What the Assholes are Up To Now

Treating their children to meals at the Four Seasons

“‘This is a pretty good view,’ Ethan Royce allowed as he surveyed the thriving lunch crowd from the terrace of the Pool Room at the Four Seasons and toyed with a forkful of the $21 agnolotti stuffed with organic chicken in Parmesan broth. Nothing unusual in that — save for his age, which is 8.

“He and his sister Lyndsey behaved with decorum so exquisite that Miss Manners might have felt privileged to observe them at lunch Friday during Children’s Day in the restaurant at 99 East 52nd Street near Park Avenue. It was the fifth enactment of the yearly August ritual, when that modernist refectory of Manhattan power dining throws open its modish doors — at no charge! — to the sprout set.”

Putting their elderly parents in "pods"

“The granny pod’s real name is the MEDCottage, and it’s basically a mini mobile home that rents for about $2,000 a month. You park one in the backyard, hook it up to your water and electricity, and it becomes a free-standing spare room for Grandma and Grandpa. The concept is catching on all over the country, but nowhere more so than Virginia, where the state government has eased zoning restrictions on these high-tech hideaways, which go on the market early next year. The MEDCottage is homey on the outside, with taupe vinyl siding and white trim around French doors. Inside, it looks like a nice hotel suite, complete with kitchen and bathroom — and security cameras.”

Building Compounds

“…today’s super-wealthy, seeking even greater privacy, are increasingly buying adjacent properties as a buffer zone around their mansions. And that’s made the compound the hottest commodity on L.A.’s high-end market, real estate brokers say. …

“‘If you don’t have a neighbor anymore, you create more privacy,’ said Kurt Rappaport, co-founder of Westside Estate Agency, with offices in Beverly Hills and Malibu.

“The adjoining properties may be used during major fundraisers or large-scale entertaining, Rappaport said, to create more parking or as a place to stage the catering during lavish events. Some buyers have been known to tear down well-known homes for more elbow room.”

Owning Mountains in Costa Rica

“At 40, this former hard-core devotee from Canada now oversees, with his partner, Suroosh Alvi, a mini media empire based in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that includes not just the magazine, but also a record label, a book imprint, an online television network and an ad agency, Virtue, with Dell and Nike among its corporate clients.

“He owns a loft in TriBeCa, a pub in London, a house for his mom in Palm Springs, Calif., and a mountain (yes, a mountain) in Costa Rica. His idol? No punk rocker, but a Fortune 500 executive.

“’I want to be like Tom Freston,’ Mr. Smith said, referring to the former chief executive of Viacom, who built MTV Networks for the company. ‘Tom just flies around everywhere, gets to make movies, gets to start TV shows, hang out with cool people and do whatever he wants.’”

Paying for a $400/hr Kindergarten Consultant

“In the frenzy to get kindergarteners into the top private schools, parents are now hiring consultants to coach their children on the art of the interview. …

 “Like most things in New York, the sessions don’t come cheap. Aristotle Circle charges $400 for a 45-minute observation and assessment. Bright Kids NYC, a similar company started last year by Bige Doruk, a mother of three, charges between $175 to $275 for sessions lasting between 45 and 75 minutes.

“‘They call it a playdate,’ Ms. Doruk says. ‘We call it just another test to prepare for.’”

Buying Six-Figure Fish Tanks.

“Christopher Stevens, a Manhattan interior designer, said he has worked several giant fish tanks into residential projects at the request of clients. ‘They have a collection of cars, of motorcycles, of art, they have three dogs,’ Mr. Stevens said. ‘It’s like, ‘What else, what’s the next thing to wow my friends?””