"I would say, from my limited experience of hearing about what other kids of people who are successful go through, like Julian Lennon, that there are not that many clear examples of kids doing a good job of putting themselves out there and coming up with the goods," said Duncan Jones recently.
Jones, who was once named Zowie by his father, David Bowie, has just made a low-budget sci-fi movie that echoes his father's The Man Who Fell to Earth. Jones's film, Moon, has been praised by critics.
It's the first time that Jones, who earned his directing chops in commercials, has stepped out of the shadow of his famous father. And if he has done so cautiously, it's not hard to see why.
For most famous children, getting attention from the public is not difficult. It's knowing what to do with it that's tricky. A sense of direction eludes all but the very few, and the rest often find themselves in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
"I think Stella McCartney has done a good job," said Jones, but the director struggled to come up with more examples of successful famous kids. Fortunately, we have a list to help him out.
1. Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof
Blurb: Bob Geldof's middle daughter has done it all - not terribly well.
Is there nothing she has not tried her hand at? Just 20 years old, she has been a columnist, a TV presenter, a runaway bride, a divorcee, a model, the face of an Australian fashion line, a DJ, a musician and been voted the 53rd sexiest woman in the world (by the readers of FHM). But by far her most outlandish project was the December 2008 launch of Disappear Here, a style guide aimed at young adults. The process of launching the magazine was the subject of an MTV documentary. The first issue featured reviews of coffins.
Successful? The response to Disappear Here was largely negative. A second issue was produced in April, but Peaches was not listed as editor in chief.
They said: "Will Disappear Here magazine ever see the light of day or are we truly living through the ruined last days of the insipid celebrity oligarchy?" - www.mojo4music.com
2. Julian and Sean Lennon
Blurb: One was the prodigal son, the other not so much.
John Lennon ignored his first son, Julian (who, after being left out of his dad's will, was reduced to buying his father's possessions at auction), and doted on his second son, Sean. But the talent in the family arranged itself differently. It was Julian who enjoyed three billboard top 10 hits. Sean's snoozy solo effort, Into the Sun, sank shortly after release.
Successful? Julian received a nod from the Cannes Film Festival for his 2007 documentary Whale Dreamers. His sixth album, Everything Changes, is released this year. Sean has released albums and film scores, but flies under the radar.
They said: "Sean was clearly John's favourite while he was alive." - The Times.
3. Jakob Luke Dylan
Blurb: He has a lot to live up to.
"When I listen to Blood on the Tracks," said Jakob Dylan, "that's about my parents' divorce." Awkward! But that wasn't the only problem for Jakob. "My dad is the best at what I do," he noted.
Success? His band the Wallflowers' 1996 album, Bringing Down the Horse, won two Grammys and sold six million copies. This year, Dylan was voted by the readers of Vanity Fair as one of the most handsome men in the world.
They said: "He has had to compete not only with his father's peerless achievements, but also with the standard of his own commercial success. Two subsequent albums, have not sold nearly as well." - The New York Times
4. Jack Joseph Osbourne
Blurb: A chip off the old, heavily tattooed, foul-mouthed block.
"They never went to school," observed a member of the production staff of The Osbournes once the hit MTV reality show propelled the family to fame. "I was paid to stay home," shrugged Jack. His lack of schooling (and dyslexia) hasn't harmed his career. If there is a reality TV show with a youthful demographic, Jack Osbourne will present it: Adrenaline Junkie, Extreme Celebrity Detox, Celebrity Wrestling.
Successful? For every up, there has been a down.
They said: "The man can do anything he wants. Anything in the world. He just needs to decide whether to pitch it at ITV2, Virgin1 or MTV." - The Times
6. Stella McCartney
Blurb: A famous kid with, you know, a real job.
She may have attended Sussex state schools, but Stella McCartney always had connections to die for. As a teenager, she did work experience at Christian Lacroix and her graduation collection at St Martin's was modelled for free by Naomi Campbell, Kate Moss and Yasmine Le Bon. But unlike other famous designers she did not get a first.
Successful? She was the creative director of the Paris fashion house Chloé before launching Stella McCartney with Gucci. She also designs for Adidas, H&M and Gap. She made Time magazine's Top 100 Most Influential People in 2009, the only fashion person to do so.
They said: "Her first collection for the house Chloé, shown in Paris in October 1997, quickly dispelled any doubts about her talent." - Vogue
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
BABYLON
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Damien%20Chazelle%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Brad%20Pitt%2C%20Margot%20Robbie%2C%20Jean%20Smart%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: South Africa, field first
Pakistan (1st innings) 177: Sarfraz 56, Masood 44; Olivier 4-48
South Africa (1st innings) 123-2: Markram 78; Masood 1-4
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
more from Janine di Giovanni
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand (Saturday, 12pm)
Wales v South Africa (Sunday, 1pm)
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Mamo Year it started: 2019 Founders: Imad Gharazeddine, Asim Janjua Based: Dubai, UAE Number of employees: 28 Sector: Financial services Investment: $9.5m Funding stage: Pre-Series A Investors: Global Ventures, GFC, 4DX Ventures, AlRajhi Partners, Olive Tree Capital, and prominent Silicon Valley investors. UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
