Shareholder Suit: Hef Nixed Playboy Deals to Keep Busty Blonds, Other Lifestyle Perks
Still enjoying his famous lifestyle in his early 80s, Hugh Hefner recently nixed two possible deals to purchase the Playboy magazine empire he founded because they would have interfered with his enjoyment of busty blonds and life in the limelight, a shareholder suit alleges.
Filed yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court by David Brown, it seeks unspecified damages on behalf of a class of shareholders against Hefner, who remains the majority shareholder of Playboy Enterprises Inc., according to Bloomberg.
The suit laments that the price of a share of Playboy common stock today has fallen from $36 a share in 1999 to considerably less than the $5.99 cover price of the magazine, reports TMZ.
And the action also includes a note from an investment analyst, blaming Hefner’s lifestyle, the TMZ article continues.
“If you were Hugh Hefner, 81, would you give up the parade of busty blonds, the fancy mansion and the reality TV show for a payout?” the analyst asks, apparently rhetorically, describing him as “the wild card” in any potential deal.
“Hefner has continued to live the good life and make sure everyone knows it,” the suit states. “Hefner remains in the limelight, showing up at media events and at the Playboy mansion … with his girlfriends by his side.”
The articles don’t include any comment from Hefner or his counsel.
