Greenwich Facing 'Financial Tsunami'

Greenwich, Connecticut is a rich enclave of hedge fund managers- and thus is feeling the pain of the current financial crisis like a ton of bricks. Ned Lamont, a Greenwich resident who ran for Senate in 2006, says, 'This is our Katrina.'

1 minute read

September 27, 2008, 1:00 PM PDT

By Tim Halbur


"'I don't know what will happen,' said Adie von Gontard, an heir to the Budweiser beer fortune who owns a 20-acre estate in one of Greenwich's best neighborhoods. 'We've had depressions and wars, but we don't know how lucky we are.'

First Selectman Peter Tesei said Wall Street affects everything from philanthropic contributions to a potential increase in public school enrollment if some families can no longer afford private schools. A recently laid-off trader who was making several million dollars annually 'is not going to be able to donate the $200,000 they did in the past' to charities, Tesei said.

'While I don't think we're in a crisis, we want to be proactive' in monitoring the markets, he said. 'By and large, the general population is very cautious.'"

Thursday, September 25, 2008 in The Wall St. Journal

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