Former billionaire Halsey Minor files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy
Last October we featured the story of the $25 million Koshland Mansion in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights. The price of the property has now been slashed to $21 million and today its former owner, Halsey Minor, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with liabilities of some $100 million.
An Iraqi medical student and an aspiring actor from Abu Dhabi battle it out for the title “the most beautiful face ever”
Regular readers will recall our having added Omar Borkan Al Gala to our roll call some time ago. He was deported from Saudi Arabia as authorities there deemed him “too sexy” and since, with the ensuing press attention, he’s landed a part alongside Homeland’s Navid Negahban (who plays Abu Nazir in the series) in a short film titled 51.
The Steeple Times asks The Palm’s supervisor Ezio Arceri: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”
The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom”. What’s your guiding force?
My family and girlfriend.
“Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?
“Let’s do it”.
Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2013?
Who is Kerry Katona? That the average life is just 90 years. People should live longer.
Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?
My family as I am far away from them.
What might you swap all your wealth for?
I’m happy as I am.
Donald Trump was once a case of: “If you owe the bank a thousand, they close you down; but if you owe the bank a billion, you own the bank”. What’s your view on the banking crisis?
I hope to be saved.
What phrase or word do you most loathe?
“As soon as possible”.
In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home”. What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?
I think charity is the bloodline of the community and I support the Red Cross.
The judge in Law Abiding Citizen states: “I can pretty much do whatever I want” before being blown up whilst answering her mobile phone. What’s your view on the appropriate use of such devices?
They are useful but they are like the demon in that they are intrusive.
If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?
Friends, family and my girlfriend.
If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?
A 30oz prime USDA New York strip steak from The Palm. I would eat it in the bedroom I had as a teenager.
What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?
It depends on what time you wake up.
A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?
A Negroni.
Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?
When they are unexpected.
Who is the most positive person you know?
My mama.
What’s your most guilty pleasure?
I don’t know. I’m a good guy.
If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?
I have a tattoo and I designed it myself. It is full of meanings relating to letters, faces, butterflies, spirals, happy faces, sad faces and jackals. It is about freedom.
If you were a car, what marque would you be?
A Mercedes-Benz. I own a left-hand drive C-class with a British plate. I imported it to the UK.
Cilla Black presented Surprise, Surprise. Tell us the most surprising thing about you.
I’m always happy.
What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?
I don’t have one but if I did, pictures of my family.
Ezio Arceri is the supervisor at The Palm, 1 – 3 Pont Street, London, SW1X 9EJ. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7201 0710. Website: http://www.thepalm.com/London
Follow him on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/Arcezioo
Follow The Palm London on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/PalmLondon
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A self-made mogul and former champion boxer who cannot read or write fluently. He thinks “differently” and built a £400 million fortune by creating and then selling a buy-to-let empire of almost 6,000 rental properties. Panayiotou takes the view that it is “moral[ly]” right to pay taxes in Britain and of those who call Heath Hall, a £65 million property he developed in North London, as “impersonally hideous as a brothel”, he rightly responds: “These guys are just jealous”. This maverick is indeed a businessman worthy of admiration rather than envy.
The revival of the shooting brake
The 2012/2013 shooting season may well be over, but one of Italy’s finest automotive design houses, Bertone, are about to showcase a shooting brake they have created to coincide with Aston Martin’s centenary and their having worked with the English brand for 60 years at the 2013 Geneva International Motor Show.
This billionaire former president of the Bank of Moscow lives in exile in London and is on the Interpol Red Notices wanted list as a suspect in a £136 million (13 billion rouble) fraud. (more…)
The ultimate souvenir of the 2012 Olympics?
On Friday 27th July, a boat sped up the Thames that was watched by an estimated 900 million people across the globe. That craft, a Bladerunner BR RIB 35, was piloted by David Beckham and also carried Bladerunner’s managing director Jeremy Watts and the Olympic torch.
The boat’s journey under Tower Bridge was accompanied by a crescendo of pyrotechnics and complete with gadgets that numbered four smoke emitting dummy rockets, a high pressure waterjet bar and dozens of LED lights, it formed a significant part of the Danny Boyle orchestrated display that opened the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Now, the very same “heavily customised” boat is available for sale and will be auctioned on the 3rd December by at Mercedes-Benz World Brooklands. A price guide of £250,000 has been set for what Bonhams call the “ultimate Olympic souvenir.”
For more details on the 3rd December 2012 Bonhams Collectors’ Motor Cars and Automobilia auction telephone +44 (0) 20 7447 7447 or go to: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20148/
The early demise of Maybach
Last week, Damiler AG closed down the Maybach brand earlier than expected. Having lost $1 billion on a brand that failed to steal market share from Rolls-Royce and Bentley, the company plainly realised waiting until 2013 would not help recoup a single dollar of their investment.
Priced between £279,095 and £367,490, these luxury vehicles failed to capture the imaginations of the rich. Other than Madonna, Samuel L. Jackson and Jay-Z, most found themselves used by hotels and upscale corporations. They were vehicles that had to be chauffeur driven and ones that lacked the versatility of, for example, the Bentley Mulsanne which are as regularly owner driven.
Here, therefore, we feature a picture of a Maybach in a burnt out woodland setting complete with a Lady Gaga lookalike. We declare it The Steeple Times picture of the week.
May the Maybach rest in peace.
Former restaurateur whose family are city legends. His pride and joy is a classic Mercedes-Benz Grosser and he’s often to be found propping up the bar at La Brasserie teaching Cockney rhyming slang. A maestro in the kitchen, feasts by him are hugely sought after.
