Plus: a Montauk restaurant bait-and-switch, AI homeschooling anxiety, the Goodtime Hotel collapse, Maison Close’s Hamptons return, Jimmy Buffett’s estate fight and more...
What makes it so good?! A reader emailed me to tell me we left coco’s at Collette off this list… there are more incoming… we may need a follow-up list…
That lawsuit over the Buffett money is strange. The guy is a co-trustee so he can do almost anything he wants, trustees the power unless the trust language limits them. But generally a co-trustee can have the estate cover his legal fees if he is acting in defense of the trust (that’s his fiduciary duty). In this case, a court approved it. Their children have sided with the advisor and don’t want him removed. She is right that a 2 million dollar return from 275 million is poor, given a 4% safe withdrawal rate she should be able to pull out $11 million a year. But perhaps it is quite illiquid? perhaps Jimmy wanted the co-trustee to control her spending so the kids got some of it? Idk.
It seems so bizarre, I have tried to read about it to figure it out, and go down all the Reddit rabbit holes, but I just can’t figure it out! Who is the bad guy? 😆
Honestly…probably Jimmy! A lot of times this kind of thing blows up because someone didn’t explain it to the beneficiaries ahead of time. And so they feel not only let down but also lied to, and it can really complicate grief. Like she doesn’t want to feel mad at Jimmy, so she’s fighting with this guy. When this is what Jimmy wanted.
The Cantonese term, gong see sam mun jee translates to “corporation sandwich,” as you can see from my input to AI.
On Town & Country’s article on homeschooling…my son seems to be doing okay where he is right now, but I feel like there’s something…missing. Can’t pinpoint what it is other than the missing “school spirit” vibe I got when I was a kid. My alma mater for middle and high school tracks back to the 1860s while his current school was founded a century later. Both are private schools. Homeschooling is also not as big of a thing in Canada (unless you’re a competitive athlete or something like that…or are neurodivergent and you’re unable to get the right kind of accommodations), so it’s not likely we’ll ever pull him out to homeschool.
I am dying over “corporation sandwich” 😆 like sandwich you eat during business travel.
Home school was never associated with wealth or privilege when I was growing up, it was associated with religion. But everything is changing so fast, technology is changing life faster than I keep up with as a fully formed adult… I’m not surprised it would impact education systems. I wonder when the AI classes are going to roll out into the public schools nationwide.
My son’s school is a K-12, IB school and we’re trying to limit technology in classrooms unless it’s absolutely necessary (digital art, coding, etc). I’m not sure what your age cohort is (I’m in my mid-40s) and I also associate homeschooling with religion. The only way I’d go with homeschooling is if my husband and I had jobs that required extensive travel. We’d then hire a tutor to work with him until he’s old enough for boarding school. I probably should have put him in a Montessori, to be quite honest. He does like where he currently is.
The T&C article was so frustrating, because it absolutely ignored the fairly serious and public criticism of Alpha School’s methods - there are very real questions about whether their approach is effective. I’m quite skeptical of the current approach to education among many elite private schools (as someone whose children are in that system), and I do see a lot of interest in flexible and homeschool-type models among parents, but this was awfully credulous even for T&C.
Even with that criticism, I wasn't even aware it existed to the extent it does... that's what surprised me. I thought it was truly in a bubble. It seems it's gaining in popularity?
A top private school near us recently launched a hybrid or fully virtual program for students who (for example) already elite athletes/creatives and need to travel, families that spend extensive time traveling, etc. And I know two moms who are very much traditional prep school types who are homeschooling their kids now.
I think there’s this feeling (apparently in many large cities, bc I’m not in New York or Miami) that the admissions process for elite privates has become brutal and is increasingly selecting for kids who are bright but easy to manage and oriented toward pleasing adults. It does not favor kids who are more independent or who struggle to temper their curiosity in response to adult direction, or who have uneven skill profiles (the outplacement director at our youngest child’s school expressly said that the schools prefer “smooth profile kids” over kids who are highly advanced in one area but only on-level in others). We have two kids who are smart and easy to manage and one kid who is like a mini-Elon Musk (the jury is still out on our toddler). Mini-Elon will definitely have a tougher time in admissions.
So I do think there is growing interest in something different…I just think Alpha ain’t it. The article is correct, though, that many parents are reluctant to give up the assurance (and social capital) associated with having kids at a name-brand traditional private. That is especially the case among people who did not grow up with wealth and are nervous about their children losing the status they’ve worked so hard to gain, in my experience.
For mini-Elon, wouldn’t the social aspect serve him well? And for kids who are like that? I am sure home school has its benefits but I wonder if kids can get all the social benefits they do from daily interactions just from sports and extracurriculars.
And yes, as I live in New York there is still so much social capital not just in where a child goes to school but adults still dine out on where they went to school. Like… no one cares you went to Brearley 20 years ago babe. You’re still an insufferable bitch 😆
It totally would! I want there to be room for the mini-Elons of the world in these schools, and it’s frustrating that it’s tougher for them to get in. Especially because the resources those schools have for kids who are super into math/science/engineering are really great.
Also, gonna be straight that I know at least one family who are homeschooling because the parents really want to be able to split time between their various homes and their private told them, basically, that the attendance policy still applied for billionaires and I eyeroll that pretty hard.
this is the most important thing on the internet.
I KNOW.
I was so dumb to give it away for free, but I couldn't gate-keep content like this. It's a service, really.
Needed this!! Thank you Carson and Zach <3
🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
Thank you Team RPS! 🥪🥪🥪
Couldn’t agree more with number 1… I think about the Le Sirenuse Club weekly…
What makes it so good?! A reader emailed me to tell me we left coco’s at Collette off this list… there are more incoming… we may need a follow-up list…
That lawsuit over the Buffett money is strange. The guy is a co-trustee so he can do almost anything he wants, trustees the power unless the trust language limits them. But generally a co-trustee can have the estate cover his legal fees if he is acting in defense of the trust (that’s his fiduciary duty). In this case, a court approved it. Their children have sided with the advisor and don’t want him removed. She is right that a 2 million dollar return from 275 million is poor, given a 4% safe withdrawal rate she should be able to pull out $11 million a year. But perhaps it is quite illiquid? perhaps Jimmy wanted the co-trustee to control her spending so the kids got some of it? Idk.
It seems so bizarre, I have tried to read about it to figure it out, and go down all the Reddit rabbit holes, but I just can’t figure it out! Who is the bad guy? 😆
Honestly…probably Jimmy! A lot of times this kind of thing blows up because someone didn’t explain it to the beneficiaries ahead of time. And so they feel not only let down but also lied to, and it can really complicate grief. Like she doesn’t want to feel mad at Jimmy, so she’s fighting with this guy. When this is what Jimmy wanted.
What a mess…you would think they could figure it out amicably
La Minerva hotel in Capri 🍋🇮🇹missing, probably #1 on my list! 🤌🏻
Hunger inducing!
I ordered a club when we had lunch together 😆
Hong Kong cuisine has an interesting take on the club:
https://g.co/gemini/share/f8b245202174
The Cantonese term, gong see sam mun jee translates to “corporation sandwich,” as you can see from my input to AI.
On Town & Country’s article on homeschooling…my son seems to be doing okay where he is right now, but I feel like there’s something…missing. Can’t pinpoint what it is other than the missing “school spirit” vibe I got when I was a kid. My alma mater for middle and high school tracks back to the 1860s while his current school was founded a century later. Both are private schools. Homeschooling is also not as big of a thing in Canada (unless you’re a competitive athlete or something like that…or are neurodivergent and you’re unable to get the right kind of accommodations), so it’s not likely we’ll ever pull him out to homeschool.
I am dying over “corporation sandwich” 😆 like sandwich you eat during business travel.
Home school was never associated with wealth or privilege when I was growing up, it was associated with religion. But everything is changing so fast, technology is changing life faster than I keep up with as a fully formed adult… I’m not surprised it would impact education systems. I wonder when the AI classes are going to roll out into the public schools nationwide.
My son’s school is a K-12, IB school and we’re trying to limit technology in classrooms unless it’s absolutely necessary (digital art, coding, etc). I’m not sure what your age cohort is (I’m in my mid-40s) and I also associate homeschooling with religion. The only way I’d go with homeschooling is if my husband and I had jobs that required extensive travel. We’d then hire a tutor to work with him until he’s old enough for boarding school. I probably should have put him in a Montessori, to be quite honest. He does like where he currently is.
Liking where he is is a huge part of it, honestly
The T&C article was so frustrating, because it absolutely ignored the fairly serious and public criticism of Alpha School’s methods - there are very real questions about whether their approach is effective. I’m quite skeptical of the current approach to education among many elite private schools (as someone whose children are in that system), and I do see a lot of interest in flexible and homeschool-type models among parents, but this was awfully credulous even for T&C.
Even with that criticism, I wasn't even aware it existed to the extent it does... that's what surprised me. I thought it was truly in a bubble. It seems it's gaining in popularity?
A top private school near us recently launched a hybrid or fully virtual program for students who (for example) already elite athletes/creatives and need to travel, families that spend extensive time traveling, etc. And I know two moms who are very much traditional prep school types who are homeschooling their kids now.
I think there’s this feeling (apparently in many large cities, bc I’m not in New York or Miami) that the admissions process for elite privates has become brutal and is increasingly selecting for kids who are bright but easy to manage and oriented toward pleasing adults. It does not favor kids who are more independent or who struggle to temper their curiosity in response to adult direction, or who have uneven skill profiles (the outplacement director at our youngest child’s school expressly said that the schools prefer “smooth profile kids” over kids who are highly advanced in one area but only on-level in others). We have two kids who are smart and easy to manage and one kid who is like a mini-Elon Musk (the jury is still out on our toddler). Mini-Elon will definitely have a tougher time in admissions.
So I do think there is growing interest in something different…I just think Alpha ain’t it. The article is correct, though, that many parents are reluctant to give up the assurance (and social capital) associated with having kids at a name-brand traditional private. That is especially the case among people who did not grow up with wealth and are nervous about their children losing the status they’ve worked so hard to gain, in my experience.
For mini-Elon, wouldn’t the social aspect serve him well? And for kids who are like that? I am sure home school has its benefits but I wonder if kids can get all the social benefits they do from daily interactions just from sports and extracurriculars.
And yes, as I live in New York there is still so much social capital not just in where a child goes to school but adults still dine out on where they went to school. Like… no one cares you went to Brearley 20 years ago babe. You’re still an insufferable bitch 😆
It totally would! I want there to be room for the mini-Elons of the world in these schools, and it’s frustrating that it’s tougher for them to get in. Especially because the resources those schools have for kids who are super into math/science/engineering are really great.
Also, gonna be straight that I know at least one family who are homeschooling because the parents really want to be able to split time between their various homes and their private told them, basically, that the attendance policy still applied for billionaires and I eyeroll that pretty hard.
The sandwich list is great. Next up: BLT's. Please.
I love BLTs for breakfast. I’ll take them over an egg sandwich any day. I’m going to have my New Yorker card revoked.
Only in tomato season tho. Nothing worse than a BLT with unripe/frozen tomato
I read about this girl who froze tomatoes and saves them to get through winter and I was so confused… just not the same
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the top club sandwiches list!
Ohhh I am going to have to try! (And report back to Zach!) what makes it so good?