is raising a £833 million ($X billion, €942 million or درهم3/7 billion) fund just as investors have become increasingly reluctant to part with their cash amid volatile markets. The firm has raised the vast majority of that fund, other people said.”

“The suicide also presents a test for key partners Mark Gormley, Benjamin Hochberg, Yoo Jin Kim and Joseph Rotberg. They’re among eight executives who climbed the ranks to take bigger leadership roles and steered the firm into financial services and health care.”

“Some investors have taken comfort in the fact that succession is largely complete, people said. They pushed for the firm to spread its wealth more evenly among partners and had sway in the years after the financial crisis, when buyout firms struggled to raise new money. Lee’s cut of the profits was less than 10% for the firm’s last fund.”

“In recent days, several institutions extended condolences and provided expressions of support to the firm. Investors such as Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. committed money to the new fund. The firm’s backers have said they hope Lee’s death doesn’t rattle new investors.”

Returning to the story of the mystery surrounding the supposed ‘suicide’ also by gun shot of Bill Clinton aide turned Jeffrey Epstein associate and wannabe “international deal-maker” Mark Middleton, speaking exclusively to The Steeple Times this morning, Shaun Attwood provided comment to follow up by our two articles this week by Kirby Sommers and Matthew Steeples. The author of Who Killed Epstein? Prince Andrew or Bill Clinton? shared:

“Yet another ‘suicide’ in a long line of suicides #ClintonBodyCount. No surprises here when it comes to the Machiavellian behaviour of the Clinton crime family who’ve left a trail of corpses behind them from Arkansas when Bill was governor to the White House. It is a trail that continues to this day with Jeffrey Epstein and Jean-Luc Brunel.”

Separately, in developing news about the possible move of the “simple shooting party” bestie of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell that is Prince Andrew to Frogmore Cottage and possibly taking over Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle’s home, Matthew Steeples and Shaun Attwood will be live at 7pm GMT on YouTube tonight to discuss this in the fourth episode of Meghan Markle Expose. Follow the link below to tune in.

Editor’s Note – Unlike as is the case in many publications, this article was NOT sponsored or supported by a third-party. Follow Matthew Steeples on Twitter at @M_Steeples.

Follow Shaun Attwood on Twitter at @shaunattwood and purchase his book ‘Who Killed Epstein? Prince Andrew or Bill Clinton?’ by clicking here.

Pictured Top – Former U.S. President Bill Clinton enjoying a jolly on the golf course with Thomas H. Lee and enjoying a bit of a bash at the White House with the sex trafficking fiends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Was the suicide of billionaire friend of Bill Clinton and financier Thomas H. Lee in any way connected to matters about financiers linked to Jeffrey Epstein? #ThomasHLee #ThomasLee #BillClinton #HillaryClinton #ClintonBodyCount #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #EvaAnderson
— Matthew Steeples (@M_Steeples) March 3, 2023

This morning on Twitter, Matthew Steeples asked: “Was the suicide of billionaire friend of Bill Clinton and financier Thomas H. Lee in any way connected to matters about financiers linked to Jeffrey Epstein?” He accompanied the feature with the hashtags #ThomasHLee #ThomasLee #BillClinton #HillaryClinton #ClintonBodyCount #JeffreyEpstein #GhislaineMaxwell #EvaAnderson. As of 11:30am on Friday 3^rd March, 50% of respondents favoured the option: “YES; Eva Andersson etc.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5RMKkC3pkE&list=PLPT_cCpNMvT50d_7cJ55ciKoZEY8q_YPt&index=7
To watch ‘Meghan Markle Expose – Part 4’ click this YouTube link. The 1 hour 15 minute episode first airs at 7pm GMT on Friday 3^rd March 2023. Issues covered primarily focus on the ‘FORGXIT’ saga of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from Frogmore Cottage, but there is also discussion of Prince Andrew and his grifting wife, Sarah, Duchess of York – a woman who has still never confirmed if she repaid the loans she so disgracefully took from the since croaked paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Lee’s body was found in a bathroom at his office at 767 Fifth Avenue, New York at around 11am on 23rd February. The 78-year-old was pronounced dead shortly after. A “family friend and spokesperson” named Michael Sitrick later shared: “While the world knew him as one of the pioneers in the private equity business and a successful businessman, we knew him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, sibling, friend and philanthropist who always put others’ needs before his own.” Just prior to the time of his passing, ‘Forbes’ estimated his worth at £1.7 billion ($2 billion, €1.9 billion or درهم7.3 billion).

The now deceased billionaire (second left) partying with the billionaire businessman CEO of the Kraft Group Bob Kraft, the billionaire hedge fund manager Glenn Dubin and his “allegedly racy” wife Dr Eva Andersson-Dubin. Back in April 2022, ‘The Steeple Times’ featured the story of neighbours of the “decidedly dubious Dubins” slashing the price of their Upper East Side apartment from £25.1 million to £21.2 million. Of this news, a New York realtor told us: “1040 Fifth Avenue certainly has a perky past, but whilst Jackie Kennedy and Generoso Pope Jr. were unlikely bedfellows when they both lived there at the same time, the stench of the Epstein-Maxwell connections of Glenn, Eva and Celina Dubin is actually very off-putting to buyers. Who on earth would want to live next to them? It’s no wonder no one is biting-at-the-bit to snap up the apartment currently on offer and I can only suggest the sellers perhaps put off marketing until these two social misfits move off elsewhere.”

In February 2021, ‘The Steeple Times’ shared an exclusive story courtesy of information supplied by the crusading author of ‘Ghislaine Maxwell: An Unauthorized Biography’ Kirby Sommers concerning Glenn and Eva Dubin. In it, we featured pictures of the vile paedophile Jeffrey Epstein with one of the couple’s daughters on his lap on his notorious sex trafficking private jet. We titled the article: ‘PLANE PERVERTED.’

The house Mr Lee – who went by the self-assigned nickname ‘Tomcat’ as he believed he had “nine different lives” – shared with his second wife Ann Tenenbaum in East Hampton, New York. Of it, the ‘New York Post’ observed: “‘He was regarded as having one of the most admired houses in the Hamptons – Bill and Hillary Clinton were frequent guests, they would regularly stay there,’ the source told ‘The Post.’ The Clintons famously holed up at Lee’s East Hampton pad after the bruising 2008 Democratic primary. ‘He was a regular at Maidstone golf club,’ also, the source noted.”

Both Hillary Clinton and her husband attended the New York funeral service for Brooklyn born Thomas Haskell Lee (27th March 1944 – 23rd February 2023) on Monday 1st March 2023 at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Remarking, Hillary Clinton commented: “Tom was a constant presence. “We’ve shared births and weddings and anniversaries, state dinners at the White House, lively parties from New York City to Martha’s Vineyard to the Hamptons during good times and tough ones. We’re here expressing our gratitude for years as friends, as colleagues and certainly as family members for his long, successful life.” Mr Lee leaves five children – Jesse, Zach, Nathan, Robbie and Rosalie as well as Ann Tenenbaum, the second wife he married in 1996.

Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein and President Bill Clinton at the White House on 29th September 1993. Allegations that Clinton and Maxwell had sexual liaisons that became a full-blown affair have abounded, but remain unconfirmed by either party Equally, Epstein and Clinton travelled together on multiple occasions and clearly shared a mutual liking for young girls also. The former POTUS was most certainly advised about the derelict and deviant actions of the nefarious former taxi driver turned financier, yet conveniently chose to ignore such and to instead accept the dirty devil’s dollar.

March 3, 2023
Mad Maxwell

Ghislaine Maxwell revealed to be not only a mucky madam, but also shown as a woman whom gets mad and bangs tables

‘Bouncing Bob’ (AKA Robert Maxwell) was well-known for his explosive temper and now, it can be revealed his daughter inherited the very same traits.

In a Bloomberg feature yesterday, it was revealed that newly unsealed documents contain evidence of her “anger [boiling] over” and her “[banging] the table in frustration” as she spoke about Virginia Giuffre. Maxwell accompanied the actions by stating:

“I have been so absolutely appalled by [Giuffre’s] story and appalled by the entire characterization [sic] of it and I apologize [sic] sincerely for my banging at the table earlier. It’s borne out of years of feeling the pressure of this entire lie that she has perpetrated.”

With this news, one can now understand why Jeffrey Epstein’s mucky madam is so keen to get herself a desk. Bang, bang.

Epstein’s Erection

Meanwhile elsewhere in Vanity Fair, another side of ‘Mad Maxwell’s’ character was revealed in an article about what she gave her then boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein for his 40^th birthday.

According to a report, supposed “former friend” Christopher Mason – a British transplant to New York whom seems to be the go-to-mouth on the now jailed former heiress – reported that he was commissioned to write and perform a “musical roast” at the celebration.

The key details required in the ditty, according to Mason, were mention “that when Epstein was teaching at Dalton School, he was the subject of many schoolgirl crushes” and that “he had 24-hour erections.”

The cringeworthy “cappella” – performed by Mason, whom was bizarrely instructed to wear Epstein’s karate uniform – went as follows:

    Poor Jeffrey Epstein is 40, oy vey!

    Life must be tough, his hair is already so gray

    He sure looks older, but it’s clear from his smile

    The older he gets, the more juvenile

    Ghislaine is lavishing him with her affections

    She claims he has 24-hour erections

    Sounds like he’s busy, now ain’t that berserk

    How does he find the time to get off to work

    He wakes when the cock crows while everyone slumbers

    He rivals Einstein when crunching those numbers

    He taught at Dalton: The naughty boy blushes

    To think of schoolgirls and all of their crushes

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Maxwell doesn’t apologise- she retreats in the face of adversity. Her atrocious crimes will spill over like a volcano spitting lava- the colour of her face will turn when she is found guilty. 🗣😡😩-🦋 https://t.co/yzKyC0atlu
— Virginia Giuffre (@VRSVirginia) August 22, 2020

Virginia Giuffre took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the latest revelation about Ghislaine Maxwell getting mad.

August 22, 2020
Lawrence Stroll (born Lawrence Strulovitch)

Montreal born “archetypal billionaire,” “fashion mogul” and “Ferrari fanatic” Lawrence Stroll arranged £536 million of funding to save Aston Martin, much of which came from his own very, very deep coffers, in early 2020. Without him, the firm that has manufactured James Bond’s favourite motorcar since 1913 would likely have gone bust for the eighth time after a disastrous flotation “that left the city shaken, not stirred” in 2019. According to Bloomberg, he’s famous for “[taking] over a brand that’s either niche, or in trouble, or both, and beef it up for half a dozen years. Then exit with a tidy profit,” but given his personal interest in both vintage and F1 cars (he led the consortium that bought the Force India F1 team in 2018) this “petrolhead” may allow passion to rule profit for once. Father of two Stroll is based in Geneva and has homes in London, New York, Quebec and on Mustique. He counts Michael Douglas and Sarah, Duchess of York amongst his friends and once remarked of people complaining about his cars and helicopters: “I can appreciate that some people are opposed to noise. And I can understand their desire for tranquillity, in which case they should not move in next to racetracks, airports or ski hills.”

April 21, 2020
Bloomberg on Brexit

Billionaire and former Mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg condemns Brexit as “the single stupidest thing any country has ever done” apart from America electing Donald Trump

As Michael Bloomberg opened a vast new European headquarters in London on Tuesday, The Guardian revealed a series of comments he’d made two weeks ago about Brexit.

In a speech to the HUBweek conference in Boston, Bloomberg condemned the election of Donald Trump but also suggested: “It is really hard to understand why a country [Britain] that was doing so well wanted to ruin it” by voting for Brexit.

Separately, on a previous occasion, this wise man also pointed out: “[Britain] didn’t have an immigration problem and they didn’t need control of their borders. They have the English Channel – that gave them control of their borders.” We join those saluting him.

Mr Bloomberg’s comments in Boston follow:

We are opening a brand new European headquarters in London – two big, expensive buildings. Would I have done it if I knew they were going to drop out? I’ve had some thoughts that maybe I wouldn’t have, but we are there, we are going to be very happy.

My former wife was a Brit, my daughters have British passports, so we love England – it’s the father of our country, I suppose. But what they are doing is not good and there is no easy way to get out of it because if they don’t pay a penalty, everyone else would drop out. So they can’t get as good of a deal as they had before.

I did say that I thought [Brexit] was the single stupidest thing any country has ever done but then we Trumped it.

One of the things that is hurting us both in the United States and in the UK is that we have employees, not a lot but some, who are starting to say: ‘I don’t want to work here – can we transfer to some place else? This country doesn’t like immigrants.’

All this talk in Washington – words have consequences. Whether we change the immigration laws or not, there is general feeling around the world that America is no longer an open, welcoming place and a lot of people don’t want to go there, and the same thing is happening in the UK because of Brexit.

It is really hard to understand why a country that was doing so well wanted to ruin it. It was not a smart thing to do and getting out of it is going to be very difficult and is going to be very painful. It will hurt industries. People are already taking space in other cities over there [Europe], us included.

October 24, 2017
Martin Gets Madder

Convicted former pharmaceuticals executive Martin Shkreli offers a bounty for Hillary Clinton’s hair and threatens to smash up a £1.5 million work by the Wu-Tang Clan

Martin Shkreli is getting madder and madder. Convicted of securities fraud in August and awaiting sentencing, the troubled former drug company executive took to Facebook on 4^th September to offer a bounty of £3,800 ($5,000, €4,200 or درهم18,400) per lock of Hillary Clinton’s hair obtained and is also attempting to auction or destroy the one and only copy of a Wu-Tang Clan album on eBay for £1.5 million ($2 million, €1.7 million or درهم7.3 million).

After 324 bids, the Wu-Tang Clan’s Once Upon A Time In Shaolin album – which Shkreli purchased, he claims, “as a gift to the Wu-Tang Clan for their tremendous musical output. Instead I received scorn from at least one of their (least-intelligent) members, and the world at large failed to see my purpose of putting a serious value behind music” – has already reached a price of just over £759,000 ($1 million, €832,000 or درهم3.7 million).

Accompanying the eBay listing, Shkreli brashly adds:

“At any time I may cancel this sale and I may even break this album in frustration. I will donate half of the sale proceeds to medical research. I am not selling to raise cash–my companies and I have record amounts of cash on hand. I hope someone with a bigger heart for music can be found for this one-of-a-kind piece and makes it available for the world to hear.”

Both the Wu-Tang Clan and Hillary Clinton stunts may backfire. Last Thursday, prosecutors told a court in New York: “[Shkreli is engaged in a] pattern of threats and harassment” and sought for his bail to be revoked. In response, Benjamin Brafman for Shkreli, commented:

“We take the matter seriously and intend to address the issue responsibly… However inappropriate some of Mr Shkreli’s postings may have been, we do not believe that he intended harm and do not believe that he poses a danger to the community.”

Other assets in the multi-millionaire’s possession are said to include a Picasso and an original ‘Enigma’ machine from the Second World War. We jolly well hope he doesn’t threaten to smash them up too.

September 10, 2017
Watching Putin

Patek Philippe watch allegedly originally owned by President Putin to be auctioned; it is said to be worth around £800,000

It’s given owner is potentially #FakeNews, but a watch that is due be auctioned in Monaco in July has been photographed with paperwork that suggests it originally belonged to President Putin.

Said to be worth around £793,000 ($1 million, €903,000 million or درهم3.7 million) according to Bloomberg, the Patek Philippe 5208P ‘Grand Complication’ watch offered is described as “one of the most complicated watches” the firm has ever made. It features a minute repeater, a mono-pusher chronograph and an instantaneous perpetual calendar.

Reportedly sold to a Mr Vladimir Vladimirovic Putin at Watches of Switzerland at Watches of Switzerland in London on a date unknown according to accompanying paperwork, Monaco Legend Auctions will sell the watch on 19^th July.

June 10, 2017
Not So Little Italy

Vast “Italian style” oceanfront mansion in Orange County, CA relaunched for sale for £42.7 million; it has failed to sell at prices as high as £53 million

An 18,000 square foot barn of a residence described as “the finest oceanfront home in SoCal” has been relaunched to the market this month at a price 20% lower than when it was first listed in 2013.

Built in what is somewhat ambitiously termed an “Italian palazzo style” and featuring Spanish tile roofing, five imported European fireplaces and “terrazzo flooring evoking those in The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades”, 2585 Riviera Drive stands on an acre plot in north Laguna Beach’s private Irvine Cove community. It is one of twelve oceanside homes in a gated, 24-hour-a-day guarded community and enjoys “spectacular views” of the Pacific and access to a private beach.

Constructed to the designs of the Warner Group over a period of eight years and completed in 2010, the house offered occupies half of a larger plot owned until 2002 by Joan Irvine Smith, a woman whose family had at one time been the main landowner in the area. It features not only 5 bedroom suites and 9 bathrooms but also a screening room with bar, a 10,000 bottle wine cellar with tasting room and a 6-car garage with hydraulic lift.

Within the grounds stands a guest house that was designed to be “a scaled back replica of Philip Johnson’s Glass House in Connecticut” and a 53-foot brass and glass waterfall made from materials salvaged from a Los Angeles bank. There are also 100-year old olive trees, a rose garden and a pool with cabana and spa.

An aerial shot of the site during construction

The house today with the ocean beyond

Owned by businessman Ronald K. Loder, the founder of RKL Consulting, and his wife Yolanda, 2585 Riviera Drive is for sale with Maxine Laube of Surterre Properties. Of it, in 2013, Mr Loder remarked:

“My wife and I love traveling to Northern Italy, particularly Bellagio and the lake country, where we’ve always admired the architecture… [But] I wouldn’t want [our house] to be construed as Tuscan in any way… Even though we built an Italianate palazzo, we wanted the flavor [sic] of mid-century design around us”.

“We wanted people to know they were stepping into an oceanfront property the moment they arrived”.

The Numbers – 2585 Riviera Drive, Laguna Beach

June 2002 – Land subdivided into three plots; 2585 Riviera Drive sold for sum of $10.5 million (the equivalent of £11.1 million, $14.3 million, €12.7 million or درهم52.5 million today).

July 2013 – Placed for sale for $65 million (the equivalent of £53 million, $68.2 million, €60.5 million or درهم250.6 million today).

May 2017 – Relaunched for sale for $55 million (£42.7 million, €49 million or درهم202 million).

June 5, 2017
Banished by Brexit

HSBC to relocate 1,000 key jobs from London to Paris because of Brexit

Theresa May, a woman more interested in getting het up about Easter eggs than the fate of the British economy, should take note. HSBC are planning on relocating as many as 1,000 of its traders and salespeople from London to Paris due to Brexit.

Representing a section of the firm’s staff that generates a most significant 20% of its revenue, the move accompanies news that the bank’s clients “are asking to book more of their trade and foreign exchange activity in their French operation through [the firm’s] Paris office than their UK” divisions.

On Wednesday, Noel Quinn, head of global commercial banking at HSBC Holdings Plc, told Stephen Morris of Bloomberg Markets:

“Some companies are also evaluating whether to ‘flip’ their regional head offices to European cities from Britain. This would require them to reclassify the UK branch as a country office that would become a subsidiary of the continental headquarters”.

April 13, 2017
The Downfall of The Donald

Could Donald Trump’s ‘Fall of Rome-style’ downfall be triggered by the actions of his very own family?

Donald Trump came to power promising to ‘Drain the Swamp’ of Washington. Thus far he’s made it bigger and though he might think appointing as many cronies and family members as possible to senior positions will protect him, these people could very well ultimately lead to his path to destruction.

The Western Roman Empire’s fall can be attributed to many factors, but key amongst them were distrust, corruption and overspending. Already, in spite of being in office for only two months, Donald Trump is already exhibiting characteristics of all three. Last week, when the Senior Senator Dianne Feinstein suggested the president would “get himself out of office soon”, she referenced Mr Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, opening a new golf course in Dubai. She stated:

“I think sending sons to another country to make a financial deal for his company and then have that covered with Government expenses, I believe those Government expenses should not be allowed. We’re working on a bill that would [deal with] that now”.

Elsewhere, Cosmopolitan remarked on the businessman turned politician’s daughter Ivanka Trump and her “nepotism”. They commented:

“If Ivanka Trump were not the president’s daughter, would she be given a White House office to perform a job that has no description? Of course not. Don’t believe me? Just try calling the White House and asking if you can have some gratis work space at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., one of the most coveted real estate properties on the planet”.

“Answers we need. And since Ivanka is taking advantage of taxpayer-funded resources, taxpayers have every right to ask to know what Ivanka is doing with them. Ivanka’s attorney told Politico she will serve as her father’s ‘eyes and ears’, a job description so vague, not to mention creepy, that it only functions to give the billionaire heiress cover to do whatever she, or her father, wants”.

“Ivanka will continue to pretend she’s a model for working women, applauding herself for having a ‘seat at the table’ with foreign dignitaries… Just remember she’s only sitting in that seat because her daddy let her. That’s not the case for the overwhelming majority of working women in America and we shouldn’t celebrate anyone for whom that is”.

Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, the immensely wealthy son of a felon named Charles Kushner, also presents many a problem. Though he has sold his vast business interests to his mother and brother, “some ethicists say the potential for conflict remains”. In January, Bloomberg remarked: “[Jared] Kushner seems likely to know where the money is invested. His father, convicted in 2005 of witness tampering, illegal campaign contributions and tax evasion, remains central to the company”.

Kushner, a man who has dined with everyone from Tony Blair to Nigel Farage, most certainly showed genius in guiding Donald Trump to manipulate social media on his road to victory. He and his cronies, however, could also be the very same people to guide the 45^th POTUS’ road to downfall.

March 29, 2017
A Working Rolls

1959 Rolls-Royce estate car owned by late industrial tycoon Orin Smith to be auctioned; it was bizarrely designed to include beds and a loud air horn to “blast” cattle off the highway

Florida based businessman and retired CEO of the Engelhard Corporation Orin Smith (1935 – 2016) was passionate about cars and next month, those with deep pockets will be in with a chance to purchase 58 vehicles from his collection that will be sold, mostly without reserve, by RM Sotheby’s at their annual Amelia Island sale on 10^th and 11^th March.

Amongst the eclectic selection of classic and contemporary cars from the late industrialist’s collection is a 1959 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud I estate car by H. J. Mulliner and Radford. One of just two examples, this immaculate short-wheelbase shooting brake was originally supplied to a Robert L. McCormick of Wichita, Kansas and transported to New York on the Cunard flagship Queen Elizabeth.

McCormick kept the car – which features a luggage space that can accommodate items up to 6-foot long – until 1965 and on selling it to a Palm Beach based judge named Lewis M. Schott, penned the new owner a letter that read:

The Radford conversion is a “complete job”. I will explain to your chauffeur and secretary how it makes into beds, etc, etc.

I’ll explain the 3-way horn switch to your employees. I used the loud horn for “blasting” livestock off the Mexican highways.

Finally, I hope you have as much fun out of the car as I have had. It should go 200,000 miles without work on it… A serious sacroiliac precludes long motor trips for me for a few years, and I’m an unhappy warrior when I think about it.

Sold again in 2007 to Florida Roll-Royce expert Richard Gorman, the shooting brake was then subject to an 18-month renovation. It is now presented in velvet green and a sage with parchment leather interior piped in velvet green and features upgraded air conditioning.

Of the overall collection to be sold on behalf of Smith’s family, Don Rose of RM Sotheby’s remarked:

I had the great pleasure of knowing Orin Smith and found him to be a true gentleman in every sense of the word.

In addition to his impressive gathering of some of the finest Rolls-Royce and Bentley automobiles, Orin displayed an eclectic taste with a keen eye for other icons of style, including sporting machinery from pre-war to the best of the contemporary.

The common thread here is beauty, in both design and engineering; fitting for a man of generous spirit devoted to excellence. Because of those qualities, Orin Smith was beloved to the Amelia Island crowd, which makes the offering of his collection at our Amelia Island venue all the more poignant.

Of the shooting brake itself, the auctioneer adds:

Numerous Rolls-Royce shooting brakes exist, but many of them are crude later conversions. This car is a true and authentic coachbuilt original, created to the exacting specifications of its original owner, and restored to that same high standard – air horns and all. Errant cattle, consider yourselves warned.

February 6, 2017