A Hearst Executive's 'Other' Career, the Most Real Housewife of NYC and a Wall Street Trump Prediction

When my scheduled 'Lunch' date had to cancel at the last minute, I decided to soldier on and see what the usual suspects were up to at Michael's today. Luckily, since it was Wednesday, there was no shortage of media mavens and fabulous folks to chat with. Harkening back to my earliest 'Lunch' days, I parked myself at the bar and caught people as they sailed by. Here are a few bite-size items to snack on: From the 'Bet You Didn't Know That' Department Hearst's president of marketing and publishing Michael Clinton has a thriving "other career" as a photographer and author. An avid traveler and picture taker, Michael told me he is the author of eight (!) books, with a ninth one on the way. "Seven are books of photography and the other is a travel memoir," he explained. Here's the list: Wanderlust: 100 Countries, A Personal Journey, a collection of essays and photographs from all seven continents; Global Snaps; Global Faces; American Portraits From 100 Countries; Global Remains; The Globetrotter Diaries, CLOSER, and HAMPTONS. All of them were published by Glitterati. If knowing this doesn't make you feel lazy, nothing will. Oh, and he and Jack Kliger, British Heritage Travel's CEO, who I 'Lunched' with last week, co-own a vineyard in Argentina. [kickout id="1"] Lights, Camera, Action! Before the regular crowd filed in, there was a film crew in the dining room interviewing proprietor Michael McCarty and GM Steve Millington. A little birdie told me it was for an upcoming documentary on fellow Michaelsologist David Patrick Columbia (I can't take credit for the term, clever scribe and mutual friend Ron Mwangaguhunga coined the phrase). David, you see, has been chronicling the lives of Manhattan's swells and swans forever. He knows all the fancy people and goes to all the best parties but on Wednesdays, he can always be counted on to occupy Table Eight at Michael's. Excuse Me, Has Anyone Told You...? [kickout id="2"] My friend Dorinda Medley was lunching today with Richard Perez-Feria. Dorinda, as I'm sure you know, is one of the Real Housewives of New York City and, if you ask me, the lone voice of reason among those shy, retiring ladies. Why does she even let them into her house in the Berkshires? It should be noted that in person, Dorinda is Princess Diana's doppelganger. Funny enough, Dorinda told me she once met the late princess when fellow royal Sophie Rhys-Jones brought Diana to Dorinda's apartment, where she bought some of the cashmere pieces from a collection Dorinda was selling at the time. Happy Birthday Shari Rollins! The always stylish Shari stopped by to say hello and show me pictures of the stunning view from the 92nd floor of 432 Park where she is the sales director. If you happen to be in the market, stop by and see Shari who is "always there." Shari was joined today by her husband Ed Rollins and our mutual friend, the impeccably dressed marketing man-slash-political commentator Robert Zimmerman. Congrats to Ed's daughter Lily Rollins, who graduated from Mount Holyoke this past weekend. Onward! Bullish on Trump [kickout id="3"] Finally, what would 'Lunch' be without at least one person weighing in on the current political climate? I spoke to money man Lou Margolis, managing member of 12-Meter Management, who told me he's had "hundreds of lunches" at Michael's and is now in his 50th year working in the financial markets. Lou started out in derivatives in 1972 and went on to found the unit which handled derivative products for Salomon Brothers in the late 70s. When I asked him what effect this White House will have on the markets, he had this to say: "The general opinion is that we have a pro-business administration as opposed to the Obama administration. Had Hillary been elected, one hundred percent of the U.S. budget would have been consumed by entitlements, defense and special interests. That could not be sustained. We needed a major change. Will he succeed? I don't know, but at least he's making an effort to change the system." Here's today's rundown: 1. Herb Allen III with a well-dressed lady we didn't get to meet 2. Peter Brown 3. Andrew Stein 4. I wonder what they were talking about? Patricia Duff with Jeh Johnson, Secretary of Homeland Security during the Obama administration [kickout id="4"] 5. Allen & Co.'s Stan Shuman 6. Dr. Gerald Imber, Jerry Della Femina and Andy Bergman 7. Judy Price and The New York Times' fashion critic Vanessa Friedman 8. New York Social Diary's David Patrick Columbia with Paxton Quigley and Joan Jakobson 9. Steve Wallace 10. Granziano de Boni, president and CEO of Milan-based fashion house Philipp Plein 11. Michael Clinton with his book publisher Marta Hallett of Glitterati 12. Robert Zimmerman with Shari Rollins and Ed Rollins 14. Simon & Schuster's Alice Mayhew 16. Cindy Lewis 17. Peter Price and former Times reporter Judith Miller 18. Philanthropist Adriene Arsht in from D.C. 20. RHONY's Dorina Medley who was nice enough to introduce me to Richard Perez-Feria, formerly of Elevate, cooking up something dishy 21. Penske Media's vice chairman Gerry Byrne 23. Marshall Cohen with Betsy Frank 24. AllianceBernstein's Liz Smith 26. Camille Douglas 27. NBC's David Corvo 81. The Wall Street Journal's Teri Agins We'll be off on assignment for a few weeks. See you back at Michael's June 28! [Diane Clehane posts reports from Michael's restaurant every Wednesday. She can be reached via email at lunch@adweek.com.]