Ashes to Ashes

We got a kick out of that story in the London Times about how a “mysterious Russian billionaire” has gone and paid $750 million for Lily Safra’s house, Villa Leopolda, on the heights of Villefrance. It’s many times the previous record for a residence. The Times reports that “Russian excess is feeding discontent among poorer people,” and it quotes our Russian’s housekeeper, “Pierrette,” as saying she attended a party “where the guests had fun throwing burning EUR500 notes into the air while everyone split their sides laughing.” The paper reports the servants were later told to “collect the ashes.”