Got something to share? Email tips@cityfile.com
Click here to have Dailyfile posts delivered to you once a day by email.
NYMag's 'Power Dozen' | This week's issue of New York has come up with a list of the 12 most powerful people in town. (Well, the 11 most powerful behind Michael Bloomberg, that is.) They are (in no particular order): Al Sharpton, Howard Rubenstein, Sheldon Silver, Stephen Ross, Jamie Dimon, Herb Pardes, Anna Wintour, Andrew Cuomo, Mike Fishman, Chuck Schumer, and Rupert Murdoch. [NYM]
Breaking: America's Rich Not Quite as Rich As They Used to Be | Forbes' annual list of the richest Americans, the Forbes 400, was released today. The bad news? It was a pretty rough year for the super-rich, not surprisingly, with the collective net worth of Forbes 400 members falling $300 billion over the past 12 months. The good news, at least for those poor people who have had to deal with the indignity of only being worth in the high nine figures: You don't need to be a billionaire to make the cut this year. A mere $950 million will suffice. [Forbes, NYDN]
Vanity Fair's "New Establishment" list, an "annual ranking of the top 100 Information Age powers," appears on the web this time around, not in the actual magazine as in previous years. [Update: An abbreviated version appears in the October issue; the full list is online.] And while there are a few surprises to be had—Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, who's been reviled in the press in recent weeks, takes the top spot—it once again gives Vanity Fair editor /part-time restaurateur Graydon Carter an opportunity to do what he does so well: insure that his close, personal friends get their moment in the sun!More
Sheila Bair's Consolation Prize | Sheila Bair, the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, may not be worthy of coverage in the eyes of Vogue editor Anna Wintour. But maybe she can take some comfort from Forbes' new "100 Most Powerful Women" list. Bair comes in at No. 2, right behind German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who nabbed the top spot for the fourth straight year. [Forbes, NYDN]
The Most Bias-Free College Poll Ever | The best college in the country? That would be the U.S. Military Academy (otherwise known as West Point), believe it or not—at least according to Forbes, which just issued its list of "America's Best Colleges":More
Exciting news! For the ninth year in a row, Travel & Leisure has named New York the "Best City in America." It's the magazine's readers—not its editors—who determine the rankings. And clearly we have a ways to go if we have any chance of winning the title of "World's Best City." NYC came out just eighth on that list. The winner? Udaipur, India. Naturally. [NYDN]
The Observer's 'Power 100' | The New York Observer's annual list of the 100 most powerful people in New York real estate is now online for your viewing pleasure. President Obama comes in as No. 1., although to go through the rest of the names, you'll have to scroll through the most interminable slideshow ever created. Provided you don't have anything better to do this evening, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. [Observer]
Mother's Day is right around the corner, and to honor those who have sacrificed so much only to watch in horror at the rotten people we've since become, Adecco Group—"the largest staffing agency in the world"—asked a bunch of people about the moms they admire most. (Do note that just because it's a temp agency that did the survey, that should not suggest that motherhood is a temporary occupation. It isn't. Well, not usually.) In any event, the survey asked working moms, working dads and working non-parents to answer this question of great importance, and unsurprisingly, all three groups picked Michelle Obama as the most admired mom in America. But then the results get a little screwy! Apparently, Sarah Palin—yes, really—came up No. 2 for two of the three groups. And Jenny McCarthy (above), who has always gone out of her way to set a good example, is the fourth most admired mom in America. The list/press release that will instantly undermine your faith in the future of this country is below.More
For reasons only the editors of People can explain, the magazine's new list of the "100 Most Beautiful" includes a section called "Barack's Beauties," which, in turn, includes "sexy" chief of staff Rahm Emanuel. Possible evidence to the contrary: A search for "Rahm Emanuel nude" on Google brings up precisely zero results. (Try it; we did!) But keep this up, People, and he'll be taking off the shirt along with the suit jacket soon enough. [Politico]
Forbes Releases Another List of Rich People | Forbes's somewhat suspicious list of the world's billionaires is now online. You can look through the complete list here, but as you can probably imagine, it wasn't a very good year for members of the ten-figure club. The 2009 list includes 793 people—it's down 30 percent from last year—and a handful of notable New Yorkers (like Sandy Weill and Hank Greenberg) saw their names vanish. NYC's richest man, according to the mag? That would be Michael Bloomberg, who saw his net worth jump 39 percent from $11.5 billion to $16 billion. So did the mayor have such a fantastic year? No, Forbes had just been underestimating his stake in Bloomberg LP in years past, although they didn't bother to mention that. [Forbes, NYP]
Recession Winners | Who's going to profiit from the recession? Here's a start: Layoff consultants, discount department stores, fast food chains, restructuring experts, the financial news media, and meth dealers: "All the big swinging dicks on Wall Street were cokeheads, because coke is a money drug. Now that people are poor, it's all about the Tina, baby. It's the perfect drug for this new American era: cheap, powerful, and terrifying." [Gawker]
If you're hunting for a cheapo apartment to purchase in Manhattan, this isn't a bad time to be looking: Prices are falling, the number of buyers is declining, and as long as you have very good credit (or don't need a mortgage), there's never been more inventory to choose from. Below you'll find a list of the 20 cheapest apartments in Manhattan on the market at the moment. A few quick caveats, though: The list only includes apartments in Manhattan below 96th Street, so if you're looking for a deal in Brooklyn, you're on your own for the time being. Also, we've only included proper apartments on the list, which means "fractional-ownership" condos, apartments with tenants living in them or, say, rooftop cabanas, have all been excluded. But don't worry: There's still plenty of sub-$300K apartments to choose from, just as long as you're not too worried about having an actual bedroom and you have no objection to bathing in the kitchen sink. More
Most Annoying English Phrases | A group of Oxford researchers have compiled a list of the "Top 10 Most Irritating Expressions in the English language." Awesome! Now we know what we need to stop saying so we don't alienate everyone we know. The number one offender? "At the end of the day." Click through for the rest of the list is below, although we must admit we were a little disappointed to see that "for all intents and purposes" didn't make the cut.More
The Silver Lining | Misery Loves Companies has an amusing list of "things we look forward to imploding" amid the economic downtown. A few items mentioned: "15 Central Park West, Masa, the Robin Hood Foundation Annual Benefit (The Foundation can stay), Birthday parties with AAA singers who don't know the birthday boy/girl, birthday or anniversary parties you fly to, Tom Ford's Men's Store..." [Misery Loves Companies]
