June 2009

Nice rich people at the Malnik crib – Make A Wish Party

by Jose Labiet – Page 2 Live

With the great unwashed frolicking on the beach below, philanthropist Al Malnik had nearly 200 swells at his palatial Ocean Ridge digs for a Sunday afternoon party to benefit his pet charity, the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Malnik and his wife Nancy welcomed the likes of: middleweight boxing world champ Bernard Hopkins; designers Richie Rich and Baby Chic (don’t ask); Bernie Madoff victim Jerome Fisher (who’s rumored to have “lost” $150 million); liquor mogul Harvey Chaplin; Mel Harris, former CEO of AIG, and his wife Fran; and others.

The party was poolside at Malnik’s 38,000-square-foot beachfronter, and not too many will blame him for not leaving folks outside. His place, appraised by the property appraiser’s office at a deceivingly low $19.8 million, is probably worth twice as much if you factor in what’s inside.

Malnik’s basement, for example, contains an Asian art collection that includes sculpted mammoth tusks and one Chinese ivory sculpture that features 8,000 different characters, all with a different face.

Next year, Malnik plans to move his rarely seen collection in the 18,000-square-foot  manse he’s building next door — “Something with a nice rec room for the kids,” he says.

Photos by Michele Sandberg