Out & About

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The New York Sun

While some very pretty things were flocking to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Monday night, one of Wall Street’s titans, Joseph Perella, was receiving the Laureate Award at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.


The presentation took place after a performance by Bernadette Peters.


“I’ve known him for half my life. I’ve carried his briefcase and gotten yelled at so many times I had to get earplugs,” Citigroup rainmaker Raymond McGuire said of Mr. Perella. He proceeded to tease his mentor, whom he has joined on the Lincoln Center board. “If he invites you to play golf, think carefully. Given the pace at which he plays, if you want to be on time for dinner, better start the day before,” Mr. McGuire said. The insider observations, well understood by guests, ended with instructions for what to do when Mr. Perella goes on a fly-fishing vacation. “Put a block on his e-mails when he returns or you’ll be overloaded with digital images,” Mr. McGuire said.


When Mr. Perella came to the podium, he said he didn’t know why he’d been chosen for the award. “I’m basically unemployed,” he said. (He resigned from a top post at Morgan Stanley in 2005.) But that didn’t affect the evening’s success. The event raised $2.7 million.


The lesson? “Life is a surprise,” Mr. Perella said. “It reminds me of a song by some British guys. With a little help from my friends, we did all right!”


Two guests at the Lincoln Center event were missed at the Metropolitan Museum party celebrating British style: the museum’s chairman, John Rosenwald, and the American designer who built his fortune on his interpretation of British style, Ralph Lauren. In Mr. Lauren’s place at the Met were his son, David, and daughter, Dylan.


agordon@nysun.com


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