The Fortune Hunters: Dazzling Women and the Men They Married

From Madame de Pompadour, the famed mistress of Louis XV, to Pamela Harriman, who married into the English aristocracy and the American plutocracy, there is a rich history of women who have found glamour and wealth in the arms of a billionaire. But what kind of woman does it take to make the Midas marriage? Exploring the lives of the great fortune hunters of our day, reporter and former gossip columnist Charlotte Hays answers this tantalizing question. You’ll learn about the South Carolina woman who took a trip around the world with a shadowy shipping magnate—only to meet and marry a philandering marquis. You’ll see what methods they use to lure their powerful men, including one playful fortune seeker who, at a very high society soirée, hurled a piece of bread at her intended beau, starting a food fight. You’ll meet the New York socialite who remarried so quickly after a divorce, her ex claimed she was a bigamist.

Whatare their recipes for riches? Can a genuinely nice woman pursue this career? What does love have to do with it? With original interviews and photos, Hays casts a light on the determination, skill, and yes, sometimes, ruthlessness that have shaped some of the most successful—and lucrative—unions of our time.