Finally a post where I can combine celebrity gossip and the Middle East conflict. And it took Paris Hilton to get there.As you may or may not know (or care), Paris Hilton, famous for both owning hotels and being videotaped in them, has found true love – after she realized that all this time, she was looking for a male version of herself. She is now engaged to a man named – wait for it – Paris. Despite his name, he is Greek. (Yes, Paris found her trojan horse).
But what Paris (the woman) may find more endearing is that he is filthy rich. And this is where the Middle East conflict comes into the story. You see, not only does Paris (the man) come from a filthy rich family, but it took them getting filthy to become rich.
Has Carl’s Jr. spokesmodel Paris Hilton bitten off more than she can chew with her new fiance Paris Latsis? Not only does the 27-year-old’s family move in circles where starring in an amateur porn is frowned upon, sources say their estimated $7.5 billion fortune has some unsavory political origins. “They say they make their money through shipping, but the real wealth comes from arms and oil,” says a source close to the family. (The Latsis Group controls a chunk of Hellenic Petroleum and has refineries in Saudi Arabia.) They didn’t get that rich being good guys, put it that way. The last two Gulf Wars have been very good for them.But the family’s history of questionable dealings stretches farther back than that, we hear. It’s long been rumored that the clan’s late patriarch, John “Yanni” Latsis, aided his storied climb from deckhand to shipping tycoon by profiteering on the black market during WWII. In 1967, Yanni drew additional scrutiny when he loaned his shipping fleet to the Egyptians during the Six Day War with Israel and threw his financial support behind Greek fascist dictator Colonel George Papadopoulos *.
* Not to be confused with Webster’s adopted dad
