Fortunate Sons

Aug. 24, 2007 — -- Some people call Fabian Basabe the male Paris Hilton. He's is one of New York's "it" boys of the moment, partying late at night and finding little use for a day job.

But the freedom his family's alleged wealth has afforded him has led to some reckless behavior, getting kicked out of college, wrecking cars and showing the dangers of having too much at a young age.

"He became an 'it boy'," said society columnist Couri Hay. "He's attractive, he has a lot of energy he can be a little naughty."

"I went through a series of wrecked cars, and the next day just got a new one, and I just said, well, 'because I can'," Basabe said.

He thinks he crashed two BMW's in one weekend, and is not even clear on how many boarding schools kicked him out. "I don't know, maybe seven? Six, seven, nine?," he said.

He was also kicked out of college, says Fabian. "I brought my dogs to class, I sometimes didn't go to class," he said.

Basabe is no longer crashing cars or trying to stay in school, and says that he's focusing his energies on his family, philanthropy, and pursuing a career as a TV personality. But he also seems to be focusing a lot of his energies on partying. "Premium liquor and champagne flowing, and … caviar bars, and you know, all the stuff that you see in movies, and it's great," Basabe said.

Basabe says his father is a rich business man who gives him a generous allowance, but would not say specifically how much he's given. Basabe is also married to an heiress of the La Perla fortune.

He doesn't need the income, but Basabe did try the 9 to 5 routine.

About five years ago he took a job on Wall Street and said it was "great."

"I met people, I saw an office, you know, the cubicles, and you know, lunch at your desk, and I saw a lot of that," Basabe said.

But ultimately he said the working life, "just wasn't interesting enough for me."

"And it's a tough life. I mean, they work until one in the morning," he said.

Basabe quit investment and hasn't had steady employment since. He has written some magazine articles, appeared in some television shows and he says he is pursuing a television career and charity work.

"A lot of people that will say, 'get a job.' And it's like, I can get a job tomorrow. But I'm really enjoying my life right now," he said. "I'm going to live forever, by the way, so I'm going to have a lot of time to work and get involved."