New York Has a Soft Spot for Fabulists and Operators
September 23, 2023 4:00 AM Subscribe
Perhaps, in this era of impostor syndrome, everyone feels like they’re pretending to be someone other than themselves. So the real artistes of the medium, the ones who go all the way—they fascinate us. from Kyle Deschanel, the Rothschild Who Wasn’t [Vanity Fair; ungated]
Related: On the Rothschilds’ Myth in Literature and Film
Related: On the Rothschilds’ Myth in Literature and Film
You have to understand that when Vanity Fair says "New York" they don't mean the entire city and all of the people who live IN New York. They only refer to the people who live ON TOP OF New York. It's pretty much right there in the magazine name.
posted by srboisvert at 5:08 AM on September 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by srboisvert at 5:08 AM on September 23, 2023 [9 favorites]
You have to understand that when Vanity Fair says "New York" they don't mean the entire city and all of the people who live IN New York.
Yeah, I know - I'm pushing back against the notion that that "is" New York, which is a notion many outside the city have.
Part of it? Sure. The entirety of it? Fuggedaboutit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:40 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yeah, I know - I'm pushing back against the notion that that "is" New York, which is a notion many outside the city have.
Part of it? Sure. The entirety of it? Fuggedaboutit.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:40 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
EmpressCallipygos: Can I say, on behalf of my hometown - no we fucking don't.
Sure we do. Game respects game.
posted by dr_dank at 5:42 AM on September 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
Sure we do. Game respects game.
posted by dr_dank at 5:42 AM on September 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
Sure we do. Game respects game.
Whaddya mean "we"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Whaddya mean "we"?
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:54 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
***knuckles crack menacingly***
posted by dr_dank at 6:02 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by dr_dank at 6:02 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Very interesting. After a while, I got bored and confused by all the names and rich people things. We got an idea of the person he claimed to be and hints of who he really was, but I would have liked that in fewer words with more time & detail spent on where he came from. That's the fascinating part! Is that Orthodox community too insular to get enough info to hold up a bigger chunk of the article? Or is vanity fair more rich ny-centric?
My most urgent question though: are fundraising decks a fancy name for a fricken powerpoint? I had to look up the definition and they keep calling it a "presentation" so...
posted by Baethan at 7:09 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
My most urgent question though: are fundraising decks a fancy name for a fricken powerpoint? I had to look up the definition and they keep calling it a "presentation" so...
posted by Baethan at 7:09 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Is that Orthodox community too insular to get enough info to hold up a bigger chunk of the article? Or is vanity fair more rich ny-centric?
My hunch is a bit of both; for Vanity Fair, think like the New Yorkers of Six Degrees of Separation or Whit Stillman's Metropolitan. WASP-y, rich, usually living within walking distance of Central Park and with kids who go to boarding schools. So - not only is the Orthodox community mentioned in the article probably fairly insular, it's...in New Jersey, and thus part of the "Bridge-and-Tunnel crowd".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:41 AM on September 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
My hunch is a bit of both; for Vanity Fair, think like the New Yorkers of Six Degrees of Separation or Whit Stillman's Metropolitan. WASP-y, rich, usually living within walking distance of Central Park and with kids who go to boarding schools. So - not only is the Orthodox community mentioned in the article probably fairly insular, it's...in New Jersey, and thus part of the "Bridge-and-Tunnel crowd".
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 7:41 AM on September 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
New York has tons of nouveau riches.
Most nouveau riche are proud that they made their money themselves, are amused by old money's foibles and have outright disdain for celebrities.
However, a small (in percentage terms) but large (in raw numbers) of nouveau riches desperately want to get into old money and celebrity circles, and are super easy marks for anything that might do that. While some of this is in a sense legitimate (write a big enough check to a fancy enough charity, and you can definitely hang out with a movie star or an Archduchess for an evening), some of this can be outright fraudulent.
posted by MattD at 8:00 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Most nouveau riche are proud that they made their money themselves, are amused by old money's foibles and have outright disdain for celebrities.
However, a small (in percentage terms) but large (in raw numbers) of nouveau riches desperately want to get into old money and celebrity circles, and are super easy marks for anything that might do that. While some of this is in a sense legitimate (write a big enough check to a fancy enough charity, and you can definitely hang out with a movie star or an Archduchess for an evening), some of this can be outright fraudulent.
posted by MattD at 8:00 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Can I say, on behalf of my hometown - no we fucking don't.
And yet, Eric Adams.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:43 AM on September 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
And yet, Eric Adams.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:43 AM on September 23, 2023 [7 favorites]
Wow, I knew he was a fraud when I started reading this as I haven’t seen him at any of the family gatherings. I’d like to write more about this but I’m headed to Chamonix for a meeting. Anyway, if any of my close metafilter friends would like to get in on the ground floor on some amazing investment opportunities I’ll have Gretchen, my assistant, send you the term sheets. I’d do it myself but the jet has terrible wifi. Toodles!
posted by misterpatrick at 10:12 AM on September 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
posted by misterpatrick at 10:12 AM on September 23, 2023 [8 favorites]
Of all the first names he could he picked and he went with Kyle?
posted by Syllables at 10:17 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Syllables at 10:17 AM on September 23, 2023 [2 favorites]
Yes, a deck is essentially a PowerPoint but with a specific format and including a certain kind of financial details / projections and information about the business’ team and plan for growth etc etc. This is why the investor quoted said it “was a real deck” - it had the information in it that was required to start thinking about a deal and wasn’t someone’s obvious attempt at bullshitting it
posted by thedaniel at 10:19 AM on September 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by thedaniel at 10:19 AM on September 23, 2023 [3 favorites]
A fun thing about old money is its inexorable decline to plebian habits. Plenty of Kyles and Kiaras these days even in the bluest of bloods.
posted by MattD at 11:28 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by MattD at 11:28 AM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
I got such a rush of Dominick Dunne nostalgia reading this.
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:06 PM on September 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 2:06 PM on September 23, 2023 [6 favorites]
I...know someone on the edge of this story! Who says it's a lie that elite colleges benefit poor students by enrolling legacies???
posted by praemunire at 5:09 PM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by praemunire at 5:09 PM on September 23, 2023 [1 favorite]
Plus, the deck said, Stampede already had movies in the pipeline, including an adaptation of the video game Dance Dance Revolution. Target leads: Channing Tatum and Zendaya. Tagline: “The world is on the brink of destruction—only by uniting in dance, can humanity be saved.”
...my god what am I doing with my life...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:26 AM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
...my god what am I doing with my life...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:26 AM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
I've been reading for a long time and I'm only halfway through. I'm waiting for an unraveling to start, but these paragraphs of rich/famous porn just go on and on. Maybe the next paragraph.... no, maybe the next, no, just names and money again.
I'm beginning to think this isn't just the setup, but is actually what people read the magazine for.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 9:22 AM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
I'm beginning to think this isn't just the setup, but is actually what people read the magazine for.
posted by Rich Smorgasbord at 9:22 AM on September 24, 2023 [2 favorites]
no, maybe the next, no, just names and money again.
It's interesting in this context because it allows you to track how the scammer gains social legitimacy. But this is actually not a great autopsy of the scam, links seem to be missing--how did he afford the rental in the first place, and did the realtor not confirm he had a suitable income?
posted by praemunire at 10:23 AM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's interesting in this context because it allows you to track how the scammer gains social legitimacy. But this is actually not a great autopsy of the scam, links seem to be missing--how did he afford the rental in the first place, and did the realtor not confirm he had a suitable income?
posted by praemunire at 10:23 AM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
links seem to be missing
It's true - and really, it feels like all the relevant links are missing. Here's this very smart, talented Rabbi who decides... like it says somewhere in TFA (and both my favourite section and a huuuuuge suggestion of a far, far more interesting story somewhere in all this,
A source within the Orthodox community told me about something of a pattern among some of its most ardent religious scholars who devote their lives to study and need ways to blow off steam. A very small percentage—maybe 1 percent this source estimated—go on tropical vacations alone, or jaunts through Europe, or might even take a few forays into Manhattan nightlife.
“There are many Aryeh Dodelsons who are not Aryeh Dodelson,” Henry said.
The only point that is not quite clear to me is how close was Aryeh to actually pulling off this crazy scheming? Because as I remember ... the woman who pretended she was representing a German Art foundation - she was two deals away from pulling it off. And then there's Christophe Rocancourt/Rockefeller who did live off his scheme for a bunch of years...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:39 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's true - and really, it feels like all the relevant links are missing. Here's this very smart, talented Rabbi who decides... like it says somewhere in TFA (and both my favourite section and a huuuuuge suggestion of a far, far more interesting story somewhere in all this,
A source within the Orthodox community told me about something of a pattern among some of its most ardent religious scholars who devote their lives to study and need ways to blow off steam. A very small percentage—maybe 1 percent this source estimated—go on tropical vacations alone, or jaunts through Europe, or might even take a few forays into Manhattan nightlife.
“There are many Aryeh Dodelsons who are not Aryeh Dodelson,” Henry said.
The only point that is not quite clear to me is how close was Aryeh to actually pulling off this crazy scheming? Because as I remember ... the woman who pretended she was representing a German Art foundation - she was two deals away from pulling it off. And then there's Christophe Rocancourt/Rockefeller who did live off his scheme for a bunch of years...
posted by From Bklyn at 12:39 PM on September 24, 2023 [1 favorite]
It's interesting in this context because it allows you to track how the scammer gains social legitimacy. But this is actually not a great autopsy of the scam, links seem to be missing--how did he afford the rental in the first place, and did the realtor not confirm he had a suitable income?
This probably means VF is either protecting a source or a friend, maybe an advertiser, from the embarrassment of being included.
posted by srboisvert at 2:49 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
This probably means VF is either protecting a source or a friend, maybe an advertiser, from the embarrassment of being included.
posted by srboisvert at 2:49 PM on September 24, 2023 [4 favorites]
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Can I say, on behalf of my hometown - no we fucking don't.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:23 AM on September 23, 2023 [7 favorites]