The Steeple Times

Tag: Money

  • Trevor Abrahmsohn: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    Trevor Abrahmsohn: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

    The Steeple Times asks Trevor Abrahmsohn, the founder and managing director of Glentree Estates: “What’s on your mantelpiece?”

     

    The Steeple Times shares “wit and wisdom.” What’s your guiding force?

    Knowledge and charm.

     

     “Don’t get even, get medieval” is, in our humble opinion, a great motto. What’s yours?

    The ninth ‘no’ is a precursor to yes!

     

    Kerry Katona was considered unacceptable in 2007. Who or what is unacceptable in 2012?

    Vince Cable.

     

    Tony Blair misses being Prime Minister. What do you miss most in your life?

    Making money more easily.

     

    What might you swap all your wealth for?

    Good health if mine were failing.

     

    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?

    An accident that was waiting to happen.  No surprise there.

     

    What phrase or word do you most loathe?

     ‘Elf’ and Safety!

     

    In the UK, some people consider charity to “begin at home.” What’s your view and what causes do you personally support?

    A multiplicity of good causes with a significant percentage of our turnover donated to children’s cancer charities, Make A Wish Foundation and Jewish Care.

     

    The judge in “Law Abiding Citizen” states: “I can pretty 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 one of the most important building blocks in the post Thatcher liberated society and are responsible for the explosion of the service industry amongst others.  It is one of the most important innovations for both business and pleasure.

     

    If you could fill a carriage on The Orient Express, who would be your fellow passengers?

    Peter Ustinov, Frank Sinatra, Stephen Hawkins, Margaret Thatcher, John Barry, Ernie Bilko and Arthur Lowe.

     

    Trevor Abrahmsohn of Glentree Estates

    If you were unfortunate enough to end up on death row, what would be your last meal and where would you eat it?

    A mighty New York strip steak with Idaho potato and salad in Palm Beach, Florida, looking at the sea.

     

    What time is it acceptable to consume the first drink of the day?

    7.30pm.

     

    A Negroni, a martini or a cup of tea?

    A Martini.

     

    Whose parties do you enjoy the most and why?

    The fun and informal ones with lots of laughter and cheer.

     

    Who is the most positive person you know?

    My wife and mother.

     

    What’s your most guilty pleasure?

    Too much good food.

     

    If a tattoo were to sum you up, what would it be of?

    99% good 1% bad!

     

    If you were a car, what marque would you be?

    A classic Aston Martin.

     

    Cilla Black presented “Surprise, Surprise.” Tell us the most surprising thing about you.

    My 14 handicap.

     

    What’s currently sitting on your mantelpiece?

    A father’s day card from my children.

     

    Trevor Abrahmsohn is best known for selling “trophy” homes and has dealt with the majority of the sales on London’s “Billionaire’s Row,” The Bishop’s Avenue. His firm, Glentree Estates, is situated at 698 Finchley Road, London, NW11 7NE. Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8458 7311. Website: http://www.glentree.co.uk

  • Vincent Tchenguiz

    Vincent Tchenguiz

    This Mayfair based property tycoon was born in Tehran and owns a Mangusta motor yacht named “Veni Vidi Vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”). His Rolls-Royce Phantom, numberplate “2V,” is often spotted outside London’s finest establishments and an SFO investigation into his business affairs has now been sensibly put to bed.

  • Scott Disick

    Scott Disick

    This reality television star commented of himself: “I may be a douche to some people, but I actually do run companies. I make a lot of money, and I’m more than capable of supporting myself.” The father of a child by Kourtney Kardashian, Disick owns a restaurant in New York’s Meatpacking District, generally sports Tod’s and boasts an extensive car collection. Sadly one is chrome wrapped.

  • Leslie "Les" Allen-Vercoe (also known as Les Vercoe)

    Leslie "Les" Allen-Vercoe (also known as Les Vercoe)

    This property developer tried to sell Britain’s ugliest crib, Updown Court at Windlesham in Surrey, for £70 million in 2008. It languished on the market for years and looked like a cross between a Tesco store and Center Parcs. The mansion included five swimming pools, a heated marble driveway and 103 rooms. Nobody loved it but after it was repossessed in 2011, it was finally sold on for £35 million. Meanwhile, Allen-Vercoe appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court in 2012 in relation to a case involving the £10 million mortgage fraudster Joanne Sarah Pier (also known as Zoe May Fletcher and Maria Micheala). He was cleared.

  • Karen Matthews

    Karen Matthews

    She told “The Mother Of All Lies” when she arranged for her degenerate boyfriend to help her kidnap her own daughter, Shannon, in 2008. She hid the poor child under a bed and basked in the media attention. Not being very bright was what resulted in her being caught and resultantly she failed to collect a reward of some £50,000. Matthews was jailed for eight years but released in April 2012. Goodness knows what this simpleton will do next.

  • Dmitry Rybolovlev

    Dmitry Rybolovlev

    This billionaire businessman started out in medicine but soon moved into commerce realising that enterprise would better provide for his family. He was imprisoned on falsified charges of contract murder for 11 months in 1996. Subsequently cleared, Rybolovlev then went on to make his fortune in potassium and banking. This divorced father of two has used his fortune to fund the restoration of many of Russia’s churches and also bought Donald Trump’s former residence, The Masion de L’Amitie in Palm Beach, Florida, for $95 million in 2008. This risk taker also parted with another $88 million in December 2011 to purchase New York’s most expensive apartment for his 22-year old daughter. Rybololev’s passions are surfing and 19th and 20th century art.

  • Donald Trump Sr.

    Donald Trump Sr.

    The Donald is an example of the case of if you owed the bank £5,000, they’d close you down but if you owed the bank £5 billion, you own the bank. (more…)

  • A chic serpent

    A chic serpent

    A review of Roberto Cavalli Vodka

    The Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is best known for using exotic wild animal prints in his creations and for giving jeans a “sand-blasted look” that has become the standard style for the majority of brands.

     

    Roberto Cavalli

     

    Born in 1940 in Florence, Cavalli sells his main lines in over 50 countries and owns various clothing brands as well as producing watches, perfumes and eyewear. Married to Eva Düringer, who he met when he was a judge at the Miss Universe 1977 pageant, Cavalli’s success is often attributed to his success at maximising returns from “celebrity endorsement.” Victoria Beckham, Halle Berry, Brigitte Bardot, Mary J Blige, Elton John, Sean “P Diddy” Coombs, Kate Moss and Shakira all number amongst his muses and customers.

     

    The father of five children from two marriages, Cavalli chose the symbol of the snake as the mascot for his fashion house and most of his inspiration is said to come from nature itself. His brands especially prospered in the United States after the plot of an entire episode of Sex and the City centred upon a Roberto Cavalli dress but it is his wife who is credited with transforming his business fortunes. “I was thinking maybe to stop,” Cavalli told Time International, “… but then Eva became interested so I started—for her—to involve myself again.” Today, his net worth is estimated at $500 million.

     

    Roberto Cavalli Vodka

     

    After being told about Roberto Cavalli Vodka, I got in touch with Tommaso Cavalli, the eldest son of Roberto Cavalli, who has built himself a successful career breeding horses and developing the family’s wine and spirit range. Based in Chianti, where the family also produce their Tenuta Degli Dei range of wines, Tommaso Cavalli, in a 2010 interview for DNA India, suggested:

     

    “When people hear about Cavalli Vodka or Wine, they want to try [it] out because of the name.”

     

    This indeed tallies as there have been various attempts at cashing in on fashion and celebrity in the vodka market in recent years. Most, though, have floundered or been trounced as shoddy attempts to take on Grey Goose and Belvedere. I haven’t heard, for example, much of Donald Trump’s vodka since 2006 and critics described it as one that “will produce a not-so luxurious hangover.” Roberto Cavalli Vodka, launched in 2005, however, has deservedly proved itself truly to be an exception to this trend.

     

    Tommaso Cavalli pictured with his family’s vodka

     

    Packaged in a stylish frosted bottle, this is one that has been designed to look elegantly sophisticated. Tall and slender, with an appropriately snake like climbing up it, this is a bottle that suitably reflects the “ultra premium status” of Cavalli’s brands.

     

    The vodka itself is 40% ABV and uniquely is made entirely in Italy. The purest water is taken from the Monta Rosa slopes and the finest of grains come from the valleys where the South-Western Alps meet the River Po, Italy’s longest river. Filtration through flakes of Italian Carrara marble results in a taste that I found subtly peppery with a slight hint of citrus. Roberto Cavalli Vodka, as a result, makes a perfect martini but also works well in long drinks.

     

    Of the vodka that bares his name, Roberto Cavalli concludes:

     

    “I love the pureness of vodka, especially of my vodka: it is like water and fire coming together in a single element.”

     

    If you’re looking to add an element of style to your drinks cabinet, make sure you add a bottle of Roberto Cavalli Vodka. It can only add to your status as one who’ll be considered both super cool and super chic.

     

    For more information on Roberto Cavalli Vodka, go to: http://www.robertocavallivodka.com

     

    Purchase Roberto Cavalli Vodka through TheDrinkshop.com for £48.95 for a 70cl bottle at: http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=3682

     

    Follow Roberto Cavalli on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/roberto_cavalli