French Sketches: Monaco, Onassis, and Prince Rainier
French Sketches, #3
Reeks: French Sketches
Paul A. Myers
- In
- 1950,
- twenty-seven-year-old
- Prince
- Rainier
- succeeded
- his
- grandfather
- as
- sovereign
- prince
- of
- the
- little
- principality
- of
- Monaco
- on
- the
- French
- Riviera.
- The
- city-state's
- principal
- attractions
- were
- the
- renowned
- casino
- at
- Monte
- Carlo
- and
- the
- beautiful
- belle
- époque
- Hotel
- de
- Paris.
- Unfortunately,
- the
- Russian
- nobility
- and
- English
- aristocrats
- who
- had
- lost
- fortunes
- at
- the
- casino
- were
- long
- gone.
- Into
- these
- impecunious
- circumstances
- sailed
- international
- tanker
- tycoon
- Aristotle
- Onassis
- who
- bought
- majority
- control
- of
- SBM,
- the
- holding
- company
- that
- owned
- the
- casino
- and
- hotel.Onassis
- had
- new
- money
- and
- old
- ideas
- about
- how
- to
- make
- Monaco
- prosperous
- again.
- He
- wanted
- to
- cater
- to
- a
- small
- audience
- of
- the
- very
- wealthy.
- In
- contrast,
- Prince
- Rainier
- wanted
- to
- develop
- a
- modern
- and
- larger
- market
- of
- well-to-do
- and
- affluent
- tax
- exiles,
- high
- income
- people
- attracted
- to
- favorable
- tax
- rates
- and
- beautiful
- Riviera
- weather.
- A
- power
- struggle
- between
- the
- two
- visions
- evolved
- over
- the
- next
- fifteen
- years
- until
- in
- the
- mid-1960s
- Rainier
- vanquished
- Onassis
- with
- the
- help
- of
- Charles
- de
- Gaulle,
- president
- of
- France.Along
- the
- way
- Rainier
- married
- movie
- star
- Grace
- Kelly
- in
- the
- greatest
- fairytale
- wedding
- of
- the
- twentieth
- century.
- In
- a
- more
- roguish
- manner,
- Onassis
- embarked
- on
- high
- profile
- affairs
- with
- opera
- diva
- Maria
- Callas,
- Lee
- Radziwill,
- and
- Jackie
- Kennedy,
- often
- using
- his
- luxurious
- yacht
- Christina
- O
- as
- a
- floating
- rendezvous
- for
- assignation,
- a
- perfect
- symbol
- for
- the
- lust,
- greed,
- and
- status
- behind
- these
- tabloid romances.
