THE 40-year party at the Playboy mansion, a renowned symbol of sexual freedom and excess, may be drawing to a close. Hugh Hefner, its octogenarian master of ceremonies, is coming under pressure to sell up and move out.
The tycoon is trying to ride a financial storm unparalleled since he introduced the US to mass-market soft pornography with a nude centrefold of Marilyn Monroe in the first edition of Playboy. Hefner launched the magazine in 1953 by pawning his family's furniture for a few hundred dollars.
Now his antiques, art collection and mock-Tudor mansion in Charing Cross Road, Los Angeles, may become collateral in a struggle for control of his financial legacy.
Creditors, due $US115 million ($116.7m) 16 months from now on a bond owed by the loss-making Playboy Enterprises, are reported to be taking a "hard look" at the mansion. (more)
I am sure Hugh Hefner has no worries. A few years back his media stunts pushed the value of the shares from $11.00 to $35.00 and he dumped 70 million on the market. If he is still mentally capable of pushing stock value up without substance he is certainly capable of saving this one. Watch the next media stunt and I am sure Hef will survive. There are always fools who believe his bullshit.
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