Anybody seen Alberto Vilar?

They took his name off the Floral Hall at Covent Garden today and replaced it with Paul Hamlyn's, a deceased publisher whose foundation kicked in the £10 million (that's $20m in Met equivalents) that cheeky Al promised the Royal Opera House but never paid.

Well, never paid in full. He kicked in a couple of million, before the hi-tech hedge find ran dry and Alberto stopped returning calls. The Hamlyn money has been ring-fenced for education (which was also Vilar's intent), and I suppose that means all ends happily ever after - pending the possible fraud trial of which nothing has been heard for ages.

Sad, really. Vilar came on the scene at a really important moment for the ROH. He made his pledge at a time when the place was a building site and the newly elected Blair government were not going to let it reopen unless the books balanced. They were £10 million short. Vilar's promissory note made all the difference. He does not deserve to be erased from history.

If you're out there, Alberto, drop a line to say, Hi.

And that goes for you, too, Karen.

May 9, 2007 6:08 PM | | Comments (6)

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6 Comments

By Ortizmista on May 18, 2009 4:02 PM

When Alberto had and gave millions, he had millions of friends.
Now he he have nothing...he have no friends.
Do you learn the lesson?

By trackademe on May 11, 2009 8:16 PM

Karen Painter is back with her law-professor husband Richard W. Painter. They now have three children and all three born after the Vilar scandal. Both Painters are now on the faculty at University of Minnesota. (This is all public info, incidentally, available at their respective UMN faculty pages.) Just some raw materials for the internal dramas one might begin to imagine though best not to speculate about in public.

By Rick Sandifer on January 17, 2009 11:29 PM

Yes hes has been sighted. He can now be reached at:

Alberto Vilar #57828-054
MCC NEW YORK
METROPOLITAN CORRECTIONAL CENTER
150 PARK ROW
NEW YORK, NY 10007

By Paul on July 9, 2008 6:54 PM

Mr. Vilar is in NYC under house arrest awaiting trial scheduled for Sept. 2008.

By Miriam Gourze - Excell Systems Management on August 5, 2007 9:11 PM

Where is Millionaire Philantrophist ALBERTO VILAR ?

That question has been asked to many times by so many of my Cuban- American friends..........I tell them I do not know...........does anyone know what is going on with this man who wanted to be remembered for his love of The Fine Arts ?

It is sad to see how when Alberto Vilar gave his MILIONS everyone loved and wanted to be his friend...........the thing is what about now when he has fallen from Fame and Fortune...?


Where is Mr Vilar in August 2007?

Inquisitive minds want to know........

Miriam Etienne

By Jeremy King on May 12, 2007 12:40 AM

Karen does not know any Alberto Vilar. Alberto who? Avec moi?

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