It’s been revealed the young man that duped Melbourne’s The Age (and the world) last week with tales of extreme hipsterism is actually the grandson of one of Australia’s wealthiest men.
Last week, Samuel Hains fessed-up that the article the newspaper ran on him was actually a hoax that saw the journalist, who was in on the whole thing, sacked.
You can read the original offending article here.
However, The Guardian is this morning reporting that Hains is the grandson of David Hains, owner of investment firm Portland House Group and the 14th richest person in Australia according to this year’s BRW Rich 200 List with wealth of $2.28 billion.
Even better, the family fortune is now managed by Hains’ children (or young Sam’s parents).
Hain’s fashion stunt, which appeared in The Age’s “Street Seen” section last week became an instant internet success and he was dubbed “the most Melbourne man ever” after describing his personal style as “bucolic socialist with improvised elements (like jazz)”. His style icon was Albert Einstein and “Trotsky in leather”.
“I admire the style of Trotsky in leather, Albert Einstein, John Coltrane,” the smirking Hains said in the interview, adding he likes mixing Kmart basics with his Chanel cape but would never be caught in a “small, inefficient beanie”.
“I’m not only inspired by people, but places and ideas. I spend a lot of time down at the docks and source inspiration from the architecture.”
And it wasn’t just Australia who got duped, the world’s media picked up the interview declaring Hains “the world’s biggest hipster”.
London’s Metro.co.uk said of Hains: “He is spectacular. Not just because of what he happened to be wearing on the day he was interviewed about his street style – dungarees (worn backwards), a black turtleneck, a beret, and a ‘Feeling Myself’ tote bag – but because of the worldview his style, his speech, and his general sense of being embodies.”
