Suits and sayings: Former beauty queen starts gelato biz; legal honcho finds love amid nasty divorce; disgraced fintech boss becomes troll

Martini in third place

Guess where they’re serving the creamiest espresso martinis these days in Manhattan — and the recent desi connection. No, it’s not a trendy place in SoHo or a rooftop by the pool, but a multi-level coffee reserve from the biggest chain in the world. So, what is desire about it? If you were there just a few days ago, the McKinsey alums were hanging out for a laugh and a toast over several rounds of cocktails, all with cocoa, chocolate or freshly roasted robusta with the new Indian-origin CEO who is also an ex-Pepsico and Novartis honcho, except they were previously in the “firm”. The

Christmas spirit definitely requires a toast.

Capital account

While Reliance Capital’s creditors’ committee struggles to get better offers than those currently on the table, top lender Life Insurance Corp (LIC) has another concern. After three failed attempts to sell Reliance Capital’s debt, LIC put its `3,400 crore bond exposure on the block. Asset Care and Reconstruction Company (ACRE), an ARC backed by Ares SSG Capital, made a binding bid last month that triggered a Swiss challenge auction. While ACRE’s offer is said to be marginally higher than the offers received so far, a little-known Gujarat-based ARC counter-offered at a 5% markup. But this was not backed by an earnest money deposit, which made the offer invalid, causing LIC to be stopped. Some pickles always give a burning sensation.

Phoenix Rising

One has to give it to this Marwari gentleman for his gumption. After losing his empire and squandering his personal brand equity among most benefactors and lenders, leave shareholders alone, a little bird tells him he’s planning a comeback. To give him credit, he was once a disruptor who changed the way India consumed and traded, but then it all ended up in a legal slugfest that’s still going on. But to dream again? It takes some courage. And he has a bunch of ultra high net worth individuals to bankroll him. One of Mumbai’s most respected business moguls, who made his mega bucks in building materials and has a thriving family office, may have bought into the idea, which is still said to be top secret. Guess kinship cements the daring.

Cucchiao Paradiso

From modeling to law to acting and now a gelato chain, we don’t know if it’s an adventure or a tutti frutti in itself. But that’s exactly the flavor of life that this Delhi-based wife of a former successful businessman has chosen for herself and the full character of her adventurous side. She knows her chocolate bar and sorbets well as she has teamed up with arguably the best duo in the country running the most coveted salon in Anjuna, Goa. The Delhi couple may be living the Lutyens life, but their opulent Goa pad is also a popular party spot for the champagne set, so they know their boa vida. Two scoops for their success.

Third time lucky?

Some of the best professionals have possibly the worst personal lives. We were saddened to learn that the recent Covid marriage of one of our best legal minds had ended. We don’t want to get into technicalities as it’s a private matter, but it confused several of his besties in India and the UK. However, a little bird tells us that Cupid may have struck a third time after he was introduced to a Central Asian lady by a mutual friend. We love a good love story, don’t we?

Jaani Dushman

Is trolling the latest marketing strategy to push sales of one’s tell-all mishaps in entrepreneurship? It looks like this former fintech figurehead’s behavior is going from bad to worse and personal, as he has aggressively taken to all social media platforms to slam anyone associated with the company from which he was unceremoniously kicked out. He now even picks at personal photos of his former comrades and spews venom online. But then again, they say all publicity is good publicity.

Golden ticket

From buying cricket franchises to surprising traditional broadcasters with an enticing digital bid to outright speculation that he is buying a marquee EPL football team, when it comes to sports, this Bollywood-mad billionaire always makes time for whatever his busy business schedule is. So no surprises, we found him in the royal box in Doha as the special guest of the Emir and even posed for the camera with none other than Fifa President Gianni Infantino. After this, don’t blame us if someone tells you that India is preparing a bid to host the mega show as well!