Born Rich (film)

Born Rich
DVD cover
Directed by	Jamie Johnson
Produced by	Dirk Wittenborn
Starring	Georgina Bloomberg Stephanie Ercklentz Christina Floyd Juliet Hartford Josiah Cheston Hornblower Jamie Johnson S.I. Newhouse IV Ivanka Trump Benjamin Luke Weil
Music by	Joel Goodman
Cinematography	Nick Kurzon
Edited by	Nick Kurzon Steven Pilgrim
Release dates	January 19, 2003 (Sundance Film Festival)
Running time	75 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

This article is about a documentary. For the TVB drama, see Born Rich (TV series).

Born Rich is a 2003 documentary film about the experience of growing up as a child in one of the world's richest families. It was created by Jamie Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune.

History

Johnson's maternal uncle, screenwriter and novelist Dirk Wittenborn, was credited with encouraging him to make a documentary about the experience of wealthy children.^[1] The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.^[2] HBO acquired the film and first broadcast it in October 2003.^[3]

Prior to the film's completion, Luke Weil, one of the film's subjects, sued to prevent its release. Weil alleged that he had been "tricked" into consenting to his appearance in what he thought would be a school project, but turned out to be a commercial enterprise. Other participants in the film claimed to have been convinced to participate under the same "false pretenses" but Johnson denied that he had "tricked" anyone.^[4] A New York court dismissed Weil's lawsuit in October 2002, ruling that the subject matter of the film was newsworthy, and that the releases Weil signed had clearly identified the film as a commercial production.^[5]

Reports before and at the time of the film's release stated that other participants were also unhappy about their depiction in the film.^[6][7][8]

Ten years after the film's release, a reporter followed up with the persons featured.^[9]

Summary

The film was described as "a documentary on children of the insanely rich, directed by one of their own, Johnson & Johnson Inc. heir Jamie Johnson." It consists primarily of Johnson interviewing his friends and peers about the experience of living life free of financial constraints. These interviews are offset by Johnson's exploration of his own experience and family.

Cast

• Georgina Bloomberg — born to New York mayor and media mogul, Michael Bloomberg. Educated at New York University Gallatin School.^[10]
• Stephanie Ercklentz — born to New York corporate lawyer, Enno W. Ercklentz Jr. Graduated from Wellesley College.^[11]
• Christina Floyd — born to golf champion, Raymond Floyd. Graduated from Wake Forest University.^[12]
• Juliet Hartford — born to A&P heir, Huntington Hartford. Educated at Marymount College and Columbia University.^[13]
• Josiah Cheston Hornblower — born into Vanderbilt-Whitney lineage (as a great-grandson of Flora Payne Whitney). Graduated from Trinity College.^[14]
• Jamie Johnson — born to Johnson & Johnson heir, James L. Johnson. Graduated from New York University.
• S.I. Newhouse IV — born to Condé Nast Publications heir, Samuel Irving Newhouse III (son of Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr.). Graduated from Haverford College.^[15]
• Ivanka Trump — born to real estate tycoon, Donald Trump. Graduated from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.^[16]
• Benjamin Luke Weil — born to Scientific Games Corporation Chairman & CEO, A. Lorne Weil. Graduated from Brown University and Columbia Business School.
• Cody Franchetti — heir to an Italian textile company.^[17]
• Carlo von Zeitschel — born to a German baron father and to an Italian viscountess mother.

Awards and nominations

The documentary was nominated for two Emmy Awards in 2004: Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the director, Jamie Johnson, and Outstanding Nonfiction Special for the producers, Sheila Nevins (executive producer), Dirk Wittenborn (produced by), and Jamie Johnson (producer).^[18]

References

1. Chaplin, Julia (October 12, 2003). "Biting the Silver Spoon That Feeds Him, on Film". New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
2. Harvey, Dennis (January 29, 2003). "Review: ‘Born Rich’". Variety. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
3. Pierce, Scott (October 27, 2003). "It's tough to be 'Born Rich'". Deseret News. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
4. Chaplin, Julia (12 October 2003). "Biting the Silver Spoon That Feeds Him, on Film". New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2015.
5. "Film About Wealthy Can Be Released". Associated Press. October 22, 2002. Retrieved 2015-04-25.  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
6. Houston, Frank (June 29, 2003). "Film subjects take exception to 'Born Rich'". Cox News Service in Oakland Tribune. Retrieved 2015-04-25.  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required)
7. Wolff, Alexandra (October 6, 2003). "Born Rich Rag". New York Observer. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
8. Laurence, Charles (October 19, 2003). "Super-rich turn on billionaire film-maker". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-04-25.
9. Pow, Helen (22 October 2013). "Jamie Johnson documentary: A decade after Johnson & Johnson heir lifted the lid on growing up with millions for an HBO documentary that got him sued, MailOnline looks at what the film's precocious stars are doing now". dailymail.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2014. Ramiro Quintana
10. Morgan, Laura (February 27, 2012). "Uptown Girl". Modern Luxury. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
11. "Stephanie Ercklentz, Chase Coleman". New York Times. January 16, 2005. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
12. "Christina Loran Floyd, Emmanuel Di Donna". Palm Beach Daily News. June 5, 2010. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
13. Worth, Robert F. (November 20, 2003). "PUBLIC LIVES; Embracing a Father's Creation, if Not His Tastes". New York Times. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
14. "Jocelyn Hunter, Josiah Hornblower". New York Times. September 9, 2007. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
15. "S.I. Newhouse IV Settles Down". Gawker. May 5, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
16. "Ivanka Trump Weds Jared Kushner". New York Times. October 24, 2009. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
17. Bellafante, Ginia (18 March 2001). "Relationships; A Fitness Fanatic". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
18. Born Rich at Emmys.com (accessed 2015-04-28).

External links

• Born Rich at the Internet Movie Database
• Review by P. McNamara