And Now For Something Completely Different: Headhunter for the New York Rich Turns on Them

Adrian Barrie Smith, a British recruiter who supplies butlers, maids and other domestic workers to some of the world’s wealthiest families, has turned on former clients, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the DealBook column. “Over the last 18 months, Mr. Smith has filed lawsuits against the families of some of the most prominent names in finance, including Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chairman of the Blackstone Group; Carl C. Icahn, the activist investor; Leonard Blavatnik, the Russian investor who recently acquired Warner Music; Howard Lutnick, the chairman and chief executive of Cantor Fitzgerald; and George Soros’s former wife, Susan Soros Webber.” Mr. Smith often accuses his clients of some form of breach of contract, with complaints about age and race discrimination. His targets view it as mudslinging or even extortion.

“I could tell you stories that you simply would never believe,” Mr. Smith told Mr. Sorkin in a recent e-mail. “Who sits in the private planes and homes, dinner parties of the elite? The butlers, the nannies, the housekeepers.” He added, “And who do they e-mail, and tell all the gossip to? Me….”

To find out more check out http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2013/06/18/fraud-charges-for-former-ubs-trader/