The 14th annual record of notably social individuals from politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.
Enrico and Andrea Cecchi (Photo by Joseph Allen)
A
Mr. and Mrs. JAMES ABDO (Mai)
Mr. and Mrs. WILLIAM ABEL-SMITH (Mimi)
The Honorable and Mrs. TYLER ABELL (Bess)
The Honorable DAVID C. ACHESON
Mr. GLEN ACKERMAN and Mr. ERNESTO SANTALLA
Mr. THEO ADAMSTEIN and Ms. OLVIA DEMETRIOU
A stubborn, aggressive nor’easter pelted Washingtonians with four days of non-stop rain, combined with skin-biting wind and chilly temperatures. But it didn’t stop Washington Life and Gold Cup aficionados from having a great time!
By John Arundel
Carissa Maguire, Lauren Pomponio, Keri Ann Meslar. Photos by Kyle Samperton.
If J. Barbour & Sons had set up shop Saturday at the The International Gold Cup races in The Plains, they might have set a world record for same-day sales of British-made sporting jackets. Barbour’s sturdy wax cotton jackets were much in evidence at the 70th running of the renowned race meeting, as were North Face Arctic Pullovers, Chillkats and insulated Windstopper jackets.
Angus and Sissy Yates and Dana and Timothy Rooney joined our photo shoot at the newly renovated and redubbed Fairfax Embassy Row Hotel.
This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth, or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include “The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and The Blue Book of Washington, which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although its thin Washington edition was merged into a much larger 12-city national version in the 1980s.
A key difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” of addresses and contact information, schools attended, club and yacht listings, and the like. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasureably to Washington’s political, diplomatic and cultural scene. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the thousands of entries in other directories, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is a relatively small effort. As far as “official Washington” is concerned, we include only a select few of the more sociable (“dining out,” as they were once so charmingly called) members of the Congress, Cabinet, and Supreme Court.
The 13th annual record of notably social personalities from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.
By Kevin Chaffee
John Pyles and Barbara Harrison
This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and the Blue Book of Washington, D.C., which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although it merged its thin Washington volume into a much larger 12-city national version back in the 1980s.
A major difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” containing addresses and contact information, much less schools attended, club memberships and yacht listings. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasurably to their city, and by extension, their country and the world. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the many thousands of entries contained in other directories past and present, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is relatively small. We do not see the need to include every member of the Congress, Cabinet or Court (i.e., Supreme), much less all those with top jobs listed in the “Plum Book” of political appointments.
The 16th Annual Record of the Washington Social Scene.
Deborah and Curtin Winsor III, Kathy Kemper and Jim Valentine, and Francis Colt de Wolf III and his wife Nathalie de Wolf, stroll the iconic Peacock Alley in the Willard InterContinental Washington while enjoying a few fine flutes of bubbly off the champagne cart. Photo by Clay Blackmore
“A beautiful summer week-end with a few dear friends at our farm in Middleburg.” – Roger and Vicki Sant
“I enjoyed listening to my friend Rima at her baby shower talk about how much fun it was being pregnant, she was enjoying all the attention her husband was giving her and would miss that after she gives birth.” – Irene Pollin
“My favorite social event of 2007 was Marvin Hamlish’s birthday party – lots of laughter and music provided by Marvin and good conversation – a very fun, totally wonderful dinner in Marvin’s honor. It was great to hear him play his own birthday song!” - Ann Hand
“One of our favorite memories of 2007 was the Harman Center for the Arts opening event. The evening was all about enlightenment and enchantment.” – Huda and Samia Farouki
Going to the races and meal time at the monestary.
By Vicky Moon
Richard Roberts with the Piedmont hounds. Photo by Karen Buckley.
HIS CUP RUNNETH OVER
Publisher, sportsman and philanthropist Arthur W. “Nick” Arundel hustled to the paddock just in time to see his big bay horse walk on the course for the $50,000 Porsche International Gold Cup timber race at Great Meadow. “Good luck,” he said to jockey Robbie Walsh. “See you on the stand,” he added mischievously.
For the past 30-plus years, Nick has brought steeplechase racing to center stage for area spectators and participants. He served on the board of directors for the races and continues to act as Chairman of the Great Meadow Foundation. Nick had just come from the other side of the official’s tower, where artist Alexa King’s bronze sculpture of Saluter (six-time winner of the Virginia Gold Cup and two-time winner of the International Gold Cup) was unveiled to a crowd of 38,000.
Seven minutes, one and four-fifths seconds later, Nick was on the stand (as he so cannily predicted) accepting a lovely trophy. Irishman Walsh rode his horse, Seeyouattheevent, to victory – and set a course record along the way. The stunning gold trophy was first used in competition in the United States in the 1930s and is known as The King of Spain International Gold Cup Perpetual Trophy. Named in honor of his Royal Highness Alfonso XIII, it was later donated by Alfred M. Hunt.
In other Hunt Country horse-related events, Eve Fout recently captured the Field Hunter Championship of American by riding her horse, Morning Glory, in a series of competitions. Mary Lea and Jim Treptow took Margaret and Trow Littleton along for a 42-minute flight up to New Jersey to watch their horse, Rebellion, run in the Breeder’s Cup races. At the Unison Days Celebration, Piedmont Fox Hounds huntsman Richard Roberts brought the hounds down the main road of the village for a meet-and-greet session with the neighbors.
Who has it… and who gives it away.
By Beth Farnstrom
Robert and Marion Rosenthal
“I go to Washington – if only to be near my money,” comedian Bob Hope once quipped. But forget about taxes pouring into federal coffers: With cash to flash, members of Washington’s growing mega-millionaire’s club (50 Million Plus) like to show their green in perhaps, sometimes ritzy, but mainly philanthropic ways.
Buy a baseball team? No problem. Accessorize with megawatt Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? Ditto. Underwrite productions at the Kennedy Center? Done.
Washington’s wealth – sparked by the dotcom boom of the ’90s and fueled by the ever-rising real estate and stock markets – has “put a lot of money in people’s pockets and created a new level of wealth in Washington,” says developer Ed Asher of the Chevy Chase Land Company. While ten Washingtonians made the latest Forbes 400 list with fortunes in the billions, wealth is spread far and wide these days. Fortunes have been built on the backs of new technology, media, sports, real estate, government contracts and, of course, Washington’s original industry: politics. In just three years, the number of Washington area families with liquid assets (that is, not counting residential property and 401Ks) grew a whopping 60 percent, from 88,000 in 2003 to 140,000 in 2006. Similarly, in a slightly higher stratosphere, those with $5 million plus in liquid assets grew 53 percent, from 15,000 to 23,000 families, according to Phoenix Marketing International.
Where the money goes, the charity flows and, yes, luxury follows, and how!
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