Lady Barbara Amiel, owner of an astounding collection of couture, author of an article entitled "Why Women Marry Up," and wife of disgraced press baron Conrad Black, notably turned to columnist Mark Steyn during her husband's fraud trial and asked him, "Do they all hate us?"
In a word, yes.
And it turns out her extravagant 60th birthday part at La Grenouille was just the tip of the iceberg.
Reports the New York Times:
In an article in Vogue magazine in 2002 during which she gave a writer a tour of her vast haute couture wardrobe, she declared — jokingly, she later insisted — “I have an extravagance that knows no bounds.” At that time, shareholders were complaining about payments to Mr. Black and other senior executives and shell companies at Hollinger International…
Mr. Black had placed his wife, who wrote columns for The Telegraph, on the company board and appointed her vice president for editorial at the company. The subsequent internal investigation into the company’s finances that led to Mr. Black’s ouster and escalating legal troubles described her executive duties as “nothing more than euphemisms for ordinary activities such as reading the newspaper, having lunch, and chatting with her husband about current events.”
Now, just days after Conrad Black was convicted on three counts of mail fraud and obstruction of justice, word has it Lady Black has every intention of writing a book chronicling her husband's fraud trial, in a project tentatively titled "The Time I Was Nearly Reduced To Shopping At Banana Republic, And Other Horror Stories."
Barbara Amiel is beautiful, intelligent, accomplished and loyal.Those who trash her generally do so because they are envious and or anti-semitic. Both are default positions for miserable people.
Yes she had a lavish life style but no more so than many of the celebrities and socialites who are glorified on this and other gossip sites.
The Blacks have also been very philanthropic but you rarely hear of it because they don't court publicity like Brangelina or Madonna who are also millionaires many, many times over.
Conrad Black was found innocent on 32 of 42 charges and the others may well be reversed on appeal. Fairness may be boring but the rich deserve it no less than ordinary people.
For someone who believes so staunchly in fairness, you were rather quick to label us "envious," "anti-semitic" and "miserable," no?
Apparently I struck a nerve as my comments were directed at her critics as a group and not particularly at you. But now that you mention it the quotes you selected and the snide way you present her does seem to prove the point. Maybe quotes from her admirers are too positive for your site.