Glamour, fame, and power— words that every aspiring successful woman lives by…
Do you know what’s so crazy about our society for anticipating these “boss lady dream-like characteristics?” Well, these would be futile without a whopping 100-dollar cash. It is all about money, my dear boss ladies. A tangible element that makes the world go insane, blind, and greedy!
It is the “New Yorker’s dream” that every mediocre middle-class woman could ever achieve only in their wildest dreams.
But what if I told you that you could be an heiress, fashion icon, and entrepreneur without any college degree, family connections, or even a career?
This is the life of Anna Delvey… The avant-garde swindler and a fake German socialite wannabe who deceived America, making the entire country believe that she is a goddess of wealth, fashion, intelligence, and prominence.
Her real name is Anna Sorokin. Contrary to what she always had been saying that her dad was a multi-company owner, her father was actually a truck driver, and her family did not experience any luxury in life. She went to New York and worked in the “Purple” magazine, where she was exposed to the world of fashion, luxury, and art. Stepping into the busy streets of New York, she transformed into the famous Anna Delvey.
Neffatari Davis, aka “Neff ”, a 25-year-old concierge at 11 Howard Hotel and a filmmaker aspirant, witnessed how Delvey had a fountain of money. Delvey stayed at 11 Howard for a month, and there she was tipping bellboys, hotel staff, and even drivers a 100-dollars. With Neff, Anna had gotten whatever she wanted immediately, in which she never experienced waiting and falling in line at a hotel. Neff became her assistant, and eventually, they became friends.
But little did she know, Anna just charged her bills and got away with everything by pretending that all of her credit cards had been declined, which she always said that her father must’ve cut them off or there must’ve been a problem with the bank systems. Rich people, as Delvey said, often forget about debts. Anna might not be a degree holder, but she is a smart girl! She studies people and entices them with her eloquence.
As an art enthusiast, Anna wanted to establish the ADF or the Anna Delvey Foundation, which focused on strengthening the proclivity and knowledge for art with the luxuries of hotel rooms and restaurants exclusive for art members and wealthy people.
Aside from Neff, she became friends with a physical instructor and a photo editor of Vanity Fair, Rachel Williams. Together with Rachel’s boyfriend, they went to the La Mamounia Hotel in Morocco. During that trip, the instructor went home earlier due to food poisoning. And when it was time to pay for everything they consumed, Anna, as usual, had problems with her cards again. And, of course, you could guess to whom the 62,000 dollars was charged… Yes, to Rachel.
And after a couple of months, only 5,000 dollars were returned to her account. Now, Delvey is banned at 11 Howard and many more hotels. It was literally “Anna Delvey in her hotel-hopping era”. She couldn’t get cash from her bank accounts and private investors. Her friends even distanced themselves from her. Anna became homeless, and authorities arrested her.
This is not merely a made-up story of a young woman who outsmarted wealthy organizations. Anna Delvey has so much to tell if we scrutinize her story. It is fascinating to think that such a lifestyle we often watch and imagine ourselves in exists. Anna is the definition of an antagonist-protagonist character in real life.
And even to this day, despite her being jailed, I believe that there has always been an Anna within our society. The politicians who act like they know everything when, in fact, they never finished a degree and abuse their authority by making their citizens believe that they are using the nation’s money for their betterment but ironically, they use it for their private parties and the so-called “confidential” purposes.
The mediocre middle-class workers who become instant“crazy rich Asians” every 30th of the month by maxing out their financial assets on luxury items just to achieve a high-end, materialistic lifestyle that is far beyond their everyday lives and later realize they have due bills to pay that they could’ve prioritized. “You only live once” is people’s excuse to justify their reckless shopping behaviors even when it causes them to be buried in debt.
And lastly, you probably heard the deceptive words, “Open-minded ka ba?” that are commonly used to offer “networking” services and involve unknowing individuals in “pyramiding schemes” by wrongly persuading people that their one-thousand peso bill would soon become a whopping ten-thousand peso bill at the end of the month without lifting a finger… Too good to be true, isn’t it? What a ridiculous idea of earning something in the spur of the moment!
Indeed, Ana is smart and courageous but also an unapologetic person who wants to climb the ladder of success by being a parasite… Delvey was able to trick even the richest of the rich because she blinded them with fake diamonds. Yes, knowledge becomes futile when money is involved. People fancied the idea of “overnight wealth” that they started to put their minds under their feet.
Truth is, there is nothing wrong with anticipating a well-off lifestyle, as life in reality is harsh and chaotic. The bottom line of why we study and work hard is to have good and comfortable lives and to rise from the slums of the unending disease of poverty. However, in our society, the word “hardworking” is being interchanged with the words “trying hard” for the immediate attainment of deceptive prominence and wealth. “Fake it until you make it,” Delvey says. There is no harm in pretending to be the person you are not as long as you are happy. Well, would that happiness be a lifetime, or would your pretension make your life even more miserable, just like Anna’s?
To pretend is to suffer. The Delvey’s within our society would always be around the corner, and little did you know, you might be one of them!
Written by Tiarra Joaquin
Pubmat by Marielle Sincuya