Maybe I'm Just Jealous
Which is worse, do you think, for a politician? Taking too many vacations? Or having too many homes?
Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his family now have 8 homes. According to the Daily Mail, the Blairs "have amassed property worth £15million [more than $23M] since Mr Blair entered Downing Street in 1997."
The latest purchase, by Cherie Blair for the couple's 22-year-old daughter, is a "three-bedroom maisonette in a Georgian townhouse in central London." Sounds lovely.
The purchase was made with cash.
Their three eldest children now each have a £1million home in central London, all bought with substantial help from their parents ... A source close to Mr Blair said: 'It started once they bought a flat for Euan, and after that it was only fair that all the children got a helping hand on to the property ladder.
'Most parents would draw the line at spending so much - it's not far off £3.5million [$5.4M] in total - but the Blairs aren't most parents.'
I know, I know. He's out of office. They can do as they please. They are stimulating the economy. Sigh. As someone who is now looking at being a life-long renter, I guess I'm just ... jealous. Yes, that's it.
I guess I should add here that Blair will donate the profits of his soon-to-be published memoirs to charity. That's pretty good.
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Jun '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
"Which is worse, do you think, for a politician? Taking too many vacations? Or having too many homes?"
The proper question is how did they get it? Does anyone believe Hillary Clinton "just got lucky" in cattle futures to the tune of a 100K? Did John Edwards really come by his money representing the little guy in pursuit of justice? Did Charlie Rangel "just forget" to declare income? The questions are all rhetorical, of course.
I'll give Obama his due. He wrote two books about his favorite subject (or had the wisdom to get someone competent to do the drudge work), and then hired the best ad men in the business to market the product. You would think an entrepreneur as good as he is would have more respect for capitalism. Ironic, no?
Jun '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
Things have changed. It's become a truism of modern politics that high profile politicians get rich, if they aren't already (the Clintons are the poster children, but are hardly alone). Book deals, speaking fees, etc. etc.
I tend to agree that it's good old capitalism at work, so long as the gains aren't ill-gotten.
But things have certainly changed since the days when Ulysses Grant had to write his incomparable memoirs while dying of cancer so that his wife would be able to live after his death. One of the ironies is that his memoirs have stood the test of time, while I doubt very much we'll be reading the memoirs of George W or Bill Clinton 150 years from now. Grant actually did something (though not so much as president but as a military commander).
Ursula, just remember, eight houses would not bring you happiness. Think of all the toilets to clean. Wait! If you're rich you can get someone else to clean the toilets. Cancel my last remark.
Edited on Aug 28, 2010 at 7:15amMay '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
Rush is richer than God, and has, like two. My dad has two, but not quite as ritzy. Of course, Jay Leno rarely drives any of his cars, but if that's what people want to spend money on, go for it.
Had I a do-over in life, have a house in Chicago, in New Orleans, and Hot Springs Arkansas.
Jun '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
If you spent as many years as the Blairs did, dealing with British tabloid photographers, maybe you'd want a few safehouses scattered around the country too. It gives the photographers the opportunity to guess wrong.
May '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
I used to own a lake house, Ursula. It was a love/hate relationship. The idea of owning a vacation home is attractive, but the reality of worrying about and maintaining another property is stressful. I love the freedom of a simpler life with one house (and one set of bills). By the way, I have a friend with Tony Blair wealth and I used to be so awed by the number of homes they own all over the world...and the yachts (plural). The 60 foot yachts shuttle you to the 150 foot ones...off the coast of Monte Carlo. It's an astounding level of wealth made from nothing, high risk, stress, and smart, gutsy choices. Hard to resent that. So, here's my crazy comment...it's all too complicated for me. In the ten minutes you first hear about it it sounds romantic and wonderful. Over time, though, I appreciate my simple life and anonymity. It's hard to own a billion dollars and not worry you're someone's target.
Aug '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
For a politician currently holding office? Obviously better to take too many vacations. At least, better for us. The more vacations he takes, the less damage he can do.
Jul '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
I call it Rolodex Wealth. And it's not limited to just the most-prominent, upper-echelon politicians.
Weasel your way into a job as, say, Deputy Attorney General, and before you know it, you'll develop a fat Rolodex. Once you're back out in the private sector, your Rolodex goes platinum.
So when some rent-seeking industrialist or private-equity guy needs the the Interior Minister of Bongo-Bongo to look kindly upon his new venture, he calls you.
You arrange the meeting.
And - voila - next thing you know, you're on the board! Not the rent-seeker's board, of course. That would be unseemly. But there are plenty of boards to go around in the back-scratching universe.
For awhile there, people like, say, Jamie Gorelick and Rahm Emmanuel were practically sitting on each others' laps in the board room of Fannie Mae, for instance.
And John Edwards raked in, what, a half-million dollars for six months of "consulting" for a hedge fund? Not bad for an ambulance-chaser.
It's not what you know....
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
There's a particularly English overlay to this, I think, Ursula. Blair was the leader of the Labour Party, the party of the British workingman, the party whose political base was always the great unions that controlled the coal mines, the ship yards, the railways. Blair spent his entire political career portraying himself as a common man. Now? It's not just that he's gotten rich and invested in real estate. Get a load of his Buckinghamshire home, pictured above, the South Pavilion of Wotton House, as the stately pile is called. In purchasing such a home, Blair has gone and joined the gentry. Brits find this disconcerting because it goes to Blair's very identity. First he was one of us, and now he's one of them?
I myself admired Blair's foreign policy--standing with the United States in Iraq took real guts--while finding his domestic policy appalling. But whether I'm admiring or disdaining the man, I'm with the Brits who find him puzzling.
On the other hand, the house is a beaut, no?
Edited on Aug 28, 2010 at 2:49pmMay '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
I've just wandered onto a set of Masterpiece Theatre.
Beach! The Empress of Blandings needs to be moved from her sty!
Jul '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
Speaking of his vacations. Look at this.
Just a bit different than W on the mountain bike.
Jul '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
I would have been willing to purchase, with federal funds, eight houses for every congressman in D.C. plus vacations, than have that "stimulus" package passed, or obamacare.
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
Michael Tee: Speaking of his vacations. Look at this.
Just a bit different than W on the mountain bike. · Aug 28 at 4:53pm
Yes, Michael, compare that to this. "Just a bit different," indeed!
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
tabula rasa: But things have certainly changed since the days when Ulysses Grant had to write his incomparable memoirs while dying of cancer so that his wife would be able to live after his death. One of the ironies is that his memoirs have stood the test of time, while I doubt very much we'll be reading the memoirs of George W or Bill Clinton 150 years from now. Grant actually did something (though not so much as president but as a military commander).
Ursula, just remember, eight houses would not bring you happiness. Think of all the toilets to clean. Wait! If you're rich you can get someone else to clean the toilets. Cancel my last remark. · Aug 28 at 7:05am
Edited on Aug 28 at 07:15 am
Tabula, I love your U. Grant example. Perfect! And the "think of all the toilets to clean," is a line straight from my mother and grandmother! One of my favorites. However, I don't really want 8 houses. Just one of my very own would be nice.
May '10
Re: Maybe I'm Just Jealous
ROTFL