Never judge a witness by her cover — or lack thereof.
Flamboyant private-equity CEO Lynn Tilton, known for her platinum -blond hair and low-cut dresses, was praised by a federal judge last week as a prize witness in her case against bond insurer MBIA.
Manhattan federal judge Robert Sweet singled out Tilton’s testimony among 13 witnesses as “vigorous, authoritative [and] informed.”
“Tilton’s recollection of events was clear and unshaken,” the judge said in his 15-page ruling last week, which sided with Tilton’s $8 billion Patriarch Partners. “She was an effective witness and in the main entirely credible.”
MBIA had sued Patriarch in 2009, saying the firm cost it millions by failing to secure investment-grade status on a soured financial-crisis investment that MBIA had insured.
Sweet sided with Tilton’s view of things, which is that the securities had become tough to rate because of the financial crisis.
The Bronx-born native, who attended both Yale and Columbia, is known as much for her colorful language as for her bright jewelry and makeup.
In 2011, she was featured in New York magazine posing on a chaise longue wearing a fur coat and diamond necklace.
“I don’t want to feel like I have to fit into a male mode to be this sort of successful industrialist,” she told the mag. “I take pride in the fact that I can be all woman in a man’s world.” —Kaja Whitehouse
Snooze control
The husband of Spanx billionaire Sara Blakely is rolling out a new sleep aid, which should be of particular interest if you’re like most of On the Money’s secret sources and are constantly on planes to London, New York and Los Angeles.
Entrepreneur Jesse Itzler is launching Sleep Sheets, a new product for people who don’t like pills or water to help them get their z’s. Sleep Sheets are like fresh-breath strips, but they contain the organic sleep-assistance compound melatonin.
The idea was developed by Itzler, who reconfigured an earlier, energy-boosting product that contained caffeine. He brought tennis star Serena Williams on board as a spokeswoman because, he says, she’s a well-known insomniac.
We asked about Blakely’s involvement in Sleep Sheets and were told she was involved in developing the taste. (They’re honey-flavored.)
“My wife swears by them,” he adds.
Expect a first ad campaign this summer. Sleep Sheets quietly launched in stores a few months ago and are $7.50 for a pack of 10.–Claire Atkinson
Berkshire climb
What has Warren Buffett showing the softer side of Berkshire Hathaway?
The Wall Street Journal last week profiled largely unknown Berkshire exec Tracy Britt, saying the former executive assistant is now one of his most trusted lieutenants.
On the Money wonders if this piece was in response to the Oracle’s Omaha, Neb., firm coming in dead last among top S&P 100 companies in boosting women and minorities, in a survey from Calvert Investments last month.
Buffett has made the 28-year-old blond Harvard MBA chairman of four of his businesses, including paint company Benjamin Moore.
Besides, the WSJ reported, Britt drives Buffett around.
What the WSJ did not really do is answer why Buffett is relying on the untested Britt.
–Josh Kosman
Atlantic venue
A $12.5 million chunk of Long Island, with Robert De Niro, Jann Wenner and Steven Roth as neighbors, is attracting interest.
An architect, a hotelier and developers from New York and Europe are reportedly eyeing the site.
New York investor Henry Druker and Matt Goldman, the co-founder of Blue Man Group, have merged their 1.5-acre lots to create a 3-acre Montauk site with ocean frontage. Druker is a longtime resident of East Hampton, and Goldman lives in Montauk.
Druker owns his lot with Red McCombs, the co-founder of Clear Channel Communications and former owner of the San Antonio Spurs and Minnesota Vikings.
Sotheby’s International Realty has the exclusive listing.
McCombs and Druker bought their parcel in 2007; Goldman had bought his chunk as a buffer to his own home. Julie Earle Levine