He
was an aide-de-camp to Courtney Ross, the multi-millionaire widow of
the legendary Time Warner C.E.O., Steve Ross. He played a similar role
with the family of George Soros, the billionaire investor, and he also
claimed a connection to the Qatari royal family.
He was listed as a producer of the Broadway shows Cabaret and Buena Vista Social Club,
among many others. His name was etched on the wall of the recently
reopened Frick Collection, and following a multi-million-dollar pledge
to the Metropolitan Opera, he was in discussions to have a speakeasy bar
named after him in the august institution’s basement.
But, following his sudden death, on May 30 at the shockingly young age of 40, rumors began to fly of lies, theft, and fraud.
I
considered Matthew one of my closest friends for more than a dozen
years. However, since his death, I realize I had shrugged off
inconsistencies in his stories since the very first day we met. Talking
to mutual friends in recent days has raised many more questions about
the validity of his personal relationships with all of us. Were we
really his friends? Or were we just adornments to him, brought out to
shine at his parties like the brooches he loved to wear?
So
this is my story, about my involvement with a man who acted like he
ruled the world, but whose dazzling lifestyle and absurd generosity
couldn’t bear too much scrutiny.
A Little Bit Extra
I first met Matthew when we were both working as non-union background actors—the lowest of the lows on set—on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
in April 2012. I was playing an upscale party-goer, and he played a
cater-waiter. He dropped his tray during the shoot because—as he
explained—unlike most young actors, he’d never actually worked in a
restaurant.
It
was a surprise to find myself engaging with such a personable young
man. I was 44, he was 27, so we were an improbable pair. But we chatted
all day after he squeezed in next to me. He had an M.B.A. from New York
University and spoke easily about his time working as an intern for the
United Nations in Afghanistan. He casually mentioned that he lived on
Fifth Avenue, at the Pierre. When I asked how that was possible, he said
the apartment belonged to his well-to-do grandparents, who’d taken him
in when his parents threw him out for being gay. I assumed he was just
another trust-fund kid killing time on a TV set.
However, Matthew was tiring of life as a background actor on shows such as Law & Order and Gossip Girl.
He had started writing screenplays, and my husband—who was then Time
Inc.’s chief content officer—and I often invited him to join us at
screenings and parties. He was a great conversationalist who mixed well
as he networked through our social circles. In particular, he paid close
attention to accomplished “women of a certain age,” who helped form an
infrastructure of credibility around their young friend.
His
way with middle-aged women extended to a friend’s wife, who thought he
would make a good mentor for her teenage son. Matthew was willing, but
instead of being a role model for the young man, he became his lover. I
was appalled when I learned of the affair months later. Even if the kid
was above the age of consent, he was still in high school. However, when
Matthew asked me not to interfere, I reluctantly bit my tongue. To my
surprise, the relationship continued, on and off, for several years.
Matthew
was a generous partner. Once, during a lunch, he announced he was
taking his boyfriend to the Diamond District to buy a watch, and he
invited me to tag along. He was chasing a hard-to-source Patek Philippe,
and we all crowded into a cluttered watch shop. Matthew’s young friend
tried on several watches, they settled on a handsome timepiece costing
about $40,000, and the deal was made. Both Matthew and his friend were
flushed with excitement over the acquisition.
In
2015, ahead of my 10th wedding anniversary, I sought his mailing
address to send him an invitation to the party. Instead of the Pierre,
he gave me a P.O.-box address almost two miles to the north. Such
discrepancies didn’t bother me as I enjoyed his company, and the stakes
were very low. I wrote to a mutual friend at the time that Matthew’s
“capacity to perform and to lead a life that’s a mix of fact and fantasy
is probably very useful to a would-be actor.” However, when he decided
to leave acting and took the job working for Courtney Ross, I was
thrilled.
The Soros Connection
I moved to Los Angeles in early 2018 after my husband joined the Los Angeles Times as its executive editor. While there, Matthew was a frequent visitor who joined us for dinners at hot spots like the Tower Bar and Pasjoli. He was traveling with Ross at the time, organizing her affairs and involving himself in the sale of her blue-chip art collection. Matthew said she called him “the son she never had.” He was also dating a handsome, and age-appropriate, piano tuner he had met at the Metropolitan Opera.However,
Matthew chafed at working for Ross—he said he found her needy and had
grown tired of mediating her problems with her daughter—and I was
delighted when he said that he had scored a significant upgrade: working
for the Soros family. I thought he’d finally figured out how to live
the life he’d once pretended to have. (Courtney Ross did not respond to air mail’s request for comment.)
Matthew
was vague about what his job entailed. He said he “ran” George Soros
and his sons Alex and Gregory, traveling with them when they went abroad
to evaluate investments in Luxembourg and Ireland, and arranging the
complicated logistics behind Soros family gatherings.
In
particular, he seems to have worked closely with Gregory Soros, the
youngest son, a recluse who is rarely seen in public. Matthew could be
found attending zoning meetings on Shelter Island, where Greg is one of
the biggest landowners, and I once overheard him spend literally hours
on the phone dealing with Greg’s personal-chef situation—Greg didn’t
want to have a chef on retainer but wanted one ready at a moment’s
notice no matter where he was—which took on an earth-shattering
importance. As much as I thought the assignment was absurd, I was struck
by Matthew’s competence in addressing it. He was very good at making
himself indispensable.....
