André Balazs Research thread - STANDARD HOTEL OWNER His wikipedia is a MAJOR jump off point that needs a LOT of research right now. Ex bf to Uma Thurman, Chelsea Handler, ex husband to Mary Katherine Ford of Ford Models (modeling agency) About Ford Models - Ford Models Inc. is the leading management company for models and hair and make-up artists globally, representing talent worldwide for more than 60 years. Legendary fashion industry pioneers Eileen and Jerry Ford founded the company in 1947.  Katie Ford joined in 1981 and became CEO in 1996. The agency’s ongoing vision and ability to recognize talent has launched and managed the careers of stars including: Carmen, Candace Bergen, Cheryl Tiegs, Ali McGraw, Tippi Hedron, Jennifer Connelly, Lindsay Lohan, Kirsten Dunst and Mischa Barton as well as successfully managed the careers of many others. Currently Ford’s roster includes: Chanel Iman, Brad Kroenig, Flavia de Oliveira, Patricia Velasquez, Nacho Figueras, Crystal Renn, and Tori Praver. The company’s websites can be found at www.fordmodels.com and www.fordartists.com. http://archive.is/U9PNz#selection-445.109-445.128 In 1980, Balazs was hired by David Garth Associates to serve as Press Secretary to Bess Myerson, a Democratic candidate for Senator from New York State. In 1977 David Garth helped to engineer the victory of Ed Koch over Mario Cuomo in the race for the office of the Mayor of New York City. Ed Koch - Koch was a fervent supporter of Israel. He crossed party lines to endorse Rudy Giuliani for mayor of New York City in 1993, Michael Bloomberg for mayor of New York City in 2001, and George W. Bush for president in 2004. Mario Cuomo -  He was the father of five, including Andrew Cuomo, the current Governor of New York, and journalist Chris Cuomo, currently an anchorman for CNN. Balazs co-founded Biomatrix with his father in 1988. The biotechnology company developed six hyaluronan products before it was sold in 2000 to Genzyme for an estimated $738 million. NEED INFO ON BIOMATRIX and GENZYME New info as comment below. Between 1988 and 1989, Balazs invested in various projects including the Manhattan nightclub M.K. and the Los Angeles supper club b.c. In 1989 he purchased The Mercer Hotel property in SoHo, a 100-year-old manufacturing loft.[11][10][12] In 1990, Balazs purchased and restored the Chateau Marmont Hotel.  Built in 1929 and located on Sunset Boulevard, Balazs reportedly made the purchase for just over $12 million.  In 1997, he purchased and updated the Sunset Beach Hotel and Restaurant on Shelter Island. The following year, Balazs opened the redeveloped Mercer Hotel and Mercer Kitchen in SoHo. NEED MORE INFO ON THE SUNSET BEACH HOTEL Here's an NYT piece on Club MK I haven't dug into much yet (funny name eh?  MK, as in MK Ultra?) The Chateau Marmont is a doozy.. MANY connections here.  Roman Polanski had a residence here. NEED MORE INFO ON CLUB B.C. IN LA In 1998, Balazs expanded his hotel collection when he purchased and restored The Mercer hotel in downtown New York.  Designed by French designer Christian Liaigre, The Mercer offers 75 guest rooms on six floors of a Romanesque revival building. Can't find a ton on The Mercer Hotel right now.  Needs further digging. The Standard, Hollywood is the first of Balazs's Standard hotels. Opened in 1998 on the Sunset Strip, the 139-room hotel features a 24-hour restaurant, shag carpeted floor-to-ceiling lobby with nightly DJs and video art.[17] The fourth and largest Standard hotel (337 rooms, 18 floors), opened in 2008 and is located in Manhattan's thriving Meatpacking District. The riverfront hotel bridges over the elevated High Line Park. The Standard, New York features The Standard Grill,[18] the hotel's restaurant as well as an outdoor Biergarten, serving traditional German food and beer, and Le Bain and Top of The Standard.[19] Formerly the Cooper Square Hotel, The Standard, East Village is André Balazs's 5th Standard hotel, acquired in November 2011.[20] It is located on the corner of East 5th Street and Bowery. Balazs has placed a strong focus on the culinary programs for each of his properties. The restaurants at the properties include the Standard Grill at The Standard, New York, under the helm of Michelin chef Dan Silverman;[21] The Lido Restaurant and Bayside Grill at The Standard Spa, Miami and Sunset Beach, with Executive Chef Mark Zeitouni;[22] Bar Marmont and the terrace restaurant at Chateau Marmont with Carolynn Spence; and The Standard Biergartens in New York and Downtown LA with Kurt Gutenbrunner.[24] Other chefs in the company stable include Jean-Georges Vongerichten at The Mercer Kitchen and Micah Fields at The Standard, Downtown LA. In addition to his role as a hotelier and restaurateur, Balazs is currently revitalizing The Locusts, a historical private estate and retreat in Staatsburg, New York; as well as restoring the farm operations on the property, which supplies fresh produce and farm-raised meats to The Standard Grill in New York City. The Locusts is a property that goes back to the 1700's In 2007, Balazs began a collaboration with Wölffer Estate Vineyard on Long Island to create his own vintage of rosé.[26] In 2011, Balazs launched a sea plane service to the Hamptons, StndAIR, an 8-seat plane operating scheduled flights and charters from Manhattan. He also owns the Chiltern Firehouse, a hotel in a former fire station in London.  Chiltern Firehouse was designed in conjunction with Studio KO, though Balazs is known to be personally heavily involved in the design of his hotels and it includes bar areas, a restaurant run by former Viajante chef Nuno Mendes and 26 suites. WTF is Studio KO??????  Another .fr domain.  The website starts making weird sounds if you're idle on the page long enough. Balazs has also been involved in residential real estate as the developer of 15 William, a luxury condominium in New York City’s Financial District, with apartments and amenities that embody many of the same design qualities as Balazs’ hotel properties.  Mr. Balazs doesn’t think he went overboard with the condo’s euphemistic name and logo. “First off, not many people get—focus on that. It’s utter descriptiveness,” he said, meaning that “Beaver” refers simply to the address. “We like beavers, they’re very industrious creatures. And, frankly, they’re such an important part of New York.”  He said the Astor family crest has a beaver on it (though that couldn’t be confirmed). “Beavers are a very venerable, important animal to New York. I say that with a straight face.” This fucking guy is connected to A LOT of sketchy shit.  Lets keep digging.