John Preston: "Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell" | SALT Talks

Welcome to another episode of SALT Talks with host Anthony Scaramucci and guest John Preston, Author of "Fall: The Mystery of Robert Maxwell". Robert Maxwell was a British media proprietor, Member of Parliament, suspected spy, and fraudster. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Maxwell rose from poverty to build an extensive publishing empire.
In February 1991, Robert Maxwell triumphantly sailed into Manhattan harbor on his yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, to buy the ailing New York Daily News. Taxi drivers stopped their cabs to shake his hand, children asked for his autograph, and patrons of the hottest restaurant in Manhattan gave him a standing ovation while he dined. Ten months later, Maxwell disappeared off that same yacht in the middle of the night and was later found dead in the water. As John Preston reveals in this entertaining and revealing biography, Maxwell’s death was as mysterious as his remarkable life.
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[@rrrmmmm5059]

Great interview. Had no idea Preston wrote that British Scandal story on Netflix which was quite good. I was in the financial sector when Maxwell passed and it was quite a sad situation.

[@bellaluna730]

Billions stacked away in Liechtenstein was Maxwell’s response to, “Where’s our 💰?”🤬

[@lukespector5550]

I like your comments, my Dear. Maxwell's 2 granddaughters (nicknamed "Tilly" & "Teddey") are the TOTAL beneficiaries of any & all remaining monies in Maxwell's Liechtenstein Family Trust. Like Athena Anassis Roussel, when female descendants turn 24 years of age, then Power Of Attorney pays biannual sums to each child (I forget who's oldest & I believe they're both Kevin & Pandora Maxwell's daughters). Internet search engine "Magellan" was funded by Kevin & brother Ian Maxwell before the eldest daughter turned 24. It's rumored there's money in Crédit Lyonnaise (now defunct) that the brothers dipped into via their Mum Betty's situation of never having become a Naturalised British Subject. She remained staunchly French during life & Robert used this as another way to keep personal assets at arm's length from creditors (like their "Headington Hill Hall" Manor in Bucks, UK).

[@IbnShahid]

“Idea for a programme, entitled ‘Yachting mishaps.’ Some funny, some tragic.”

[@alexanderoflondon4839]

Hahahaha this literally could have been a Partridge line

[@earth2fan]

Fall is a brilliant book. Cleverly written and amusing

[@westminsterwatcher5152]

Fascinating interview!

[@tactlacker]

“…He would’ve payed the money back had he been able too…”. What. the. actual. fuck? Lmao

[@lukespector5550]

If he was American, then Chapter 11 Laws could have bailed Maxwell out. Your lack of grammar shows you're an American. Don't you know your nation's basic insolvency laws?

[@MotorGuyzer]

Fascinating. Anthony Scaramucci is such a likable guy.

[@lukespector5550]

He's an ignorant American loudmouth of Zip descent. Sammy The Bull Gravano could've done better with questioning here. He hails from not far away than the interviewer & actually knows publishers!

[@danisehetland3378]

Tom Bower’s two books on Robert Maxwell are much better. They are well written and definitive

[@bellaluna730]

Preston admits Bower’s book covered more in depth the financial dealings of Maxwell. His biography however is well received and well written according to other interviews.

[@iamthenews5624]

29:00 Lichtenstein 😮

[@mark.tiggerman5178]

Strangely John , you didn’t mention Mirror Pension Fund Surplus which he realised he would have access to after buying it , Regarding Maxwell House ,, ! Owned by Prudential Insurance Only needed someone to Fund it . Oh ,! Tiny Rowlands his mate ,, ! Straight as dealing at its best !

[@JohnSmith-le5oe]

This guy really does not know what he is talking about. Maxwell was originally a Resistance fighter and a very gifted one. He was recruited by the SOE as a source and later by MI6 where he learned much tradecraft. It is obvious that he was recruited by the Soviets simultaneously. Maxwell realised that the only way out of the pickle was to jump into bed with his own people, the Israelis. Maxwell was a life long loyal asset to the Israeli government and Israel was the only people he was loyal to since the Resistance. I believe that his death was a bizarre accident . Maxwell was far too arrogant to think he would be successfully prosecuted and he didn't have a yellow bone in his body. His Labourite comrades under Tony Blair stole the national pension fund a few years later. Socialist scandal is usually financial and conservative scandal of a sexual nature.

[@liamfraserobrien]

plenty of conservative financial scandals for the current uk government

[@pricejoss]

I agree with that - I don’t believe Maxwell would have taken his life because of his personality. He had too much self belief / hubris

[@lukespector5550]

Well said! For some reason, Mr. "Fanny" Vandenhoevel (my spelling is probably wrong) was a head of Mi5 or Mi6 at the time of Maxwell's 1950s period. I believe this was the man who gave Maxwell such a long rope in Great Britain.

[@calebstone22]

Whole lotta hemin and hawin after any questions that are obvious to ask but don’t make Bob Max look good. Weird

[@pamelahomeyer748]

His son's knew about the theft of the retirement money and they were never held responsible

[@tiaremaui]

Do you have info that implicates the brothers?

[@jorgegomez524]

sadly, if you go too far away of the conspiracy theories trail in the case o R. Maxwell you will miss it. So why did John deliberately missed it? hum..

[@sarahhockey2420]

If you tell the truth about the intelligence agencies no one will believe you

[@bellaluna730]

Maxwell House/Trump Tower……see any similarities?👀

[@tiaremaui]

I see more similarity between the Maxwell/Biden family.

[@lukespector5550]

None. Maxwell was offered an apartment in Trump Tower "off the plan" in 1984 when architects (Der Scutt & Partners) were finishing up designs. The problem was, it was nextdoor to Don King's. Maxwell had a thing about blacks, and King had a thing about Jews (not just Bob Arun).📉