CLINTON’S TOWN & COUNTRY TEASE: The talk may be all about whether Hillary will run, but it’s her husband — former President Bill Clinton — who will appear on the cover of Town & Country’s May philanthropy-themed issue, which hits newsstands April 14. The issue dovetails with T&C’s second annual philanthropy summit, which will take place on May 7 at the New York Historical Society.
According to editor in chief Jay Fielden, booking Clinton wasn’t as hard as working around his crammed schedule. “We went to Haiti with him to see what he does best, which is to wheel and deal and put multinational companies together,” Fielden told WWD. “The interview took place about five weeks ago, which was close to deadline. We got a little harried. We only had eight minutes to get the cover shot.”
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Clinton was on site — a farm two hours outside of Port au Prince — to work on the Haiti Lime Project, in which his foundation helps Haitian farmers secure funding to plant lime trees. Clinton, who had hooked the farmers up with Firmenich, a Swiss oils and essences company, was busy schmoozing and shaking hands after the meeting, while T&C photographer Alexei Hay watched his eight-minute window dwindle to three minutes.
Hay captured a noticeably younger-looking Clinton posing by a tree on the farm with a helicopter in the background — a shot that looks more or less like a painting — but one that Fielden denied was Photoshopped. “That’s a real helicopter in the background, and that’s a real Panerai watch that he’s wearing that he owns,” the editor said with a chuckle, noting that Clinton’s appearance marks T&C’s first presidential cover.
The story, which is written by Klara Glowczewska, the magazine’s travel editor-at-large, explores Clinton’s philanthropic efforts in Haiti, as well as his potential role in a Hillary Clinton White House. “If Hillary becomes president, I’ll have to assess what she wants me to do. It’s hard for any party to hang on to the White House for 12 years. A thousand things could happen,” Clinton said in response to Glowczewska’s question of “What if Hillary runs and becomes president?”
T&C hopes to nab the former president for its summit before he goes in first-spouse mode. He would join already-booked speakers such as John Prendergast, Reshma Saujani, Connie Britton and Katie Couric.
T&C vice president, publisher and chief revenue officer Jennifer Levene Bruno said panels will touch on philanthropic efforts in Hollywood, Wall Street and Washington, D.C. The event will also be a full day versus last year’s half day, and it will make use of social media. Today, T&C will try to bolster support for its summit through a social campaign with the tag #LoveToGive, in which individuals are encouraged to raise awareness for the causes they support.
Like last year, Fidelity Charitable is the main sponsor with City of Hope also returning. New sponsors include Bally, Moroccanoil, PBS, Forevermark and 1Hotel.