Rich list members like Brian Kennedy help the McCanns

#1 · by **Tony Bennett** 18.05.14 23:38

Today (18 May 2014) the Sunday Times Magazine published its eagerly-awaited ‘Rich List’ for 2014. It names the 1,000 richest individuals in Britain, and states their estimated total wealth.

Rich list members like Brian Kennedy help the McCanns.

It’s very good to see how the McCanns have been supported by some of the wealthiest folk in the country. This gives the lie to the suggestion that many of them are greedy capitalists who have made their money by sharp business practice, paying low wages, making massive bribes and using the most expensive accountants to evade tax.
On the contrary, as the following list shows, they are all hugely generous, altruistic, and hugely successful entrepreneurs.

BRIAN KENNEDY, head of the McCann Team’s private investigation, based in a house in Knutsford he bought in 2007, is worth £250 million, placing him at 367th= in the pecking order of Britain’s richest - just behind the Queen on £330 million.

SIR PHILIP AND LADY GREEN, with their fortune of £3.88 billion pounds, are just outside the ‘Top 20’ in 21^st position, a drop of 5 places from last year. Their act of human generosity was to lend the McCanns a private jet for that all-important trip to visit the Pope - which just could have led to the key which would unlock the mystery. Except that it didn’t.

SIR RICHARD BRANSON is just two places behind Sir Philip Green, with a fortune of £3.6 billion. Not only did he offer to give money towards a reward if Madeleine were found, he generously made available his ‘rooftop restaurant’ in Knightsbridge on the 1,000th day that Madeleine had been missing (27 January 2010), inviting the glitterati to help raise funds for the Find Madeleine Fund - and for the Missing Persons charity.

MATTHEW FREUD and ELISABETH MURDOCH have amassed a fortune worth £260 million, mainly from public relations and media work - placing them just ahead of Brian Kennedy in the ‘Rich List’ at 353rd=. Matthew Freud showed great understanding of Clarence Mitchell’s plight when in September 2008 he stepped down from working full-time for the McCanns - by offering him a plum job as a PR consultant in his Freud International media and PR firm. Meanwhile, Elisabeth’s father Rupert Murdoch and his CEO Rebekah Brooks did all they could to keep Madeleine in the news - indefatigably supplying one front-page story about her after another. Unfortunately all of this effort didn’t lead to Madeleine being found, either.

DAVID and VICTORIA BECKHAM, at 442= with £210 million, helped the campaign to find Madeleine to get off to an excellent start by supplying himself free of charge to front the fund-raising campaign.

RICHARD DESMOND’s fortune of £1.2 million, made mostly by selling porn, places him at 78th= in the list – but unlike the others, his contribution wasn’t voluntary. He had to cough up hundreds of thousands of pounds to the McCanns because his Express Newspapers Group had libelled them.

J K ROWLING’s £570 million fortune puts her at 180^th= in the Rich List. She spoke out in favour of the McCanns – and added practical support by allowing a flyer for the McCann campaign to be put inside every copy of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’. (‘madeleine’, p. 169). The fiction-writer is even reputed to have given free advice to Kate McCann on how to write her book.

SIR ELTON JOHN, a fraction richer than Brian Kennedy at £260 million, is at 353th= on the list. He nearly gave his help at what was planned to be a fund-raising concert for Madeleine in the early days. But it never happened.

Many other famous and wealthy people have helped the McCanns one way or another, but so far as is known, these are the only ones to be on the prestigious Sunday Times ‘Rich List’.

Finally, we ought not to forget the role of some of the above – not to mention the generous British public -in perhaps helping, directly or indirectly, to give much needed-employment to the following:

Francisco Marco, boss of dodgy Barcelona-based detective agency, Metodo 3, arrested and imprisoned for illegal phone-tapping in 2013

Antonio Giminez Raso, Metodo 3 detective on the McCann case, arrested in February 2008 on serious drugs and corruption charges, spent 4 years in jail on remand

Julian Peribanez, another Metodo 3 detective, arrested and imprisoned for illegal phone-trapping in 2013

Gary Hagland, top expert in money laudering regulations

Kevin a.k.a. Richard Halligen, serial liar, con-man and fraudster, took £500,000 plus expenses from the Find Madeleine Fund whilst enjoying the high life in Britain, the U.S. and Italy with his girlfriend Shirin Trachiotis before going on the run; finally extradited to the U.S.; served 4 years in British and U.S hails for his crimes

Henri Exton, ex-MI5 man sacked by MI5 after shoplifting from Manchester Airport

Marcos Aragao Correia, Portuguese lawyer who lied twice about why he got involved in the Madeleine McCann case, falsely pretended to be a 'Good Samaritan' searching for Madeleine's bones - and later did a bunk to Brazil

Dave Edgar, ex-Detective Inspector, who said that Jane Tanner might have seen a woman, not a man

Arthur Cowley, ex-Detective Sergeant and pigeon-fancier living in a cottage high up on Halkyn Mountain, who formed a bogus company, ALPHAIG, with the help of Brian Kennedy, enabling the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell to portray him and Edgar as working as the leaders of a well-established detective agency (which was actually non-existent), Alpha Group Investigations…and, last but not least,

Karen McCalman.

#2 · by jeanmonroe 19.05.14 0:31

Yes and the rich list people did not 'donate' to McCanns PRIVATE 'Madeleine fund'

But only 'pledged' to a reward that, imo, they ALL knew, from the outset, would NEVER be 'claimed'!

'donating' to their PRIVATE 'Madeleine fund' was something only the 'public' was asked to do, not zlebrities, as John McCann 'helpfully' told us all.

And JM was pretty 'furious and fuming' when 'donations' to the 'Madeleine fund' that supported the 'WIDER McCann family' dropped like a stone when the McCanns were made 'arguido/arguida' wasn't he?

#3 · by ultimaThule 19.05.14 1:26

Less than a week after Madeleine was 'taken' the reward pot totalled some £2.6 million and was sitting waiting for one greedy person, as described by her loving Aunt Phil, to claim it.

In Exhibit KH1, Kate wonders: "How would we actually get hold of all this money if necessary?' and I suspect that this poser taxed her spouse's wee brain to the limit as he wrestled with the problem of how to get all of that lovely lolly in unmarked notes safely secured in his sporran ready for the ransom demand that never came and the tip-off which failed to materialise. .

I would imagine that the McCanns felt a tad miffed that not even the interest from this goodly sum was paid into their limited company by those exceptionally well-heeled folk who so generously promised to give their small change to aid the search without having to dig in their pockets or down the sides of their sofas but, fortunately, non-uncle Brian Kennedy was on hand to provide largesse of the financial kind which must have been a great consolation to them.
,

#4 · by Watching 19.05.14 4:57

Brian Kennedy, Stephen Winyard & Richard Branson all contributed to McCann legal fees, split (some ?) costs three ways IIRC.

Some celebs withdrew their Reward pledge after Mr & Mrs were made arguido - Was not Simon Cowell one such celeb who saw the light?

I seem to remember too that Mr was asked by Darshna Soni I think it was, about the Reward & he couldn't tell her if it was still in existence? But then he couldn't answer either what were the most significant leads they had! Caught on the hop they were with that question. Desperate to find their daughter, accusing GA of hindering their investigation & they didn't know where their private investigation was at!

#5 · by Liz Eagles 19.05.14 8:11

It's not known how much money was donated to the Fund.

It's not known exactly how much money from the general public was donated - that's something to really think about.

Whipping up a storm of media coverage to portray the great goodness of kind people, getting Clarrie and the crew to say send it to Rothley it'll get there, showing pictures of kids holding cake bakes for Madeleine and reporting a pot of ??? million isn't entirely the same as saying donations from the general public comes to xxx.

It's not known how much was earned from KH1.

It's not known because the Fund is a limited company and gives the absolute bare minimum of financial information.

It's definitely not known exactly how much the rich and famous have contributed.

What's known is that the Fund is a mystery and it's all perfectly legal.

#6 · by Guest 19.05.14 8:19

aquila wrote:It's not known how much money was donated to the Fund.

Do we think more or less than was donated for the Asian tsunami? My perception is that the public mood for generosity was similar in both cases.

On a side note, but I feel compelled to ask - how in the blue **** is JK Rowling worth five hundred and seventy million pounds?

#7 · by HelenMeg 19.05.14 9:09

Al of these contributors either had a good reason to offer help, or they were being kind hearted.
I'm glad that Elton did not do the concert - for whatever reason. I would hope that he could see through them eventually.

I 'd expect some of the UK's wealthiest to contribute when they first learnt that M had gone missing. On the surface it was a heartbreaking story. However, I'd also expect some to withdraw after a while once K and G became Arguidos.
I certainly would not expect any of them to take on a role such as BK did ! Find that a little suspicious nah

just noticed how that little icon looks just like Kate when she contorts her 'gob'

#8 · by Guest 19.05.14 11:19

The rich list bankrolling the McCanns

'John Geraghty A 68-year-old businessman from Leicestershire who now lives on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. Offered to store the McCanns' hire car so that they could commission independent forensic tests.'

　

Private security team hired by Kate and Gerry McCann for secret investigation [size=13]The Times
[/size]

24th September 2007

#9 · by Watching 19.05.14 11:32

Gollum wrote:The rich list bankrolling the McCanns

'John Geraghty A 68-year-old businessman from Leicestershire who now lives on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. Offered to store the McCanns' hire car so that they could commission independent forensic tests.'

　

Private security team hired by Kate and Gerry McCann for secret investigation The Times

24th September 2007

Gollum, hope you don't mind I took liberty of tidying up the text. I know when I first started posting comments huge problem for me as everything came out a bit wonky.

Cheers

#10 · by Guest 19.05.14 11:40

Watching wrote:
Gollum wrote:The rich list bankrolling the McCanns

'John Geraghty A 68-year-old businessman from Leicestershire who now lives on the outskirts of Praia da Luz. Offered to store the McCanns' hire car so that they could commission independent forensic tests.'

　

Private security team hired by Kate and Gerry McCann for secret investigation The Times

24th September 2007

Gollum, hope you don't mind I took liberty of tidying up the text. I know when I first started posting comments huge problem for me as everything came out a bit wonky.

Cheers

Mind? I'm grateful so I thank you, the post seemed to lose all meaning with all that superfluous stuff. I'm beggared if I could get rid of it.

#11 · by Mirage 19.05.14 12:00

ultimaThule wrote:Less than a week after Madeleine was 'taken' the reward pot totalled some £2.6 million and was sitting waiting for one greedy person, as described by her loving Aunt Phil, to claim it.

In Exhibit KH1, Kate wonders: "How would we actually get hold of all this money if necessary?' and I suspect that this poser taxed her spouse's wee brain to the limit as he wrestled with the problem of how to get all of that lovely lolly in unmarked notes safely secured in his sporran ready for the ransom demand that never came and the tip-off which failed to materialise. .

I would imagine that the McCanns felt a tad miffed that not even the interest from this goodly sum was paid into their limited company by those exceptionally well-heeled folk who so generously promised to give their small change to aid the search without having to dig in their pockets or down the sides of their sofas but, fortunately, non-uncle Brian Kennedy was on hand to provide largesse of the financial kind which must have been a great consolation to them.
,

It's stitched into his upper thigh, UT. That's what the unsightly bit of extra flesh is at the top of his thigh under the running shorts(See Clapham photo). This faux sporran is also, contrary to common misperceptions, what KH has her hand on at all available opportunities.

#12 · by **Tony Bennett** 19.05.14 12:58

HelenMeg wrote:I certainly would not expect any of them to take on a role such as BK did! Find that a little suspicious...

You find taking on these people...

1. Francisco Marco, boss of dodgy Barcelona-based detective agency, Metodo 3, arrested and imprisoned for illegal phone-tapping in 2013

2. Antonio Giminez Raso, Metodo 3 detective on the McCann case, arrested in February 2008 on serious drugs and corruption charges, spent 4 years in jail on remand

3. Julian Peribanez, another Metodo 3 detective, arrested and imprisoned for illegal phone-trapping in 2013

4. Gary Hagland, top expert in money laudering regulations

5. Kevin a.k.a. Richard Halligen, serial liar, con-man and fraudster, took £500,000 plus expenses from the Find Madeleine Fund whilst enjoying the high life in Britain, the U.S. and Italy with his girlfriend Shirin Trachiotis before going on the run; finally extradited to the U.S.; served 4 years in British and U.S hails for his crimes

6. Henri Exton, ex-MI5 man sacked by MI5 after shoplifting from Manchester Airport

7. Marcos Aragao Correia, Portuguese lawyer who lied twice about why he got involved in the Madeleine McCann case, falsely pretended to be a 'Good Samaritan' searching for Madeleine's bones - and later did a bunk to Brazil

8. Dave Edgar, ex-Detective Inspector, who said that Jane Tanner might have seen a woman, not a man

9. Arthur Cowley, ex-Detective Sergeant and pigeon-fancier living in a cottage high up on Halkyn Mountain, who formed a bogus company, ALPHAIG, with the help of Brian Kennedy, enabling the McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell to portray him and Edgar as working as the leaders of a well-established detective agency (which was actually non-existent), Alpha Group Investigations.

...only a little suspicious??

#13 · by bobbin 19.05.14 13:21

Mirage wrote:
ultimaThule wrote:Less than a week after Madeleine was 'taken' the reward pot totalled some £2.6 million and was sitting waiting for one greedy person, as described by her loving Aunt Phil, to claim it.

In Exhibit KH1, Kate wonders: "How would we actually get hold of all this money if necessary?' and I suspect that this poser taxed her spouse's wee brain to the limit as he wrestled with the problem of how to get all of that lovely lolly in unmarked notes safely secured in his sporran ready for the ransom demand that never came and the tip-off which failed to materialise. .

I would imagine that the McCanns felt a tad miffed that not even the interest from this goodly sum was paid into their limited company by those exceptionally well-heeled folk who so generously promised to give their small change to aid the search without having to dig in their pockets or down the sides of their sofas but, fortunately, non-uncle Brian Kennedy was on hand to provide largesse of the financial kind which must have been a great consolation to them.
,
It's stitched into his upper thigh, UT. That's what the unsightly bit of extra flesh is at the top of his thigh under the running shorts(See Clapham photo). This faux sporran is also, contrary to common misperceptions, what KH has her hand on at all available opportunities.

I've referred in another thread that public support for the McCs is dwindling since the CW programme was put out, and that the press/BBC etc. are becoming a bit more daring.
You cannot tell me that only 'ONE' photo was taken of Gerry running. I bet there were many more, but why has this rather 'unpleasant' one been printed. It does nothing at all to enhance the man's dignity, it is revolting. A carefully selected photo from amongst many. I bet there is a loud snorting sound of raucous laughter back in the print room and it's probably got copies posted all over the walls with comments written along side in blue marker pen. big grin

#14 · by ultimaThule 19.05.14 16:26

As that is one photo I'm not prepared to enlarge on my screen, I'm more than ~~relieved~~ happy to take your word for it that the wee one has undergone an operation which answers the age-old question of 'what does a scotsman wear under his kilt?' Mirage laughat

I suspect your analysis of why that particular shot was chosen to ~~put folk off their breakfast~~ grace the pages of the morning papers is spot on, Bobbin, and, but for the fact that I have no wish to linger over the image, I'd suggest we hold our own 'caption contest' to determine what his ever loving spouse is saying to him, or what he's saying to her, as they indulge in their favourite pastime ~~of running away from the truth~~.

#15 · by Grande Finale 20.05.14 0:11

I have suspected for a long while, that BK had ambitions to take over from Max Clifford in a PR roll.
Whitewashing celebrity reputations in the press.

Smethurst would do the legal stuff, Clarrie was to be the media manipulator and himself as the business brains.

They were already set up to manage sport celebrities' lives and finances with a head start being the Pro Rugby players. There was also an operation to provide luxury holidays to celebrities "Purple something" in order to relieve them of their huge cash piles.

When the McCann story broke BK saw an opportunity to kick start the new service by whitewashing their reputations, hopefully rescuing Maddie and launching the new business in a worldwide blaze of free publicity.

The best laid plans eahhh?

All in my own HO.

#16 · by **tigger** 20.05.14 5:51

Mirage wrote:
ultimaThule wrote:Less than a week after Madeleine was 'taken' the reward pot totalled some £2.6 million and was sitting waiting for one greedy person, as described by her loving Aunt Phil, to claim it.

In Exhibit KH1, Kate wonders: "How would we actually get hold of all this money if necessary?' and I suspect that this poser taxed her spouse's wee brain to the limit as he wrestled with the problem of how to get all of that lovely lolly in unmarked notes safely secured in his sporran ready for the ransom demand that never came and the tip-off which failed to materialise. .

I would imagine that the McCanns felt a tad miffed that not even the interest from this goodly sum was paid into their limited company by those exceptionally well-heeled folk who so generously promised to give their small change to aid the search without having to dig in their pockets or down the sides of their sofas but, fortunately, non-uncle Brian Kennedy was on hand to provide largesse of the financial kind which must have been a great consolation to them.
,
It's stitched into his upper thigh, UT. That's what the unsightly bit of extra flesh is at the top of his thigh under the running shorts(See Clapham photo). This faux sporran is also, contrary to common misperceptions, what KH has her hand on at all available opportunities.

Ah, so she isn't protecting the family jewels after all? That could mean that contents of the faux sporran must be worth a lot more. winkwink

#17 · by Guest 16.07.14 8:42

Apropos of nothing, here's a picture of Phillip Green's sometime companion, sixteen year old Lottie Moss, from today's Daily Mail.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

#18 · by bubblewrap 16.07.14 8:50

Clay Regazzoni wrote:Apropos of nothing, here's a picture of Phillip Green's sometime companion, sixteen year old Lottie Moss, from today's Daily Mail.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Well well well....
I read an article the other day, with possible evidence...Will have to go find. BRB

#19 · by missbeetle 16.07.14 8:56

Cokey Kate's little sister?

She doesn't look happy.

#20 · by Guest 16.07.14 9:01

missbeetle wrote:

She doesn't look happy.

I think that was supposed to be part of the "appeal" of these images.

#21 · by Guest 16.07.14 9:02

Shows how up-to-date I am - I've never heard of her.

She looks very young indeed.

#22 · by missbeetle 16.07.14 9:14

No Fate Worse Than De'Ath wrote:Shows how up-to-date I am - I've never heard of her.

She looks very young indeed.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]"

I hadn't heard of her either.

#23 · by missbeetle 16.07.14 10:00

...and not just girls - young boys, too.

I've always thought of Calvin Klein as a designer for boyish, neurotic, obsessive women.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]"
(clipped from 'A World Made Sexy : From Freud to Madonna' by Paul Rutherford)

...nothing substantial...

Note that it is when a male teen involved, feathers fly...

#24 · by Sonmi-451 16.07.14 11:54

missbeetle wrote:.
[Snipped] "Note that it is when a male teen involved, feathers fly..."

In the interests of balance:... it might have had nothing to do with gender but the 'open crotch' being on view. For all we know the feathers may well have flown even more if it had been a teenaged girl presented in that pose, (n.b. particularly as the article suggests, much of the concern came from the AFA who are a vocal Right Wing Evangelical Christian group and much of their rhetoric when it comes to young people, particularly women, appears misogynistic).