Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2023/10/23/u-s-seizes-300-million-superyacht-owned-by-russian-warren-buffett.html
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Still more tasteful than
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I love a hidden bookcase door as much as the next guy but only when they’re covered in actual books, not a bunch of obviously fake cabinet doors. And they put a tacky gold frame around the TV but didn’t even bother to hide the edges of the TV with it? C’mon, man. If you don’t have any taste then at least hire someone who does.
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“Sometimes it is difficult to talk to him. He is always a few steps ahead of you. For foreigners, it is next to impossible, even those used to a Russian environment. He is very quick and creative, in a sense that ideas come to him that don’t come to other people.”
Translation: “He crimes better than the rest.”
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In the current context, it could mean that he was quick to figure out how to profit from the war and sanctions.
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If the U.S. prevails in its lawsuit to gain ownership of the yacht, it will auction it off with the proceeds transferred to Ukraine.
if the same or some other russian oligarch purchases it (not -too- many would be inclined to such grotesque opulence (and hey, not any purchaser would know about the hidden stash of gold Fabergé eggs)) would they consider seizing it yet again?
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OMG! The gold frame around the tv! Believe it or not that is not out of the ordinary for the richer set. I used to work for a high end frame shop in Chicago and did a lot of work for people that lived on the Gold Cost. One time we had to install a gilded gold frame around a TV…. in a bathroom…. above the bathtub.
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All too often when the books are real, they’re mere décor that’s been bought by the foot/meter/yard, like drapery and wall fabrics.
I worked at a vast used book store in Detroit, John K King Books. Decorators buy leatherbound volumes from him, freq’ly sight unseen, by the foot and yard. They can inspect or inquire re: avail colors and sizes. Magnificent-lookin’ old stuff - entire multi-volume histories, technical works, the arts, encyclopedias of all sorts, great literature sets, illustrated nature sets, etc etc etc…and whether the book shelf owner is interested in or a proficient reader of their contents’ language don’t matter one whit.
It caused me physical pain, which confused TF outta King. I explained it meant those books most likely would never be read, let alone truly appreciated, cherished. Beautiful old sets of Moroccan calf with marbled pastedowns and gilt edges deserve cherishing! He just shook his head, and couldn’t understand why I should care, since I could never afford them myself.
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Never mind the edges, it’s not even the same size of the TV. It needs to at least be the same ratio.
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I’ve seen similar, better-done installations where there was semi-mirrored glass in the frame, with the TV screen hidden behind it and set back into the wall, so that it just looked like a mirror when the TV was off. In the case of a historic home or building that was finished with period-appropriate furnishings and decor, that’s a way to sneak a TV into a room without it looking out of place. But that tacky yacht TV setup isn’t fooling anyone. It’s like someone with no taste heard a partial description of a different setup and tried to copy it without understanding the objective.
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I hope they bought them with the appropriate currency.
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I mean, if you’re going to have a big TV on an ostentatious yacht you might as well go full James Bond villain and hide the screen behind a retractable map or giant painting or something when it’s not in use.
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Seems like a recipe for electrocution if one doesn’t hire expert craftsmen.
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Now I suddenly want a coffee table that flips to a full scale model of Fort Knox.
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Put. The candle. Back!
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He doesn’t sound at all like Warren Buffet, using lots of leverage. So I tracked down the source of that moniker. Wikipedia quotes Moscow Times:
which quotes… well… nobody. Just a trumpist “people are saying”:
Kerimov, whose fortune is estimated at more than $9 billion, has been described as the country’s version of Warren Buffett, with investments in sectors as varied as energy and metals to hotels and banking.
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Good for the US they have enough money to maintain that stylistic abomination. Countries with smaller budgets struggle, apparently.
Hm, which reminds me… What happens if the US defaults?
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Ah. I was hoping there was some way they could turn it into low rent housing.
But sending the proceeds of auction to Ukraine is surely a more practical use.
