In 1996, some 40,000 ticket-holders spent $34.5 million over 4 days at Jackie Onassis' estate sale. Before the auction commenced, Sotheby's "most optimistic projection had been $4.6 million." Of the "whopping 750%" climb, one buyer insisted, "Truly, there's only one opportunity to do this. There will never be another Jackie Onassis auction." Another added, "Everybody felt a feeling of Cinderella around her. She was beautiful, intelligent. She was what every woman wanted to be. When she got married (to Ari), I, like everyone else, felt disappointed." And another, "It's a sense of youth lost that resonates deeply." In 1966, some 30 years earlier, 12 million teenagers from all the states across America named John F. Kennedy their No. 1 All-American hero and Jacqueline Kennedy their ideal woman. Back in 1962, Mollie Parnis hailed Jackie "the greatest influence on fashion…She is the epitome of perfection without even trying, and that's hard...The secret to Mrs Kennedy's talent with fashion is that there is nothing contrived or planned." Rudi Gernreich reasoned, "Trendsetting used to start at the top and sift downward. Now (in 1967) it begins among the young and poor, perhaps as a fad, and is given polish and status and adopted for the rich."
Jackie Onassis was one of 20th century's most watched women. "Among the rest, there are those who are respected and admired, and those who impressed and then there's Jackie. There's always Jackie...Even in retreat, her name and image are constantly in the news. Her charisma remains compelling." Reverend R.M. Davis made the point in 1971, "The Dictionary of Religious Terms (Revell-Press) defines it – 'charisma, a gift; Greek word in the New Testament for a special gift to the Christian believers, such as prophesying, healing or speaking in unknown tongues (I Corinthians 12:4-11)'. Charisma, then, means power, dynamism."
The Pulitzer Prize winning correspondent Fred Sparks had covered Mideast assignments since 1948. In 1973, Fred "obtained startling information from a Greek colleague who has talkative friends in Aristotle Onassis's employ" to report to the world "the saga of 'Bankbook Jackie.'" As observed, "Money, it would seem, was her Achilles' heel." However after the tragic death of Alexander Onassis, Jackie's spending "are down by 50%" to something around $500,000. Ari's personal expenses had been estimated to be around $20 million a year. Hence the way Jackie had been spending "has got to be the sharpest monetary reduction since those caused by military cutbacks at the end of World War II." It was put forward, "If she can keep that up for a decade (to 1983) her bank book will read like the annual budget of a country like Albania or Burma (present day Myanmar)."
At Skorpios island, Ari's accountant told him, "Sir, in checking bills for the fiscal year, I found Mrs Onassis's expenses – for things like dresses, furs, gifts, etc. – are down by 50%." Fred understood "Ari (then) told his wife: 'Jackie, you used to spend $20,000 a week, now you're only spending $10,000. Why not keep the difference? I'll have my office send you at the end of each month, when all the bills are in, a check for every dollar you spend under $20,000 a week." It was reported Jackie agreed to Ari's generous offer "and opened a bank account in Switzerland." Ari had already told Jackie, "Go ahead, spend anything you want. The sky's the limit."
It was understood by early 1973, "Jackie had complete wardrobes for spring, summer, autumn and winter on Skorpios, in the villa Glyfada, in her New York flat and on the 'Christina.'" Jackie's spending reminisced of the 19th century's Empress Eugenie who was said to be a "top spender whose clothing allowance was more than the Louvre's budget." Elsa Maxwell made known, "Most other self-made millionaires I know love money for its own sake. Not the Greeks! They value it for what it will buy." Theo Roubanis remarked, "These Greeks spend more money than other rich people because they don't worry about it. It's new money which they made gambling – for them all life is a gamble. They spend their money because they love life – and life for them is women." Ari argued, "Jackie is like a little bird that needs its freedom as well as security. She gets both from me. We trust each other implicitly."
Living the life of the jet set, it was reported Jackie "learned to see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil – in others." Stavros Niarchos was said "the only other Greek tycoon who ranks with Onassis in the eyes of the social set. Niarchos' rivalry with Onassis has become world-famous: one constantly trying to outdo the other. Most of the Greek tycoons register their shipping lines in such countries as Argentina, Liberia, and Panama, and run their vessels under these flags because these are tax-free countries." Mary Barelli Gallagher informed, "Clothing was her blind spot. So were paintings and house furnishings, especially antiques. If Jackie liked something, she ordered it and coped with the bills later."
However by 1974 with oil prices sky-high, "Jackie Onassis, who one year spent $1-million-plus on herself, look like a frugal housewife hunting basement bargains" compared to the clique - "the 5 absolute rulers of the rich Persian Gulf states, mankind's wealthiest men on earth: King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Sultan Quabas of Oman, Shiek Khalifa of Qatar, Shiek Zeyed of Abu Dhabi, and Shiek Sabah of Kuwait." As pointed out, "Alongside them the Rothschilds and Rockefellers are nothing more or less than welfare cases." The absolute rulers spent "billion of dollars abroad in securities, real estate, short-term notes, diamonds" as well as "ruby, Swiss watches, gold ball point pens" or on any "goodies" money could buy. Colin McGregor, the Kuwait's financial advisor, told the press in 1974, "We used to keep the (oil) revenue in an enormous safe in my office. We stuffed in stacks of Indian rupees, American dollars and gold sovereigns. The ruler's relatives would come in and pick up a million dollars at a time – and get very snotty when I wanted a receipt. One day one of the sheik's most spendthrift brothers phones for a huge sum in gold and dollars. I put them in 2 large sacks and told the guards making the delivery not to come back without a receipt. An hour later they returned with an old piece of paper on which was written: 'Received: 2 sacks of money.'"
The Pulitzer Prize winning correspondent Fred Sparks had covered Mideast assignments since 1948. In 1973, Fred "obtained startling information from a Greek colleague who has talkative friends in Aristotle Onassis's employ" to report to the world "the saga of 'Bankbook Jackie.'" As observed, "Money, it would seem, was her Achilles' heel." However after the tragic death of Alexander Onassis, Jackie's spending "are down by 50%" to something around $500,000. Ari's personal expenses had been estimated to be around $20 million a year. Hence the way Jackie had been spending "has got to be the sharpest monetary reduction since those caused by military cutbacks at the end of World War II." It was put forward, "If she can keep that up for a decade (to 1983) her bank book will read like the annual budget of a country like Albania or Burma (present day Myanmar)."
At Skorpios island, Ari's accountant told him, "Sir, in checking bills for the fiscal year, I found Mrs Onassis's expenses – for things like dresses, furs, gifts, etc. – are down by 50%." Fred understood "Ari (then) told his wife: 'Jackie, you used to spend $20,000 a week, now you're only spending $10,000. Why not keep the difference? I'll have my office send you at the end of each month, when all the bills are in, a check for every dollar you spend under $20,000 a week." It was reported Jackie agreed to Ari's generous offer "and opened a bank account in Switzerland." Ari had already told Jackie, "Go ahead, spend anything you want. The sky's the limit."
It was understood by early 1973, "Jackie had complete wardrobes for spring, summer, autumn and winter on Skorpios, in the villa Glyfada, in her New York flat and on the 'Christina.'" Jackie's spending reminisced of the 19th century's Empress Eugenie who was said to be a "top spender whose clothing allowance was more than the Louvre's budget." Elsa Maxwell made known, "Most other self-made millionaires I know love money for its own sake. Not the Greeks! They value it for what it will buy." Theo Roubanis remarked, "These Greeks spend more money than other rich people because they don't worry about it. It's new money which they made gambling – for them all life is a gamble. They spend their money because they love life – and life for them is women." Ari argued, "Jackie is like a little bird that needs its freedom as well as security. She gets both from me. We trust each other implicitly."
Living the life of the jet set, it was reported Jackie "learned to see no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil – in others." Stavros Niarchos was said "the only other Greek tycoon who ranks with Onassis in the eyes of the social set. Niarchos' rivalry with Onassis has become world-famous: one constantly trying to outdo the other. Most of the Greek tycoons register their shipping lines in such countries as Argentina, Liberia, and Panama, and run their vessels under these flags because these are tax-free countries." Mary Barelli Gallagher informed, "Clothing was her blind spot. So were paintings and house furnishings, especially antiques. If Jackie liked something, she ordered it and coped with the bills later."
However by 1974 with oil prices sky-high, "Jackie Onassis, who one year spent $1-million-plus on herself, look like a frugal housewife hunting basement bargains" compared to the clique - "the 5 absolute rulers of the rich Persian Gulf states, mankind's wealthiest men on earth: King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, Sultan Quabas of Oman, Shiek Khalifa of Qatar, Shiek Zeyed of Abu Dhabi, and Shiek Sabah of Kuwait." As pointed out, "Alongside them the Rothschilds and Rockefellers are nothing more or less than welfare cases." The absolute rulers spent "billion of dollars abroad in securities, real estate, short-term notes, diamonds" as well as "ruby, Swiss watches, gold ball point pens" or on any "goodies" money could buy. Colin McGregor, the Kuwait's financial advisor, told the press in 1974, "We used to keep the (oil) revenue in an enormous safe in my office. We stuffed in stacks of Indian rupees, American dollars and gold sovereigns. The ruler's relatives would come in and pick up a million dollars at a time – and get very snotty when I wanted a receipt. One day one of the sheik's most spendthrift brothers phones for a huge sum in gold and dollars. I put them in 2 large sacks and told the guards making the delivery not to come back without a receipt. An hour later they returned with an old piece of paper on which was written: 'Received: 2 sacks of money.'"
