Americans may be glad to know that Donald Trump is recession proof. The real-estate mogul, whose autobiography is entitled Think BIG And Kick Ass, recently sold a Florida mansion to a Russian billionaire for $100 million – having bought it for less than half that at a bankruptcy auction. It was on the market for $125 million, but who’s to say the canny old devil wasn’t chancing his arm?
One of The Donald’s young hotshots from the Apprentice was in charge of renovating the 18 bedroom ‘House of Friendship’ – the interior now boasts extensive marble and 24 carat gold bathroom features. Gotta speculate to accumulate, which is what the Russian is doing – this is merely an investment to the Moscow fertilizer billionaire, ranked 59 on Forbes’ most recent list, up 212 places on the previous year (that’s the Manhattan area code, conspiracy-watchers) and 309 (Illinois) above the Donald. In the interest of parity, we should note that Trump disputes Forbes’s valuation up $4 billion to seven – this would jump him to the low 130s.
To anyone who has visited the gaudy hymn to excess that is Trump Tower in Manhattan, the style of decoration inside the Florida sale will come as no surprise. In common with many New York skycrapers, the 58-storey Tower is a miniature tourist attraction; from the shop selling Trump books and golfing merchandise, to the waterfalls, escalators, Moroccan-feel bar and marble-set Starbucks – one can only sit inside and wonder at the sheer scale of it all. And another thing: where on earth did all the marble come from? Visiting the Chrysler Building, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, Central Station and the Empire State, the same question rears its head. That’s a whole lotta marble; it’s two steps to the left of Ancient Rome. The sensation is reinforced by the realisation that the Emperor himself sits aloft the Tower, reclining in penthouse splendour and eating grapes.
London has similar leanings, with the Gherkin, Tower 42, the planned Shard (currently responsible for closing one slightly shoddy bar and a Boots), and Beetham Tower; then there’s the revised Tate Modern extension, which will be quite something if it ever gets built. But none of these, even the Gherkin, boast that bizarre collision of tourism and function that you find in places like 30 Rock, the home of US network NBC; studio tours, interactive experiences, shops – communism has its theme parks, why not capitalism? The atriums to many of these buildings are acknowledged public spaces, even with opening hours to say when. Who ever saw an attraction without opening hours?
News hour, with Jerry Caesar 