L'invito di Lucy Gao fa impazzire la finanza

In esclusiva per l'Italia (che io sappia) la lettera (e la risposta) che ha fatto impazzire tutti coloro che lavorano nelle leading investment banks di Londra, New York e oltre, finendo anche sui giornali. Tutto è iniziato da un invito (reale) fatto dalla stagista Lucy Gao, lavora in una banca della City of London. La lettera ha fatto il giro del mondo in pochissimo tempo (qui ho tagliato le centinaia di indirizzi e tutti i forwarded by con relativi commenti). Dopo la lettera troverete anche la risposta da parte dei colleghi di Lucy nel mondo.

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your replies and I am glad all of you can come this
Friday to celebrate my 21st with me. Please read ALL the following to
ensure your entry into the Ritz.

Lucy's 21st Birthday Party
at The Ritz Hotel London

Friday, 18th of August
9pm Champagne Reception
10pm Photo Shoots
10:30pm Blowing Candles

Mid-night Pangaea, Mayfair


I have arranged the Ritz to host a Champagne Reception with a selection
of Ritz Champagne for all my guests, this will be on me so please come
and indulge.

A specially made birthday cake has also been ordered and the Ritz
waiters will kindly serve you each a generous slice with Ritz cutleries,
etc...also on me.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR ENTRY:
* When you arrive, take the Hotel entry on the opposite side of
the Green Park tube station [Please refer to your arrival time at the
end of this email]
* When asked "how can I help you Sir/Madame?", you reply "I am
here for Lucy's Birthday Party at the Rivoli Bar"
* You will be escorted to the lounge area next to the Rivoli bar,
where you will hopefully see a gorgeous group of ladies.

If you experience any issues getting in or getting to the Ritz, please
call my mobile on 07782 205 450 and my PA Ms Gill will kindly deal with
your queries between 8:30pm to 10pm.

STRICT DRESS CODE:
Gentlemen: Jacket, shirt, and please also bring a tie (no jeans,
trainers, flip-flops, polo-shirts)
Ladies: skirt/top, cocktail dress (no denim, min-skirts, flip-flips, bad
tastes)
Advice 1: It goes without saying that the more upper-class you dress,
the less likely you shall be denied entry. Advice 2: Photos will be
taken between 10pm to 10:30pm, and these will be distributed once
processed, therefore you may want to be well-groomed! ;)

Finally...
I will be accepting cards and small gifts between 9pm to 11pm... hehehe

I very much look forward to seeing you all at the Ritz this Friday.

Lucy

ARRIVAL TIMES: [Please stick to these as best as you can, thank you]
9:00pm: Lucy, Sophie Sandner, Kajai, Mandeep, Preet, Sanami, Su, Lisa,
Kate.
9:15pm: Phoebe, Sophie Seugnet, Theo, Dmitry, Ed, Nikolay, Paul, Nick,
Harry.
9:30pm: Marco, Andrea, Jess, Ovi, Yuki, Olga, Kim, Marcelo, Ulyana,
Krystal, Dan.
9:45pm: Sunita, Alan, JingJing, Emma.
10:00pm: Anthony, Rachel, Roger, Uli, Yogi, Gharzi


Lucy G.

Lucy,

On behalf of everyone who works in finance in New York City, including the
leading investment banks - Goldman, Morgan, Merrill, CSFB, Citi and UBS - as
well as all the leading hedge funds and private equity shops, we'd like to
congratulate you on becoming a world-wide celebrity (as you may see from the
below). We are also hearing positive things about you from our respective Hong
Kong offices.

We'd like to invite you to a party in your honor at the Ritz in New York.
(We have one here too) Don't worry, we will arrive precisely on time, and stand
in strict regimented formation until the photos have been taken and processed.
Please read ALL the following and ensure strict compliance for your party in New
York:

We are expanding the dress code to allow both ascots and ties for gentleman.

Bad taste will be allowed for ladies if skirts are short enough and tops are low
enough.

Arrival times in increments of 15 minutes are too imprecise; we are revising
these to 4 minute intervals.

We are expanding the gift-giving period by 45 minutes so that we may all lavish
you with more gifts of greater extravagance

People are permitted to change the wording of "I am here for Lucy's Birthday
Party at the Rivoli Bar", but only if approved in advance.

Please call my mobile 212 555 2897 and my manservant can address any questions
you have.

We look forward to the favor of your reply,
Your colleagues in finance from around the world