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.Both client and potentialmates (thousands eager to be picked) had to go through a months-long evaluation process, which included numerous one-on-oneconsultations and a seventy-five-point psychological screening, allintended to determine compatibility on every issue imaginable.With more clients than they could handle, Execumatch appearedto be delivering the goods, their incredibly steep fee happily paidby people with too much money but too little romance in theirlives.And, compared to the cost of a divorce settlement, clientsfelt $100K was a relative bargain.16Others providing advice on how to marry a millionaire offeredthe specific bonus information of who the best catches were—afantasy, of course, but entertaining nonetheless.Writing for Har-per’s Bazaar in 1989, Susan Bidel’s top-twenty ‘‘millionaire bachelors’’ included Steven Jobs who, although his house was stillunfurnished, remained desirable because ‘‘he still loves to work.’’Bill Gates, meanwhile, was a workaholic, ‘‘so you’ll have to speakcomputerese,’’ while Lawrence Ellison’s environmental interestsmeant gold diggers would have to ‘‘bone up on soil erosion andacid rain.’’ Snagging Julio Iglesias meant having ‘‘to put up with amajor groupie problem,’’ while George Lucas had ‘‘been known topal around with Linda Ronstadt, but you never know.’’Even the richest man in the world, the Sultan of Brunei, wasn’tperfect; he already had two wives, but this too was surmountable‘‘if you can get along with the other ladies.’’17 At thirty-nine years old and ruler of one of the world’s tiniest but wealthiest nations,the Sultan was indeed quite the catch for that special lady whoLIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS: 1980 –1994189wouldn’t mind sharing him.With the biggest palace in theworld—a 1,788-room home spread over fifty acres and costing $400million—it wasn’t likely that three wives would bump into eachother in the middle of the night, after all.The palace had its ownmosque, a heliport, and, just in case the in-laws wanted to drop by,eight hundred parking spaces, more than compensating for havingto be one-third of a harem.18Given the stakes involved, experts should probably have offeredmore advice on how to divorce a millionaire.‘‘It’s no longer howwell you wed but how profitably you divorce,’’ said Money magazine in 1983, suggesting readers prepare themselves for what might turnout to be another of the increasing number of here-today, gone-tomorrow marriages to a wealthy spouse.One critical factor, topdivorce lawyers agreed, was how easy a mark your future ex waslikely to be.Corporate executives and entrepreneurs were the bestcatches, attorneys argued, as business types were typically eager tomake a deal quickly, just as with any kind of venture.With OldMoney, however, it was like squeezing water from a rock; thesefolks were trained from birth to preserve capital at all costs.Profes-sionals were stingy too, according to divorce lawyers, especially doc-tors, who, because they could heal people, considered themselvesdivinely exempt from other forms of giving.Lawyers were almostas cheap as doctors, not because of their litigious natures, but be-cause they didn’t want other lawyers to know how much moneythey made.Engineers were, rather predictably, unpredictable,known to be entirely reasonable about the money involved but pre-pared to fight to the bitter end about a particular lamp or table.Jewish husbands, some lawyers thought, were especially giving(‘‘trained to put women on a pedestal,’’ said one), and men whowere having an affair were also ready to open their wallets becauseof the guilt they felt.All in all, then, ‘‘the best marital bet for awoman with divorce in mind would be a wealthy Jewish business-man who has been having a mistress on the side,’’ Money con-cluded, sound advice given the current number of high-profilebreakups among the American rich.19190R ICHBesides marrying the right kind of person when preparing toget a fat settlement should that rainy day come, there were a num-ber of strategies for the future divorceé to keep in mind.Getting(and documenting) as many gifts as possible from one’s wealthypartner during the marriage was vital, lawyers felt, not only becausethey were legally for keeps but to establish the lavish lifestyle towhich the poor soul was accustomed.The dreaded prenup was ano-no, of course, avoidable, one attorney suggested, by the lesswell-off mate by saying (with a trembling lip) that such a thingwould ‘‘undermine the trust and love on which our relationship isbuilt.’’ Joint ownership of big-ticket items—house, car, invest-ments—was always a good idea, naturally, as was running up one’sexpenses to maximize one’s postmarital estimated cost of living.Finally, if a breakup was definitely in the cards, going to a psychia-trist as soon as possible to establish ‘‘mental cruelty’’ was a smartmove.(Checking into an expensive sanitarium to show extremeheartbreak and despair earned extra points with judges, divorcelawyers seriously advised.) Interestingly, some rich husbands weremore than happy to give their wives a big settlement, looking at itas a status symbol of sorts when the amount was ‘‘leaked.’’ Lovewas one thing, after all, but admiration from one’s rich buddiesquite another.20The Contagion SpreadsBased on President Reagan’s 1982 budget address, which promisedtax cuts for the wealthy, aggressive defense spending, cuts in socialprograms, and deregulation, rich men would soon have plenty tobrag about when it came to the size of their divorce settlements.As Reagan’s economic plan kicked in (at the price of record deficits,critics pointed out), signs of recovery appeared in 1983, with unem-ployment and inflation down and the stock market going into highgear.For the American rich, this perfect economic recipe for build-LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS: 1980 –1994191ing wealth, combined with consumers’ (especially baby boomers’)growing obsession with anything smacking of luxury, couldn’t havebeen scripted any better by one of the president’s Hollywoodscreenwriters.21Although shows like Dallas, Dynasty, Knot’s Landing, and Falcon Crest certainly got an ‘‘A’’ for effort, it was Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous that, when it came to capturing the zeitgeist of 1980s style, took the Godiva chocolate cake.The hottest syndicated showon TV in the early eighties, Lifestyles was a shameless celebration of pure, unadulterated materialism, an intentionally over-the-toptrifle that viewers couldn’t get enough of.‘‘For whatever sociologi-cal reasons,’’ wrote Newsweek in 1984, explaining the show’s popularity, ‘‘the ebb and flow of the lumpen’s fascination with the richhas hit a historic high [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]