D AV I D PAT R I C K C O L U M B I A D I N N E R FO R T H E A M E R I C A N F R I E N D S O F T H E LO U V R E I N PA L M B E AC H AT T H E H OM E O F H I L A R Y G E A R Y A N D W I L B U R R O S S
Gigi and Harry Benson
never overlooking the slightest detail, right down to the pruning of the beloved forest of trees that adorned her farm. Paul Mellon died in 1999 after a long illness. Already in her mid-80s, Bunny Mellon soldiered on creating. She also inadvertently gained national attention for having contributed more than $3 million to the presidential campaign of senator John Edwards, whom she had met through Bryan Huffman, an interior designer from North Carolina. It was later revealed that much of her contribution to the campaign was said to have been used by the senator to support a woman with whom he had fathered 38 QUEST
David Aldea, Cynthia Friedman and Paul Yaworsky
Mickey and Harry Breyer
a child in an extramarital relationship. Bunny claimed innocence, making it known that she had met the senator because she liked the national policies he espoused. Others believed that she was the victim of Edwards’ fatal charm. It was true, as friends of hers would intimate, that she remained vulnerable to the charms of good-looking men who were both talented and attentive to her—even at her advanced age. It was a kind of innocence that could make a true, lifelong heiress be vulnerable to guile. Her relationship with events designer Robert Isabell was another example. She and
Ina d’Estaing and Victoria Cummock
Isabell, who was 50 years her junior, were very close pals, sharing the same intense interest in horticulture and interior design. They talked the same creative language and there was a mutual admiration. Isabell was also impressed by Bunny’s knowledge and talented eye, not to mention her awesome wealth and lifestyle. There was a moment when friends of the event planner (who was gay) believed they might actually marry. And when he died suddenly in still questionable circumstances, Bunny insisted that he be buried on her farm. Because she was a woman of great personal fortune
Hilary Geary and Wilbur Ross
Llwyd and Diana Ecclestone
all her life, unlike women who claim authority wearing the badge of their husbands’ fortunes, she was never recognized for her ambition. Instead, it was personified via her creative passions and acknowledged for its uniqueness. She was a gentle and generous lady to many, although not without the sense of prerogatives that very rich heiresses possess when it comes to relationships. If Bunny were to be tired of another person, for whatever reason, he or she could find themselves out of the picture—suddenly cut off, with no access to her whatsoever. This happened several times in her life, not only with
A N N I E WAT T
MacKinzie Amadon, Kip Forbes and Donald Burns