My recipe for longevity

The man in the white suit is not exactly a matinee idol around these parts. The mauvaises langues have it that the rich fear him more than the poor because they have more to lose. I’m not so sure, although it does make sense. This was not the case in the past: Spartan kings were in the first line of battle, unflinchingly eager to show their troops how to die. Samurais worshipped a heroic death, shunned opulence, but were employed by very rich patrons who answered to all their needs. It was a symptom of the times. Teutonic knights, those of the Round Table, and officers during the Napoleonic wars all had a lot to lose but fought bravely and to the death. I could go on about the scions of rich gentry who led attacks for both sides in the first world war. The Japanese, needless to say, rich and poor alike, turned courage into a death cult.

No longer. Not too many multimillionaires died in Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan. In fact, I can’t think of anyone offhand. Oliver Stone had a very rich mother and was awarded a bronze star in the Nam, but at the time he served he was penniless. As were Chuck Pfeifer and Billy David, both decorated, both close buddies of mine. Both were dead broke while fighting but struck it rich later on. Nah, maybe the waspish gossips have it right: the rich fear the man in the white suit more than the poor.

If the gossips are right, they must be trembling more up in St Moritz than here in Gstaad, and not only because it’s a lot higher and colder. The rich in St Moritz are much richer than their Gstaad counterparts.