Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Happy Birthday | Anne Hathaway turns 27 today. Fashion darling Julia Restoin Roitfeld is turning 29. Ryan Gosling turns 29 today, too. Actress Megan Mullally is turning 51. Billionaire mogul Ron Burkle is 57. Paper co-founder Kim Hastreiter is 58. Sammy Sosa is turning 41. Author Naomi Wolf is 47. Neil Young turns 64. Actor Wallace Shawn is turning 66. Gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci is 48. R&B singer Omarion is 25. Simon & Schuster publisher David Rosenthal is 56. And disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding turns 39 today.

Steve Bing Knows No Bounds | It was super-sketchy Hollywood producer Steve Bing who provided the jet that Bill Clinton used so he could go on his rescue mission to North Korea. If only Bing's Boeing could talk. Not only has the plane reportedly served as the setting for various escapades over the years involving lots of babes and other nefarious creatures like Ron Burkle, it may have also been the mode of transportation for a "secret research trip" to Cuba last week, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Sadly, the paper couldn't pin down Bing's involvement in the voyage to a second rogue nation in less than two weeks: "A receptionist at his Shangri-La Entertainment production company Wednesday denied ever hearing of Bing." Well played, young lady, well played. [THR, ABC News]

• The British paparazzi have seen it all over the years, but even they were surprised by a shopping expedition by Beyoncé in London last week. The singer required two chauffeur-driven cars/limos and a small army of bodyguards to escort her to the store. Even though it happened to be located about 15 yards from the front door to her hotel. [Telegraph]
• On-again, off-again couple Leonardo DiCaprio and Bar Refaeli appear to be in "off" mode, according to People. But Us says Bar and Leo are still together and even have photos of the couple shopping yesterday to prove it. Say a little prayer and hope for the best, won't you? [People, Us]
• There doesn't seem much doubt about the status of Kanye West's relationship with model Amber Rose. West's rep has confirmed that it's over. [P6] More

Clinton and Burkle Call It Quits | Remember that friend you had in college who was a total troublemaker and really crazy stuff would invariably go down whenever you hung out with him? And then the day came when you suddenly decided it was time to grow up and, like, be an adult and everything, and you decided to stop hanging out with him? That day may have arrived for Bill Clinton and sleazy billionaire Ron Burkle: The Journal reports that the former president has decided to sever his ties as an "adviser" to Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. [WSJ]

• HarperCollins announced layoffs and a major reorg today. [NYO, Gawker]
• No one wants to take the editor job at OK! [Page Six]
• Ron Burkle's magazine distribution company is suing a bunch of publishing companies for trying to drive it out of business. We should be so lucky. [NYP]
• Michael Kinsley explains why micropayments won't save newspapers. [NYT]
• Time's Walter Isaacson, however, argued the opposite position last night when he appeared on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. [NYO, TDS]
• Hachette is dropping out of the Magazine Publishers of America. [AdAge]
• Live Nation and Ticketmaster have announced plans to merge. [NYT]
• CBS scored big ratings on Sunday thanks to the Grammys. [AdAge]
• A day in the life of Fox News anchor Shepard Smith. [Esquire]

• More magazine closures may be on the way at Condé Nast. [NYO]
• Time Warner posted a fourth-quarter loss of $16 billion. [AP]
• Bill Keller says there are "deadly serious" discussions taking place at the New York Times about charging for access to the paper's website. [E&P]
• Obama campaign manager David Plouffe has signed a seven-figure deal with Viking to write a book about last year's presidential election. [AP]
• Thanks to Ron Burkle, Wal-Mart customers can no longer pick up copies of magazines like People, Sports Illustrated and Time. [NYP]
• Jonathan Wald is leaving CNBC. [CNBC]
• Ticketmaster and concert promoter Live Nation are close to a merger. [WSJ]

Burkle Goes Shopping | Ron Burkle, the lecherous billionaire and former pal of imprisoned con man Raffaello Follieri, just bought a stake in Whole Foods! So the next time you spend $11 for two tomatoes, feel free to ponder whether your hard-earned cash will go pay for his $30,000-a-month suite at the Bowery Hotel, a new Polo shirt, or to buy bottles of Cristal at Marquee. [NYT/Dealbook]

Happy Birthday | It turns out Anne Hathaway and Ron Burkle share something in common besides Raffaello Follieri. Both are celebrating their birthdays today, too! Anne is turning 26; the supermarket mogul, Democratic fundraiser, and owner of the late Radar, is 56. Others celebrating today: Paper co-founder Kim Hastreiter is 57. Ryan Gosling turns 28. Megan Mullally is 50. Author Naomi Wolf is 46. Neil Young is turning 63. Sammy Sosa is 40. R&B singer Omarion is 24. Gymnastics legend Nadia Comaneci is 47. Actor Wallace Shawn is 65. Simon & Schuster publisher David Rosenthal is turning 55. And your favorite disgraced ice queen, Tonya Harding, is 38 years old.

In the latest issue of Men's Vogue, Hud Morgan recounts a recent visit to Richie Akiva and Scott Sartiano's club 1OAK, where he finds that despite the meltdown, everyone's still having lots of fun. More

Burkle Checks Into the Bowery? | Guest of a Guest reports that supermarket mogul Ron Burkle is the mystery man paying $30,000 a month for the penthouse loft at the Bowery Hotel. We have no idea if it's true, although we imagine being just an elevator ride away from watching Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson make out would be quite the draw for the lecherous billionaire. [GoaG]

» The Liv Tyler-hosted party for Hearts on Fire diamonds at the Rose Bar was the hottest ticket in one of the busiest social weeks of the year: Leonardo DiCaprio, Alexandra & Theodora Richards (who DJed), Keith Richards, Elizabeth Banks, Catherine Keener, Mena Suvari, Dave Navarro, Ellen von Unwerth, Tara Subkoff, Alan Cumming, Tinsley Mortimer, Adrian Grenier, Sean Avery, Emma Roberts, Monet Mazur, Richie Rich, Ingrid Sischy, Jamie Burke, Russell Simmons, Lauren Santo Domingo, Diego Garcia, Andrew Saffir and Daniel Benedict all stopped by. [The Daily/Paper]

» Too many people wanted to squeeze onto the Mini Rooftop for the V magazine party on Wednesday night, leading to a scrum outside the velvet rope. Those who made it through and caught a performance by Swedish popstar Lykke Li: Agyness Deyn, Irina Lazareanu, Barbara Bush, Doutzen Kroes, Hilary Rhoda, Joy Bryant, Leigh Lezark, Fabiola Beracasa, Sean Avery, Rachel Zoe, Cecilia Dean, Anne Slowey, Natasha Poly, Raquel Zimmerman, Christopher Bollen, and Derek Blasberg. [The Daily, NYO, Style.com]  More

Raffaello Follieri may be close to taking a plea deal, reports the Wall Street Journal today. The dapper Italian playboy and former boyfriend of Anne Hathaway (who looks a bit like a '50s film star in his Journal portrait) is accused of bilking a long list of investors, such as supermarket kingpin Ron Burkle. For the past few weeks, he's been locked up in lower Manhattan, unable to come up with $21 million in bail money. Now, the paper reports, the alleged con man is considering a plea deal that would keep him behind bars for four to five years. Follieri has yet to make a final decision yet, though, and there's still a chance he'll go to trial. If he does, we're sure he'd be positively elated to have you contribute to his defense by making a donation to that phony "foundation" of his, the Paypal account for which is still active.

Club impresario Noah Tepperberg turned 33 last week and celebrated the occasion with three birthday parties, the first of which went down at Marquee last Thursday night. Nightlife blog Guest of a Guest was kind enough to post a gallery of pics of the fête earlier this afternoon. And what do you know: super-secretive, lecherous billionaire Ron Burkle turned up to event! The supermarket mogul, Democratic donor, friend of Bill, and rumored owner of Maer Roshan's Radar proves once again that just because you're 56 doesn't mean you can't hit the dance floor and party like you're 26. Another accidental Burkle pic after the jump.More

Remember Jeffrey Epstein, the "billionaire" financier and Bill Clinton pal who was busted in 2006 for his sexual relationships with underage girls? Two bits of news about the secretive mogul came to light today. First off, it turns out he was an investor in the ill-fated and scandal-plagued Bear Stearns hedge fund managed by Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin. It seems poor Jeff lost a bundle when the fund imploded last summer—some $57 million. Even worse, though, is that today marks the day when he is expected to turn himself in to the police in Palm Beach and immediately begin serving an 18-month sentence for soliciting an underage prostitute. (Where, we're guessing, he won't be able to waltz around in a "JEE" monogrammed fleece as he is on the left.) As awful as that all is, we can't help but think about what a crappy month it's been for Epstein's former pal, Ron Burkle. He now has multiple (former) friends behind bars. And there are a bunch of other people who probably regret ever hooking up with the supermarket billionaire. More