FEATURES

GOOD BILLIONS AFTER BAD  | 120
In the last months of the Bush administration, the Treasury Department frantically pumped more than a quarter of a trillion dollars into the financial system—without bothering to track how it was spent. But Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele dug into the records, following bailout money to banks that prey on consumers, banks that cater to the rich, and banks that never wanted it in the first place.

HENRY PAULSON'S LONGEST NIGHT | 126
When Henry Paulson reluctantly accepted the job as Bush’s third Treasury secretary, he had no idea how bad things would get. For 15 crisis-filled months, Paulson gave Todd S. Purdum a private play-by play of the deepening nightmare and his sleep-deprived, stomach churning scramble to halt the meltdown.

THE GREAT AMERICAN STEAL  | 130
Who is responsible for the economic crisis? Time to stop investigating and point the finger. In a chart from his VF.com exclusive, Bruce Feirstein perp-walks the usual suspects (Dick Fuld, Alan Greenspan, et al.) as well as some surprising accomplices. Sarah Jessica Parker, you’re going down.

ME AND MRS. PALIN | 132
He was just a teenage hunk who planned to become an electrician. Then his girlfriend got pregnant, and her mother ran for vice president. The rest is tabloid history. Now, for the first time, Levi Johnston opens up about life with the Palins—debunking Sarah’s image as hockey mom and moose hunter extraordinaire. Photographs by Mark Seliger.

HER OWN KIND OF ANNENBERG | 140
Born to privilege and all too familiar with tragedy, Wallis Annenberg isn’t daunted by inheriting leadership of the $1.6 billion Annenberg Foundation from her late media- baron father, Walter, and socially prominent stepmother, Lee. As the heiress plots her course, Bob Colacello discovers why she is L.A.’s favorite philanthropist. Portraits by Jonathan Becker.

THE WIDOW AND THE OLIGARCHS | 146
The death in England of Georgian billionaire Arkady “Badri” Patarkatsishvili, in February 2008, stunned his fellow oligarchs and set off one of the largest estate battles in history, with accusations of kidnapping and forgery. Interviewing those who thought they knew Badri best, Suzanna Andrews uncovers plot twists worthy of a le Carré novel. Portraits by Jason Bell.

A SHE-WOLD IN PARIS  | 154
Bruce Handy spotlights Shakira as photographer Michael Roberts drapes the singer in fresh-off-the-Paris- runway couture by Armani, Chanel, Gaultier, and Dior.

A CLASH OF CAMELOTS | 160
Though she commissioned the book herself, revisiting her darkest moments for its pages, nothing prepared Jacqueline Kennedy for the brutal detail of The Death of a President, William Manchester’s 1967 account of her husband’s assassination. Sam Kashner unearths the story behind a best-seller that captivated the nation, divided the Kennedys, and nearly destroyed its author.


FANFAIR

31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE | 65

Equestrienne chic: Kimberly Ovitz’s designer aspirations | 65

The Cultural Divide | 66

Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type | 67

Private Lives—Bellport’s Corner Store Cooperative | 68

Bouncing around Spin New York; Indochine celebrates 25 years on the scene; A. M. Homes spotlights Pop Life | 70

My Stuff—Blake Mycoskie; Matt Tyrnauer checks into the Crosby Street Hotel | 71

David Sax noshes at L.A.’s favorite delis; Lisa Robinson’s Hot Tracks | 72

Graham Fuller gives An Education an A-plus; Bruce Handy reviews A Serious Man and The Informant! | 74

Aaron Gell discovers a Renaissance man; Cullen Murphy on Prince Valiant’s return | 76

Meenal Mistry reveals lafco’s new locale; Hot Looks; Jessica Flint lathers up at Malin & Goetz | 77


VANITIES

MAMMA MIA! | 81

Ed Coaster’s spawn writes a tell-all; Howard Schatz captures Jane Krakowski in character | 82


COLUMNS

POST MODERN | 86
The Washington Post became a legend, and a lucrative one, under the stewardship of the Graham family, but the paper of Watergate is now the paper of “Salongate.” Michael Wolff wonders whether the Grahams will sacrifice the dynasty for the sake of the company.

JAGGER EDGE | 90
Norman Jean Roy and Kate Reardon spotlight Georgia May Jagger, who’s following her mother, Jerry Hall, and three siblings into the modeling business. The lips, of course, are Dad’s.

KILLER @CRAIGSLIST | 92
Despite intensive media scrutiny of the accused “Craigslist Killer,” Philip Markoff, many of the crime’s most troubling questions remain unanswered. With access to police sources, the victim’s family, and Markoff’s former fiancée, Maureen Orth brings new light to the case.

LeBRON’S BAND OF BROTHERS | 100
At 24, LeBron James is arguably the best basketball player in the world, thanks to his first, inseparable team and a coach with nothing to lose. In an excerpt from his forthcoming memoir, written with Buzz Bissinger, James remembers how five kids defied the odds to become national champions. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

OUT TO LUNCH: FRITZ HENDERSON | 108
Over Cherry Coke and ham-and-cheese sandwiches, G.M.’s new C.E.O., Fritz Henderson, tells John Heilpern why “American car” is not an oxymoron.

THE NEW ESTABLISHMENT 2009 | 111
Like the economy, V.F.’s annual ranking of the top 100 Information Age powers has been truly shaken up, with new blood (Twilight author Stephenie Meyer, the Twitter guys, White House social secretary Desirée Rogers) emerging. Who’s in? Who’s out? Who’s top dog? Plus: If you’d invested $1,000 in the list in 2007, what would it be worth today?


ET CETERA

EDITOR'S LETTER   | 34

CONTRIBUTORS | 40

LETTERS  The Sarah Palin Experience | 50

FAIRGROUND | 58

CREDITS   | 186

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE  Ralph Lauren | 188