August 12, 2008 --
THE ostentatious Russian billionaires who invaded the French and Italian Rivieras in the '90s have become so unpopular that local restaurants are refusing to serve them.
"From north to south, a rebellion is growing against those who show off their money and power," said La Stampa, the daily in Turin, Italy.
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Roman Abramovich, the friend of Vladimir Putin said to be worth $23.5 billion, was refused a table the other night at Bistrot in Forte dei Marmi on the Tuscan coast, The Times of London reports.
When restaurateur David Vaiani told Abramovich his eatery was fully booked and said, "You can try again tomorrow," the oil tycoon was so furious that he took off immediately for Sardinia on his yacht, Grand Bleu, which has five cooks and 45 waiters.
Conspicuous consumption is normal among the kleptocrats. "I served at a party where the guests had fun throwing burning 500-euro notes into the air while everyone split their sides laughing," said Pierrette, a housekeeper for a rich Russian. "The domestic staff were later told to collect the ashes. It was sickening."
The Russians are blamed for bidding up prices on trophy estates, most recently La Leopolda, which banking heiress Lily Safra reportedly sold for $750 million to an unidentified Russian. Abramovich has denied he's the buyer.
"It's completely surreal, and we are really uneasy," real-estate broker Jean Pierre told Le Parisien. "We don't dare anymore to propose any price below 100 million euros for these clients. Anything below and they throw you out . . . And you should see how they do it."
The backlash isn't limited to Russians. Modelizing tycoon Flavio Briatore was chased off a beach in Sardinia by locals "who threw sand and buckets of water at him when he tried to land from his yacht."
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