 said Follieri was the first "real man" she had known and that the charity work had helped her realise how trivial her life had been. She told Marie Claire: "If I have one regret in life, it's how much time I spent feeling sorry for myself when I have everything."
Among the backers attracted to Follieri's venture was Ron Burkle (right), a Californian billionaire, and one of Bill Clinton's closest friends. The Clintons have made frequent use of Burkle's private jet and his Beverly Hills home to host fundraising events. The only financially-related job Bill Clinton took after leaving the White House was as an advisor to Burkle's Yucaipa Companies, a group of funds which made its name investing in distressed economic areas, working with local businesses, government and unions to turn a profit in difficult situations. Burkle also recently bid for the Los Angeles Times.
On paper, Follieri and Burkle seemed a perfect match. Both led a visible social life and appeared to make their money by investing in beaten-down communities and helping them
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| The suit filed by Burkle alleges that Follieri wasted some of the $55m on private jets for himself and Hathaway |
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revive. But according to the Wall Street Journal, Yucaipa quickly became suspicious of Follieri's accounting and business tactics.
Follieri had tried to grease the wheels with the Catholic hierarchy in the US by delivering fruit baskets to the hotel rooms of 350 bishops at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in Los Angeles, but the bishops rebuffed him. His plan to buy property has not gone smoothly, with many dioceses holding out for higher bids and paying little heed to the Follieri Group's Vatican ties.
The suit filed by Burkle against Follieri alleges that Follieri wasted some of the $55m invested by Burkle on private jets for himself and Hathaway, shopping at designer stores, a personal chef, hotel suites and pampering for their Labrador, Esmerelda.
Worryingly for the Clintons, who know better than anyone the risk of even the appearance of impropriety, the Follieri Group claims the whole matter is just a question of "a little money that needs to go back in the right pot".
FIRST POSTED JUNE 20, 2007
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