The Fugitive Prince
January 23, 2025 at 03:52AMReady for a wild ride? For FT Magazine, Miles Johnson tells an epic story about a man, Paul Lambrino, who had claimed for years to be the grandson of King Carol II and the heir to the defunct Romanian royal throne. In 2006, “Prince Paul” was contacted by a man who said he could make Paul’s dreams a reality; the man represented a group of international investors who had the legal and financial resources to back Paul and his wife Lia as he pursued his claim to the throne. In return, the group’s company, Reciplia, asked for half of any royal assets they won. Johnson’s piece is as intriguing as it sounds—an international intrigue thriller you can’t stop reading until the end. (Subscription may be required.)
After that, “Beny was always looking for a lot of upside,” said one person who knows him well. “Guys like Beny, they don’t care about a 20 per cent return. They are looking for huge bets, a minimum of 10 times, or ideally 30 times on their money.” The Prince Paul deal promised exactly that.
Even if Reciplia’s upfront costs for lawyers and Paul’s walking-around money reached upwards of €20mn, the potential payout would still be immense. An initial assessment found the Romanian royal fortune could be worth as much as $1bn. “At one stage, there was even the idea that the country’s gold reserves belonged to the royal family,” said the Steinmetz associate. “Like how Congo belonged to King Leopold of Belgium. Beny looked at the underlying assets, and the value was there.”
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2025/01/22/the-fugitive-prince/
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