Money honey - Hindustan Times
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Money honey

Hindustan Times | ByJaydeep Ghosh, New Delhi
Jan 31, 2009 05:18 PM IST

Usually celebrities put ‘money’ last in their order of preference. Do you believe it? I don’t! At least not in the Capital, writes Jaydeep Ghosh.

Every Sunday, when you flip through the pages of HT Brunch, you must be reading the celebrity interview, ‘Personal Agenda’. There’s a question there that asks the celeb to ‘Rate in order of importance: Fame, money, power…’ Invariably the celebrities put ‘money’ last in their order of preference. Do you believe it? I don’t! At least not in the Capital — if one has money, power and fame follow. I have seen it happening myself.

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HT Image

Take the case of a gentleman who was virtually unknown to the Delhi glitterati until recently. I met him through a couple who introduced him as: “Meet my dear (money makes anybody dear) friend. He is an investor in my company.” The average-looking gent hardly muttered a word as we shook hands. A few months later, another respected friend from a royal family, who now advises a luxury brand, was walking out of a fancy restaurant with him. I was yet again introduced to this gentleman — and the introduction was very similar: “He’s a dear friend and one of our valued customers.”

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I started liking the guy. He must be someone quite big for people to hob-nob with him. Slowly, the gentleman was everywhere and the quiet demeanour disappeared. Being a scribe, I couldn’t resist some spadework. He turned out to be a wheeler-dealer rolling in moolah. When a hip nightclub opened in the city, our man booked their premium lounge for a whole year. When he walks into the club he’s escorted straight to his ‘den’, where Dom Perignon flows. For company he may not have great people, but yes, some blonde beauties (who have this kanck of sniffing out the money-bags) hover around him.

Unfortunately, the gentleman acquired a lot of arrogance along with fame and power. Delhi was watching this guy. People wanted to know how much he was worth.

Today, bartenders, lounge lizards and yes, the sassy gold-diggers know the once unknown gentleman. Some of our famous models have befriended him so that they can swim all night in champagne at his den. He is on the guest list of most Delhi parties.

This guy has played his cards well. I was bowled over by the treatment he got at Emporio — the moment he walked in, news spread like wildfire and several sales managers appeared by his side to lure him over to their stores. His reputation of contributing almost 20 per cent to the total sales of a luxury brand precedes him.

I also overheard that he is willing to take all the service apartments that Aman Resorts and Hotels (the erstwhile Lodhi hotel) has to offer. That’s some mind-boggling money power! On the way back, I listened to Lady GaGa’s Money Honey: “That’s M O N E Y, so sexy, I/ Damn, I love the Jag, the jet and the mansion/ Oh yeah/ And I enjoy the gifts and trips to the islands/ Oh yeah.”

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