Lauren Pineda
This definitely shows what money does for you, as these two billionaires decided to have the pettiest of fights while the rest of the world is freaking out in the midst of a pandemic and social unrest. The two wealthy neighbors had been in quite the standoff that has resulted in multiple legal actions and police calls to both of their massive Orange County mansions.
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According to the Los Angeles Times, Pimco’s retired founder and billionaire investor Bill Gross and tech entrepreneur Mark Towfiq have been getting into it over the past year because Towfiq has expressed how annoying it is that Gross’s $1 million outdoor sculpture is blocking his multimillion dollar Laguna Beach view. So what does Gross do?
He decides to blast the Gilligan’s Island theme song on a loop to torment Towfiq and his wife, to the point where they have filed a lawsuit against Gross for having to escape to a hotel room or stay the night with relatives in order to stop feeling trapped in being forced to also stare at the unnecessarily huge lawn sculpture.
In case you forgot what the Gilligan’s Island theme song was:
The Pimco founder’s installation is a 22 feet long, inspired by Japanese fishing floats. It’s almost 10 feet high, lighting up artist Dale Chihuly’s blown-glass work. Chihuly was responsible for creating the Bellagio hotel’s famous ceiling art in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gross also put a protective netting structure around his installation because he claimed that it was damaged by a “thrown rock.” Immediately accusing Towfiq for the damage, he asked for $50,000 in his own lawsuit for the repair of the damage. Towfiq responded with saying that it was damaged by something falling on it.
76-year-old billionaire Bill Gross’s outdoor sculpture:
https://twitter.com/Rschooley/status/1320777929190633472?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1320779203822845953%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3%2Ccontainerclick_1&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fwhen-this-bond-billionaire-had-a-problem-with-his-neighbors-he-allegedly-blasted-gilligans-island-on-loop-11603744716
Towfiq’s official complaint includes that the installation, netting structure, and lights are a city code violation because the structure does not have the proper permits. And that was already a response to Gross’s lawsuit which includes calling out Towfiq’s “peeping tom behaviors” and asking for a temporary restraining order.
I guess this is what it must be like to have billionaire next-door neighbors, especially in Southern California. I mean, of course you want the views of your own home that you paid a hefty price for to remain untainted and uninterrupted, but the fact that this got so out of hand that it reached social media is hilariously disgusting.
