A New Life

Published October 2009

Insomnia isn’t a pleasant thing at 5am on a Sunday morning. But given the fact that I didn’t have to schlep off to work grumpily, afforded me the luxury of movie watching - something my daily work schedule gives me little of.

I managed to catch HBO’s ‘Bernard And Doris’, starring Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon in a semi-autobiographical account of the lives of billionaire tobacco heiress Doris Duke (Sarandon) and her platonic relationship with her butler Bernard Lafferty (Fiennes) – to whom Duke left a large portion of her fortune to when she passed away in 1993. This film is a sharp and cultivated examination of a woman clearly ahead of her time – Duke was a staunch philanthropist and astute businesswoman whose acumen is still the stuff of Wall Street legend – and Lafferty, a closeted recovering alcoholic who once served the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and Peggy Lee.

The power paradigms between master and servant naturally blur as the two become friends. Duke relied on Lafferty’s constant and unwavering loyalty as he proclaimed that his only interest in her was neither romantic nor financial. “I just want to take care of you,” states Lafferty when questioned point-blank by Duke about his motives. Throughout the movie, however, those close to Duke question Lafferty’s motives constantly in a somewhat predictable manner. The movie ends when Duke eventually succumbs to cardiac arrest at the age of 80 and we are left with the impression that Lafferty carries on with life as the executor of Duke’s enormous will, albeit in a very comfortable and financially secure fashion.

Not entirely satisfied with the way things ended, I did a bit of reading online. Thanks to Wikipedia, it appears as though certain fractions of Duke’s board of trustees took Lafferty to court with allegations of murdering Duke, a case which was ruled out by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office for lack of evidence. When this tactic failed, trustees engaged in litigation involving over 40 lawyers from 10 different law firms in an effort to discredit and remove Lafferty from his appointed post. Lafferty was eventually removed by the New York courts and died not long after, from medical complications due to alcoholism. A bitter ending, it appears.

After reading what I did, an overwhelming fact occurred to me. Money is capable of causing more damage than good in certain aspects of life. Wait, allow me to be much more specific. Excessive wealth has the capacity to destroy if not managed and handled appropriately. Sarandon’s character displayed typical defensive tactics when it came to her choice in partners. They were all young, handsome men. None of them ever stayed very long. It appeared as though she was aware of the hangers-on, those who were only after her for her obscene amount of money, and booted them off once she was done with them. Self-preservation at its finest, I would imagine.

The reason why this film gave me proverbial food for thought is also due to the fact that I came across something very unique two days ago. Andrew Paul, a British banker and millionaire, is auctioning off his life. The recently divorced father of one is looking to make a fresh start by letting go of his luxurious possessions. For a mere £20 per ticket, punters can have a go at an online competition to ‘Win A New Life’. The prizes on offer are a mansion worth £1.1 million, a brand new Aston Martin DBS worth £160,000 and a Sealine 35 Sport Motorboat worth £200,000. The winner may is also allowed to go for Option 2 - £1 million cash instead. Runners-up will be in the running for a pair of Omega Seamaster His and Her watches.

Think that the taxes and overheads will kill you in the process? Think again. Paul has made provisions for winners. The mansion comes fully furnished with all bills fully paid for a year (excluding phone bills), while the car and boat will be handed over with 12 months worth of tax and insurance all sorted out. The winner will also receive £500 worth of free tax consultation from leading British firm Samuels LLP. A great way to beat the credit crunch, enthuses Paul on his site.

While Andrew Paul’s offerings may sound great to many, I can’t help but feel a tinge of sympathy for a man adamant on starting a new life by removing objects that clearly reminded him of a difficult period. Though it has to be said that if Reuters’s calculations are correct based on the maximum total for ticket sales standing at 200,000, Paul stands to walk off with a very tidy sum of £4 million.

So maybe his motives are not simply emotional, but logical and practical too. In any event, a smart man. I will be observing the outcome of this completion which ends at 9:00am GMT on November 19^th 2009. If any of you do end up entering this chance to win a new life, please let me know how you do. And the best of luck to you.

Sources: Wikipedia.com/www.winanewlife.com/Reuters.com