An Israeli Ross Perot

摘要

Officially it was only a Chanukah party, but the blowout that billionaire Arkady Gay-damak threw a few weeks ago in Tel Aviv was also one hell of a political rally. Hundreds of outsize candles and scores of plasma televisions cast a flickering glow on banks of tulips and orchids that had been flown in for the occasion—as was the evening's star entertainer, Enrique Iglesias. Fashion models in low-cut dresses mingled with septuagenarian rabbis and top-tier politicians like Benjamin Netanyahu. The guest list was so tight that the uninvited son of a cabinet minister was caught trying to push his way in through the kitchen. "Half the guests were there out of genuine appreciation for Mr. Gaydamak," says David Nitzani, the event's organizer. "And then there were a bunch who just wanted to be seen."