Name: The Mayfair Set
Genre: Documentary
Released: 1999-07-18
Rating: 8.2
Cast: James Goldsmith, Tiny Rowland, Jim Slater

British corporate raiders, financial kingpins, and more

Here is an often fascinating look at some key aspects of British business in the 1960s - 1980s, with profiles of colorful tycoons leading the way. Tiny Rowland, Jim Slater, Mohammed Al-Fayed, and James Goldsmith are worthy of dry, cynical Adam Curtis profiles. The hero of the first episode, David Stirling (?) is not a financier but an arms dealer, so is only tangentially related to the rest of the story. I suppose the unifying idea is that they were all members of the same high-end club located in London's Mayfair area.

The 2nd and 3rd episodes, which get into the subject of corporate raids and hostile takeovers (often followed by destruction of the purchased companies and selling off of their assets), were the most noteworthy. The 4th looks at the issues of corruption and hypocrisy in the UK Parliament, and also gets into the issue of the manipulation of the British pound in the early 1990s, something most non-Brits probably know and care little about.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

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The Mayfair Set

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