Words: Joseph Bullmore
What is there left to say of Porfirio Rubirosa? His job titles alone cast a sense of the man – international diplomat-sans-pareil, professional polo player, soldier, political advisor and racing driver – but even they leave something on the table. Gerard Bonnet, an old polo-playing friend from Paris, gets closer to the truth: “Rubi was the ultimate man’s man. Everyone wanted his style of macho. All the men I know loved Rubi. The ones who didn’t were jealous of him.”
It’s not hard to see why. Rubirosa’s life was a smorgasbord of anecdotes, capers and aphorisms; a cascade of models, movie stars, dictators and sporting rivals. And though the playboy’s worldview now looks drastically outdated, it still represents an unbeatable field-guide to living well. Here are six lessons from the life of Porfirio Rubirosa – take them with a pinch of salt, wash them down with a swig of Bollinger, and let someone else’s wife take care of the bill.
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