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The Guardian
14 hours ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The super-rich have done what protesters never could: taken over the US embassy in London
Until seven years ago, one of the key centres of American power in Europe was a few minutes' walk from the consumer frenzy of Oxford Street in London. Reassuring or enraging, depending on your view of American hegemony, for more than half a century the enormous US embassy, by far the largest in the capital, provided diplomatic, immigration and intelligence services – and an irresistible target for protesters. Its strikingly skeletal grey building on Grosvenor Square, which opened in 1960, became steadily more surrounded by fences, concrete blocks, bollards and other defences: signs of the increasing effort required to maintain the US's worldwide ascendancy. So it's strange to visit the square and find that all the defences have gone. You can walk right up to the building, as protesters never managed to in large numbers, on to pavements once menacingly guarded by the embassy's detachment of US marines, and peer through the rows of windows at an interior eerily transformed. Like the exterior, it has been almost entirely dismantled and then reconstructed over several years, its grey bones warmed and softened with a lavish new colour scheme based on gold. The signal being sent to visitors and passersby is not subtle. The building's new role is to serve those around whose needs and wishes the centres of London and other prestigious cities are increasingly being reshaped: the 1%. Staying at the Chancery Rosewood, as the former embassy is now known, will cost between £1,520 and £24,102 a night – the latter half the annual median salary in London – when the hotel's first guests arrive on 1 September. Among other amenities, they will have an 'immersive wellness area', 'courtesy Bentley cars' and a 'curated art exhibition with art concierge'. The combination of material ostentation, health micromanagement and exclusive cultural opportunities required by the very wealthy these days will be provided by a formerly American hospitality chain, now owned by a conglomerate based in Hong Kong. The building itself is owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. As so often in Britain, the ambition of some non-western countries to reverse their relationship with the old imperial powers is hiding in plain sight. Enclaves for ultra-wealthy guests are proliferating across a widening swathe of central London. Some of these hotels, such as Raffles London at the OWO (Old War Office) and the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch, follow a similar formula to the Chancery. Famous, well-located properties sold off by the state – the Old War Office and Admiralty Arch disposed of during the deep spending cuts by David Cameron's government – are having their history and faded grandeur commodified into something glitzier. By its final years, parts of the Grosvenor Square embassy were actually quite shabby, with worn carpets and frayed office furniture. Maintaining large government premises in expensive city-centre locations, exposed to protests or potential terrorist attack, can ultimately become unappealing for the state, not least because its revenues are limited by the reluctance of many of the 1% to pay their taxes. So the London boom in luxurious office-to-hotel conversions may have been partly prompted, in an indirect way, by the self-interest of some of those who now stay in them. As so often in the 21st century, the behaviour of the 1% feels impervious to satire or condemnation. Fifty-seven years ago, at the height of protests against the Vietnam war, Grosvenor Square filled with demonstrators, among them the leading activist Tariq Ali. In his memoir of the 1960s, Street Fighting Years, he recalls that he and his more excitable comrades 'dreamed' of forcing their way into the building, and 'using the embassy telex to cable the US embassy in Saigon and inform them that pro-Vietcong forces had seized the premises in Grosvenor Square'. Only mounted police charges and mass arrests saved the London embassy from invasion. Yet now luxury capitalism has managed to do what protesters could not, and take over the building from the spooks and diplomats. With Donald Trump transparently running the US for the benefit of the rich, it feels fitting that the building has become a place for them, rather than Americans in general. The hotel will be open just in time for his September state visit. Perhaps some of his wealthier supporters will take the opportunity to stay. For any guest who worries about the potential provocation of yet another elite hotel, operating at a traditional protest site, in a country in which most people are struggling with a seemingly endless cost of living crisis, the Chancery does have some discreet security. Cameras cover the hotel's perimeter, and guards circle the building after dark. Meanwhile a couple of miles to the south, in a new London landscape of residential towers and windswept roads at Nine Elms, the successor to the Grosvenor Square embassy stands in the middle of its own, far more extensive security zone, including a partial moat and a defensive wall disguised as a waterfall. The huge pale cube of the current US embassy dominates its neighbourhood even more than its predecessor did. It's also much further away from the usual routes of London political marches. Some protesters have already adjusted. Thousands of people supporting Palestine walked to the embassy in February, to show their fury at Trump's backing for Israel. The symbolic contrast between their defiant flags and flimsy placards and the fortress-like building did not work in the US's favour. The Grosvenor Square embassy may be gone, but the business of challenging the US goes on. Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist
The Guardian
a day ago
- Business
- The Guardian
The super-rich have done what protesters never could: taken over the US embassy in London
Until seven years ago, one of the key centres of American power in Europe was a few minutes' walk from the consumer frenzy of Oxford Street in London. Reassuring or enraging, depending on your view of American hegemony, for more than half a century the enormous US embassy, by far the largest in the capital, provided diplomatic, immigration and intelligence services – and an irresistible target for protesters. Its strikingly skeletal grey building on Grosvenor Square, which opened in 1960, became steadily more surrounded by fences, concrete blocks, bollards and other defences: signs of the increasing effort required to maintain the US's worldwide ascendancy. So it's strange to visit the square and find that all the defences have gone. You can walk right up to the building, as protesters never managed to in large numbers, on to pavements once menacingly guarded by the embassy's detachment of US marines, and peer through the rows of windows at an interior eerily transformed. Like the exterior, it has been almost entirely dismantled and then reconstructed over several years, its grey bones warmed and softened with a lavish new colour scheme based on gold. The signal being sent to visitors and passersby is not subtle. The building's new role is to serve those around whose needs and wishes the centres of London and other prestigious cities are increasingly being reshaped: the 1%. Staying at the Chancery Rosewood, as the former embassy is now known, will cost between £1,520 and £24,102 a night – the latter half the annual median salary in London – when the hotel's first guests arrive on 1 September. Among other amenities, they will have an 'immersive wellness area', 'courtesy Bentley cars' and a 'curated art exhibition with art concierge'. The combination of material ostentation, health micromanagement and exclusive cultural opportunities required by the very wealthy these days will be provided by a formerly American hospitality chain, now owned by a conglomerate based in Hong Kong. The building itself is owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund. As so often in Britain, the ambition of some non-western countries to reverse their relationship with the old imperial powers is hiding in plain sight. Enclaves for ultra-wealthy guests are proliferating across a widening swathe of central London. Some of these hotels, such as Raffles London at the OWO (Old War Office) and the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch, follow a similar formula to the Chancery. Famous, well-located properties sold off by the state – the Old War Office and Admiralty Arch disposed of during the deep spending cuts by David Cameron's government – are having their history and faded grandeur commodified into something glitzier. By its final years, parts of the Grosvenor Square embassy were actually quite shabby, with worn carpets and frayed office furniture. Maintaining large government premises in expensive city-centre locations, exposed to protests or potential terrorist attack, can ultimately become unappealing for the state, not least because its revenues are limited by the reluctance of many of the 1% to pay their taxes. So the London boom in luxurious office-to-hotel conversions may have been partly prompted, in an indirect way, by the self-interest of some of those who now stay in them. As so often in the 21st century, the behaviour of the 1% feels impervious to satire or condemnation. Fifty-seven years ago, at the height of protests against the Vietnam war, Grosvenor Square filled with demonstrators, among them the leading activist Tariq Ali. In his memoir of the 1960s, Street Fighting Years, he recalls that he and his more excitable comrades 'dreamed' of forcing their way into the building, and 'using the embassy telex to cable the US embassy in Saigon and inform them that pro-Vietcong forces had seized the premises in Grosvenor Square'. Only mounted police charges and mass arrests saved the London embassy from invasion. Yet now luxury capitalism has managed to do what protesters could not, and take over the building from the spooks and diplomats. With Donald Trump transparently running the US for the benefit of the rich, it feels fitting that the building has become a place for them, rather than Americans in general. The hotel will be open just in time for his September state visit. Perhaps some of his wealthier supporters will take the opportunity to stay. For any guest who worries about the potential provocation of yet another elite hotel, operating at a traditional protest site, in a country in which most people are struggling with a seemingly endless cost of living crisis, the Chancery does have some discreet security. Cameras cover the hotel's perimeter, and guards circle the building after dark. Meanwhile a couple of miles to the south, in a new London landscape of residential towers and windswept roads at Nine Elms, the successor to the Grosvenor Square embassy stands in the middle of its own, far more extensive security zone, including a partial moat and a defensive wall disguised as a waterfall. The huge pale cube of the current US embassy dominates its neighbourhood even more than its predecessor did. It's also much further away from the usual routes of London political marches. Some protesters have already adjusted. Thousands of people supporting Palestine walked to the embassy in February, to show their fury at Trump's backing for Israel. The symbolic contrast between their defiant flags and flimsy placards and the fortress-like building did not work in the US's favour. The Grosvenor Square embassy may be gone, but the business of challenging the US goes on. Andy Beckett is a Guardian columnist
Wall Street Journal
11-07-2025
- Automotive
- Wall Street Journal
Meet the Army of Staffers Who Manage the Mansions of the Ultrarich
As a property manager to the 1%, Sarah Korpela's duties over the years have ranged from mundane to whimsical to downright bizarre. She has tuned bicycles and picked up takeout, planned parties and cleaned up parties. One Christmas Eve in Aspen, she bought a vintage Rolls-Royce for a client's girlfriend, only to have the client skid off the road into a ditch four days later. 'That was a sad moment for the car,' she said. (The client was unharmed.)
Forbes
01-07-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Luxury Real Estate Meets Elite Networking: The Rise Of Residence Clubs In New York City
The 1 Percent are trading private clubs for the comfort of home. Intellectual and community-driven programming is now being curated in luxury residences. getty From the elite sanctuaries of the 19th century to the modern exclusivity of Soho House, New York City's social clubs have mirrored the city's shifting power dynamics and cultural movements. While the traditional clubs endure, the city's newer social spaces reflect a redefinition of what it means to 'belong' in New York: values such as creativity, connectivity, and diversity. Exclusivity, that most coveted of urban luxuries, is now being artfully staged in New York's tallest residences—just the way the 1 percent like it: discreet, curated, and entirely invitation-only. getty Maybe New Yorkers are simply getting more creative, but the definition of what constitutes an elite social club is also branching out farther than ever from its aristocratic roots. Clubs synonymous with the spaces that host their gatherings — from the historic Metropolitan Club, founded by J.P. Morgan, to the ultra-exclusive Jazz Club at Aman — are being mirrored in intellectual and community-driven programming in luxury residences. The result is a forward-thinking model for socializing. It's based around a less tangible set of luxuries, and more around values that appeal to the 1 percent in unique ways. Consider the luxury of unplugging — turning off your phone and being unreachable in the middle of the day, rubbing elbows with your ultra-high-achiever friends at a deliciously catered soiree — all without leaving your house. Or your rich friend's. In New York City's rarefied towers, exclusivity isn't just offered—it's meticulously curated for the 1 Percent who expect nothing less getty Exclusivity among the Manhattan clubs was historically defined by high membership fees. Among the emerging residential clubs, the greatest barrier to entry might be their referral-only policy. In other words, it's all about who you know. 'The fee-based membership model in a residential club is not the norm,' said Michael Fazio, Chief Creative Officer at LIVunLtd , 'though in the luxury rental space, which is booming right now, we are starting to see hybrids emerge.' Fazio cited the examples of intimate, curated conversations with thought leaders in their respective industries like former Barstool Sports CEO Erika Badan, author Kevin Maney, and neuroscientist Dr. Kamran Fallahpour. More than an excuse for the host to show off their bespoke manse, these events centered around keynote speakers fostered thoughtful connections among neighbors and their guests. Of course, it's also a chance for the host to show off. 'We see residents in the buildings we serve hosting in beautifully designed common areas — fully appointed spaces with dishware, glassware, sometimes even chef's kitchens,' Fazio said. 'Our Lifestyle Managers often serve as personal event planners, coordinating everything from catering to cleanup. You can have a dazzling dinner party while your apartment stays completely untouched, no worries about red wine spilling on your beige silk rug!' The Luxury Residence Club Model In New York City Real Estate In a city where even privacy has a price tag, luxury buildings are now curating exclusivity itself—a bespoke amenity for the 1 percent who already have everything else getty A luxury residence-based club model is replicable at scale in other large, global cities: London, Paris, Shanghai, and Milan, to name a few. Yet nowhere in the U.S. is it more viable than in New York, where vertical living, defined neighborhoods, and layered culture create fertile ground for these micro-communities. Finding your community offline might be challenging for some. In Manhattan, money goes a long way. As Fazio says: 'The 1% know what they're looking for — exclusivity, discretion, high barriers to entry, and often a referral-only policy. That's how they filter for 'their people.''
Fast Company
19-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
Modern oligarchs? Evan Osnos on billionaires and broken systems
Is America in a Second Gilded Age? Evan Osnos thinks so. In this episode of Most Innovative Companies, Osnos unpacks how extreme wealth, corporate influence, and political inequality are transforming American life. If you've ever wondered how the 1% really operate, this is the deep dive you need.
