April 3, 2010

A balanced view of Obama

By: AF Editors

The New Yorker recently ran a profile of Italian cashmere magnate Brunello Cucinelli. [Subscription only] There is much to admire both in his entrepreneurial spirit and his concern for his employees. Last week, I stopped by the Saks Fifth Avenue flagship in New York, where I discovered one of Mr. Cucinelli’s cashmere throws on sale for $3000, and a pastel linen jacket for a mere $1595.

In addition to being a businessman, Cucinelli considers himself to be quite the intellectual and observer of politics. One of Cucinelli’s inspirations is

President Barack Obama, whom Cucinelli regards as a new Marcus Aurelius. “This man will change humanity,” Cucinelli said. “He thinks like a philosopher and acts like an emperor.” (Cucinelli does not pay close attention to congressional politics. Cucinelli speaks with something approaching reverence of an incident he says he saw on television, when Obama was visiting L’Aquila for the G-8 summit and, seeing a piece of trash on the ground, picked it up. “I always say, Obama is my President–the President of the world,” Cucinelli told me. He has a recurring dream in which he is about to meet Obama but never does. “If one time I could meet him–I would walk to Washington if I had to,” he said. Cucinelli has even commissioned a bust of Obama, to be made in Carrara marble, which he intends to display in his home alongside those of other great thinkers. “I have Socrates, Seneca, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius, and now Obama,” He said. “I sit in front of the fire and talk to them.”

I only wish I could listen to those conversations.