Over sole at a Michelin two-star restaurant the pugnacious dealmaker talks about love, leveraged buyouts and litigation
By Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson
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He has accumulated five marriages, eight children, a $12bn-$14bn fortune and countless legal bills from run-ins with family members, business associates and regulators. So it’s not a surprise that Ron Perelman collects restaurants, too. The pugnacious dealmaker has invested in establishments from Graydon Carter’s Monkey Bar in Midtown Manhattan to Harlem’s fashionable Red Rooster. He once fought to close the bistro Le Bilboquet because of “illegal” outdoor tables on his block, only to fund its move to a larger venue two streets away.