BRITISH billionaire Philip Green, who held a £5 million 50th birthday bash at the luxurious Anassa Hotel in Paphos in March, allegedly left no tip for staff, it was revealed yesterday.
According to a report in Politis, staff were outraged when management failed to pass on the tip they thought BHS tycoon Green had left behind after the three-day party for 200 specially flown-in guests.
However, according to the report, management set the record straight with an internal memo pointing out that Green, who has just paid himself a yearly salary of £180 million or £500,000 a day, had left no tip.
The Anassa yesterday refused to comment on the ‘tip’ scandal, saying it could never and would never reveal which guests left tips and which did not.
The Thursday-to-Sunday party included a secret celebrity guest list, with entertainment by Rod Stewart, Tom Jones, George Benson, Demis Roussos, Earth Wind and Fire and a troupe of male strippers, a twenties-style black-tie dinner and a Roman toga party. Thousands of pounds were also spent on caviar, champagne and flowers for the 200 guests that Green and his wife Tina, 52, flew to Cyprus on a specially chartered plane from Luton.
Leaving the island, Green appeared irritated by the reference in some section of the British media to an “orgy of excess”.
“It wasn’t gaudy or horrible or ugly,” Green said, speaking at Paphos airport. “The party was beautifully done and a fabulous success. It was a lot of fun. I am just feeling a little bit tired and my guests are recuperating.”
Green, said to have made the fastest billion in British corporate history, broke a new record last week with his gigantic pay cheque. The Observer said on Sunday that the £180 million salary was the biggest payday in British history.
The son of Jewish parents, Green left school at 15 without qualifications and declined to enter the family business of property investment, opting instead to enter the clothing retail industry, working his ways up from London street markets until he bought out the ailing BHS chain two years ago. Last year, the company made a profit of £100 million.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
