Is Allen Stanford The 21st Century’s Jay Gatsby?
It looks like Allen Stanford, the billionaire Texan banker whose investment firm is being probed by the Feds, has a positively Gatsbyesque yearning to be accepted into high society.
As we knew, Stanford calls himself “Sir” Allen Stanford, on account of a knighthood he was awarded by the former prime minister of Antigua, where his business is based. But it looks like maybe that wasn’t quite good enough for Stanford, since until recently he was claiming, falsely, that the knighthood was presented by the British Royal family.
Check out this report (via Nexis), from last November in the Mail on Sunday of London:
Texan-born billionaire Sir Allen Stanford’s corporate website claims that, after he became a citizen of the Commonwealth territory of Antigua, it appointed him a ‘Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of the Nation’.’He was presented [with] this honour by His Royal Highness Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex,’ states the website.
However, The Mail on Sunday has learned that the Prince had nothing to do with the honour and that it was not approved by the Queen.
…
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it was a coincidence that the knighthood ceremony, conducted by an Antiguan political appointee, took place during a celebration of the island’s independence, at which Prince Edward was a guest.
‘It is incorrect to say that the Earl of Wessex knighted this person while in Antigua,’ said the spokesman.
Stanford’s personal web site now says only that the Earl of Wessex attended the ceremony at which the “royal knighthood” was bestowed. (Though the “royal” part still seem dubious, since Buckingham Palace has disavowed any role in the proceeding.)
The whole tale is reminiscent of Stanford’s claim to be descended from the founder of Stanford University. The school has denied the link.
Scenes from the Great Gatsby movie: