Last week I wrote about two members of my Palm Beach masters squad, Suzanne and Stewart. Alison and I enjoyed their company, listening to stories of their exciting and varied lives. In last week’s story I told you about Stewart’s adventures with the Italian resistance movement during WW2 and Suzanne’s exotic life as a member of the Palm Beach mega-rich. Believe me, to be mega-rich in Palm Beach, Florida is a high bar to clear. Just look at this list of Palm Beach residents and their wealth. Gilbert $6.5 billion, Kraft $6.9 billion, Ross $7.6 billion, Johnson $10.8 billion, Griffin $12.1 billion, Icahn $17.4 billion, Peterffy $17.1 billon, Lauder $14.6 billion, Schwarzman $15.4 billion and Koch $38.2 billion. And that list excludes names like Madoff, Kennedy, Trump, Norman and Woods, none of whom are or were short of a dollar.

But of course, there is more to being an approved member of the mega-rich in Palm Beach than the size of your bank account. Money alone does not buy acceptance. Is your money old or new? Are you ostentatious and brash or refined and understated? Suzanne and Stewart passed the financial and acceptance tests. Donald Trump does not.

In fact, both Suzanne and Stewart could be savagely scathing about Trump and others who had a pile of money but no breeding.

“Probably ordering green linoleum for the White House,” was Suzanne’s derisive opinion.

The feature of their life that surprised Alison and me was the unusual events they treated as everyday normal. Frequently joining us for dinner at the Sailfish Club was Estelle. With her husband, Estelle made monthly trips to Europe to visit a business they owned in Geneva. Their means of transport was usually by Concord. Occasionally, when time allowed, first class on the QE2 was their alternative. For you and me that would count as the trip of a lifetime. For Estelle it was her normal commute.    

Another friend, whose name is probably best omitted from this story, spent an entire dinner describing her best friend’s daughter’s escapades as the then mistress of Tiger Woods. We were told that golf was not Tiger’s only well practiced skill. The daughter’s adventures with Tiger seemed to involve a fair amount of travel. Not on Concord or the QE2. But my guess is that Tiger’s Gulfstream G550 and 155-foot yacht, “Privacy” provided a comfortable and confidential means of transport.

Another friend, some readers in New Zealand may have heard of, was New York jeweller, Henry (Harry) Wilson. His business specialises in Rolex watches and upmarket jewellery. He has since moved on to the realm where watches, even if they are Rolex, are no longer required. Today his son and grandsons continue to provide for the New York elite.

Indeed, it was a look inside a fascinating world. A world where joining the Club could cost $k100 and the annual membership $k10. And you still had to pay for dinner.  

In last week’s story I mentioned the incredible food served at the Sailfish Club, the caviar and steaks and wine. What I forgot was the smoked salmon, as much smoked salmon as you could eat. The buffet was endless. Go back for seconds, thirds, fourths, as often as you wanted, no problem.

Suzanne told me she had also once been a member of the Everglades Club in Palm Beach. She resigned when a friend was suspended for bringing the Jewish Estee Lauder to the Everglades Club. Sammy Davis, Jr. was also escorted from the Club because he was black and Jewish The club would probably claim that it has put its racist past behind it, except that, until he died recently, Rush Limbaugh was a member.

Some readers may not have heard the name Rush Limbaugh. He was an ultra-conservative American radio host, Trump acolyte and all-around moron, who once said, “Even when I think I’m wrong I’m right. I am all-knowing.”  

I suspect we got on well with Suzanne and Stewart because of our shared interest in swimming and our left-wing political loyalty. Suzanne and Stewart may have had more money than God, but Trump and Bush never got their vote. When I admitted Alison and I and Jane had voted for Helen Clark our friendship with Suzanne and Stewart was secure. And as it turned out, the fun and return on that vote was more than political.