in all he did, gulbenkian remained a flamboyant refutation of the notion that the burden of having money dims the joy of living.
time magazine’s 1972 article about the eccentric heir to calouste ‘mr five percent’ gulbenkian’s oil fortunes sums up the bon vivant character that is nubar gulbenkian. a renowned gourmet and snappy dresser, complete with a fresh orchid in his lapel, the exotic nubar excelled at distinguishing himself in london society… noting to life magazine in an interview in 1965; england’s a very fine country, but it takes a long time to learn to take the english. i tell all my foreign friends the first 40 years are the hardest. far from being your average exotic turk-turned-edwardian-gentleman, he customized his one rolls-royce to look like a taxi or visa-versa remarking : i like to travel in a gold-plated taxi that can turn on a sixpence—whatever that is.
