EX-CITY TRADER TO TURN LOTTERY OF LIFE INTO HIT TELEVISION SHOW
AVID readers of this column might remember the name of Andrew Paul, the ex-Nomura trader who quit his lucrative job to concentrate on a new venture selling tickets for the chance to win his £1.1m mansion, £160,000 Aston Martin DBS and £200,000 luxury motor boat.
Paul is provisionally set to net himself millions from his new business, www.winanewlife.com, when entries close in a month’s time – after all, he is selling each ticket for £20.
But the enterprising chap tells me he has his sights set on something even bigger, having recently opened discussions with a major Hollywood producer to launch a reality TV show based on the original game.
“The US game is supposed to launch in January 2010, with people buying tickets to buy properties in places like Hollywood Boulevard,” he gushes, unable to contain his pride. “And the producer wants to sell it around the world, too – if it succeeds, it should be a rival to the likes of the X Factor…”
The Capitalist bets Simon Cowell will be licking his lips at the thought of doing battle with yet another reality TV phenomenon for the Saturday night prime-time slot.
HOT FUZZ
City slickers who prefer the clean-shaven look to cultivating facial fuzz might want to enjoy their smooth cheeks while they last. You see, the month of November every year sees an uncanny number of gentlemen putting away their razors in favour of growing weird and wonderful moustaches, to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Charity. More than 16,000 people took part in the UK last year, culminating in a party in London at which prizes were given for the most magnificently hirsute specimens. Good luck to all getting involved.
BACK HANDER
To the London Press Club Ball last week for a slap-up dinner and dancing at the Brewery on Chiswell Street. Guests, as usual, were fleeced for as much as they could afford to give to charity, with one attempt involving sticking an initialled tenner in a brown envelope.
Glad to see the table hosts were mindful of appearances even after a few glasses of bubbly, though – as evidenced by a very sensible chappy from BAE Systems, which is at present embroiled in an ongoing bribery dispute with the Serious Fraud Office.
“I’m not sure I should be seen slipping notes into brown envelopes,” he joked, clearly able to see the funny side.
IN FOR A PENNY…
It’s good to see Larry McDonald popping back up in the news after the publication of his book about the collapse of Lehman Brothers, “A Colossal Failure of Common Sense”.
McDonald has just returned from sunny California, where he’s been building a new career as a conference speaker. How refreshing to see someone raking in the pennies off the back of Lehman’s financial black hole.