From Prince(ss) to Pauper

bubba said:
While I haven't read any of the blogs yet, I must say that I feel bad for anyone who lost their rightful property (money) via a con man. It was her money and some crook stole it and that's just wrong regardless of how much money we're talking about.
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Most definitely agree on this point. It was her money and she should not have been defrauded.

But I wonder what percentage of blame lies with her (and similar Madoff investors). What kind of due diligence did she conduct? I believe Madoff investors had to be accredited (meeting certain high mininum net worth and earnings thresholds). Being accredited doesn't necessarily entail higher levels of sophistication (based on personal experience with some bozo accredited investors). Sometimes there is no such thing as a free lunch (ie outsized risk free returns), and the buyer/investor should beware.
 
Moemg said:
Okay , am I the only one that feels a little sorry for her ? Yes, she is clueless to how the real world lives and she probably has enough in her jewelry collection to sell and provide some income but her world as she has known it for years is gone and it's not coming back. I've seen people like her many times who were raised in a super wealthy family and they have no clue how the rest of us possibly live .
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No I feel a little sorry for her. She is one of the victims of Madoff madness, and I don't really blame her for sticking all her money with the guy based on the advice of smart successful friends.

I have more sympathy for her than the average "victim" because it sounds like she actually had a real working class job for a short period of time. Still I am pretty sure she will end up ok. She is entertaining writer, has tons of wealthy acquaintances, some of which may actually be friends.

Of course some perspective is in order. Of the 6.5 billion people on earth I bet at least 5 billion would trade places with her in a New York minute.

Penelope :rolleyes:, on the other hand they don't make violins small enough.
 
clifp said:
No I feel a little sorry for her. She is one of the victims of Madoff madness, and I don't really blame her for sticking all her money with the guy based on the advice of smart successful friends.

I have more sympathy for her than the average "victim" because it sounds like she actually had a real working class job for a short period of time. Still I am pretty sure she will end up ok. She is entertaining writer, has tons of wealthy acquaintances, some of which may actually be friends.

Of course some perspective is in order. Of the 6.5 billion people on earth I bet at least 5 billion would trade places with her in a New York.
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...minute!
(sorry, I was oddly compelled to finish that one up for ya. ;))
I'm still trying to feel sorry for her. I just can't get there.
To me it's a case of "Run with the big dogs or get off the porch".
In plain English, if you must run with that kind of company, you will rise and fall accordingly. Otherwise, don't go there.
 
I read through all her blogs (the Madoff victim), partly because she's a good writer. A former magazine editor, she probably will be able to find a job.

Taking her blog at face value, why should you pile scorn on a woman who, having been successful with her career, decided to enjoy her savings and indulge herself in her artwork? Don't we forum members want to kick back, to let our money work for us, and spend time and money to travel or just to relax, than to be our own grease monkey for example? If we have the means, wouldn't we want to stay in nicer hotels (read the thread on Las Vegas travel)?

Now, she claimed to have done some menial work, and has risen up through her own labor, and also due to some luck that she admitted to. She also said to have done some charity work, which I take at face value. Her 40 white shirts, she said, have been accumulated since college (must be much better shirts than mine, which last nowhere as long).

Her main weakness is financial or specifically investment naivete. What has she done to rankle our forum members so much? Is it because of the luxurious environment that she seemed to have taken for granted? I am not so critical, though I have never been in that crowd.

Remember that her job required her to hob knob with the NewYork and Palm Beach elite. Of course you and I are not in that crowd, due to our more pedestrian work life. Be honest now. Don't you think the CEO, CFO, or COO of your company wouldn't take similarly luxurious life for granted? Or your so wonderful politician (insert your favorite one here) would be any different, despite what he/she says to get your vote?

In short, I can't say that I am moved by her story, but no schadenfreude here either.
 
Moemg said:
Okay , am I the only one that feels a little sorry for her ?
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Yes.

The rest of us are admiring a professional who's working her craft (and her audience). She's writing to evoke a reaction, right? What else would she do-- post her old tax returns and her new budget spreadsheets?
 
Nords said:
Yes.

The rest of us are admiring a professional who's working her craft (and her audience). She's writing to evoke a reaction, right? What else would she do-- post her old tax returns and her new budget spreadsheets?
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I am pretty sure doing that would have gotten her more sympathy, and of course 3 pages worth of suggestions from this crowd :)
 
I now have a new blog to read. Thanks!
And yes, I feel sorry for people who, through the unscrupulous dealings of others, are suddenly thrust into new and somewhat unpleasant financial circumstances. She'll get over it, but that doesn't mean it isn't painful for her now.
 
This paragraph makes me not be as empathetic:

I’ve lived a great and interesting life. I love beautiful things: high thread count sheets, old china, watches, jewelry, Hermes purses, and Louboutin shoes. I like expensive French milled soap, good wines, and white truffles. I have given extravagant gifts like diamond earrings. I traveled a lot. In this last year, I've been Laos, Cambodia, India, Russia, and Berlin for my first solo art show. Will I ever be able to explore exotic places again?

Sounds like she had a good life, not sure why she should get much sympathy. How many folks in the world have had as good a life as she has??
 
The point is not that she had to scale down her life, it's how it happened -- if you can't trust your friends, who can you.

In my younger days, I managed 23 retail outlets spread over a relatively large geographic area for a very large conglomerate (120 largest world-wide). I quite often described my job as "juggling a bunch of balls with one hand while protecting my own with the other." The "Bag Lady" (PoRC) apparently didn't understand that concept.

I have empathy for her because she was out of her league but I don't put the blame on her for what happened to
her.
 
RonBoyd said:
I have empathy for her because she was out of her league but I don't put the blame on her for what happened to
her.
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I understand her bitterness. However, in her search for sympathy and empathy she is going overboard. I read in her bio her mom is Greek royalty and her dad was a Harvard physician. She grew up in a tony WASP neighborhood in Connecticut.

This could be her FIRST real hard knock moment in her life. Pretty good for someone in her 50's.........:eek:

I have already lost track of how many times reality and life have dealt me serious blows, and I'm younger than her.......:eek:
 
FinanceDude said:
This could be her FIRST real hard knock moment in her life. ... I have already lost track of how many times reality and life have dealt me serious blows,
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Point well taken. Another reminder that the "rich are different."
 
My favorite part is that I can't quite tell if it is a lampoon. It makes me almost laugh. It isn't a good enough lampoon to quite do that, but it's in the neighborhood.

Ha
 
RonBoyd said:
In my younger days, I managed 23 retail outlets spread over a relatively large geographic area for a very large conglomerate (120 largest world-wide). I quite often described my job as "juggling a bunch of balls with one hand while protecting my own with the other."
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That might be one of my new favorite quotes! I love it...except I don't have any myself. ;) But I was told in my youth by a friend that I walked like I had a pair!
 
Sarah in SC said:
That might be one of my new favorite quotes! I love it...except I don't have any myself. ;) But I was told in my youth by a friend that I walked like I had a pair!
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Hey Kid, you are still in your youth. Love it!

Ha
 
Sarah in SC said:
That might be one of my new favorite quotes! I love it...except I don't have any myself. ;) But I was told in my youth by a friend that I walked like I had a pair!
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Oh, we women have them too. Steven Colbert calls them "Thatchers." That's probably not what Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth I, and Ghengis Khan's mother called theirs, but it works for me. ;)
 
Urchina said:
Oh, we women have them too. Steven Colbert calls them "Thatchers." That's probably not what Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth I, and Ghengis Khan's mother called theirs, but it works for me. ;)
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A few years ago I read a really interesting book, Heroes, Rogues, and Lovers by James McBride Dabbs and Mary Godwin Dabbs. He is a social psychologist at Georgia State University..

Here is a review- http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/10/08/reviews/001008.08bickert.html?_r=1

Anyway, as I remember, although men in general make much more testosterone than women, women's tissues seem to be quite a bit more sensitive to small amounts. So as long as women are getting a supply, mostly ovarian I think and perhaps adrenal also, their whole self and behavior is to a greater or lesser degree influenced by T, just as is true for men.

He went around asking people for saliva samples to map higher and lower testosterone levels in men and women. Probably not the greatest science, but interesting nonetheless.

In both men and women, he found higher T associated with risk taking, pushing limits, and sexuality.

So likely when Colbert refers to a woman's Thatchers, he is right functionally.

As an aside, maybe Sarah or other South Carolinians could tell me whether this author is a son of James McBride Dabbs from Sumter Co, SC, the aristocrat and author who was a prominent civil rights advocate?

Ha
 
haha said:
As an aside, maybe Sarah or other South Carolinians could tell me whether this author is a son of James McBride Dabbs from Sumter Co, SC, the aristocrat and author who was a prominent civil rights advocate?
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I'm not necessarily from SC, but, from wikipedia:

James M. Dabbs, Jr. (1937-2004) was a Social Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Georgia State University.[1] [2]Born in 1937 in Sumter, South Carolina, he obtained his doctorate from Yale in 1962. In 2004, he died from cancer.


He was the son of James McBride Dabbs, well known author and prominent southern liberal during the age of segregation.
 
Sarah and Urchina,

You, of course, have what the "Wife of Bath" called her "bele chose" (pretty thing). There is great value in that.

(My favorite quote from the Wife of Bath, BTW, is: "Forbede us thyng, and that desiren we")

Oh! I seem to have hi-jacked my thread again.
 
Nords said:
Yes.

The rest of us are admiring a professional who's working her craft (and her audience). She's writing to evoke a reaction, right? What else would she do-- post her old tax returns and her new budget spreadsheets?
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haha said:
My favorite part is that I can't quite tell if it is a lampoon. It makes me almost laugh. It isn't a good enough lampoon to quite do that, but it's in the neighborhood.

Ha
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I also read her three pages. I feel like this is a good example of something that I would call "perhaps truthful, but maybe a real good example of great fiction writing". Just because you read it on the internet does not make it factual....especially in a blog.
It seems like these days, even professional journalists get caught up in reading blogs and reporting that as "news" in primetime.
This lady might be all that she says she is, but maybe then she is only a really good fiction writer too.
 
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