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Tom Wright Profile picture
@TomWrightAsia
May 15, 2023 • 11 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
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When the saxophonist Kenny G snapped a photo with pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong in 2014, China's government branded him a spy. To get out of the fix, Kenny put in a call to pro-Beijing actor Jackie Chan ...🧵 Image
To understand this crazy story, you've got to know that Kenny G is perhaps the best known Western artist in China. His song, "Going Home" comes on when shopping malls close and when planes land. Adam Wilkes, Kenny's promoter, was on a plane once with Kenny...
So when Kenny stepped out of his hotel in Hong Kong in 2014, he was instantly recognized by pro-democracy protesters who had taken over the city. He stopped to take photos, including this one, which he put on Facebook. Image
China's government was furious with Kenny G. "We hope that foreign governments and individuals speak and act cautiously and not support the Occupy Central and other illegal activities in any form," a Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.
Kenny G didn't know what to do. In a panic, he called Adam Wilkes, his promoter. But Adam was sleeping...and so...Kenny called his friend, kung-fu legend Jackie Chan.
Jackie Chan, an ardent pro-Beijing voice, told Kenny to take the post down. He did so, but then was attacked by pro-democracy supporters. Finally Adam got a hold of him and they crafted a ploy to get out of the fix.
Adam was with Bjork when she shouted "Tibet!" at a concert in Shanghai. He was touring Taylor Swift in China when her "TS 1989" concert was mistaken by officials as a reference to Tiananmen Square, and Katy Perry when she inadvertently draped herself in a Taiwanese flag.
But no one expected this kind of trouble from Kenny G and his inoffensive brand of soft jazz. Go inside Kenny's China problems on the latest episode of NIGHT OF SHOW, available now on @ApplePodcasts
podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/nig…
Other listening options for Night of Show here: nightofshow.com
Image
Got some really dope episodes of NIGHT OF SHOW coming up: Next week, Michael Jackson escapes to Thailand as the world's press follows in hot pursuit...and episode six...it's a secret...Subscribers to Brazen+ on @ApplePodcasts can access all episodes now.

podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/nig…

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More from @TomWrightAsia

Tom Wright Profile picture
Sep 11
This guy is the new Jho Low, just white and with a Cambodian diplomatic passport. Moving billions via shell companies. Protected by powerful leaders. Likes his private jets and yachts. And now he's hunted by U.S. intelligence. Here's his story. 1/13 Image
Meet Benjamin Mauerberger, 47, from a prominent Jewish family in South Africa. He sold worthless stocks to mom and pop investors in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Like the 2000 movie "Boiler Room." But then authorities in the West came after him, so he holed up in Bangkok. 2/13 Image
People in Bangkok expat circles knew him as a friendly guy in finance. But then things changed: he bought an orange McLaren, a $20 million apartment on "Billionaire's Row" in Manhattan, and a $100 million superyacht called "Wanderlust." What had changed? 3/13 Image
Read 13 tweets
Tom Wright Profile picture
Sep 5
This guy is the new Jho Low, just white and with a Cambodian diplomatic passport. Moving hundreds of millions of dollars via shell companies. Protected by powerful leaders (Thaksin, Hun Sen). Likes his private jets and yachts. Here's his story. Image
Meet Benjamin Mauerberger, a 47-year-old South African, wanted for boiler room stock frauds in London and NZ dating back 25 years. He reappears as "Ben Smith" in Cambodia, a country known for washing Chinese money via casinos/land. He becomes friends with the Deputy PM's son. Image
Mauerberger is useful (like Jho Low) as he knows how to move money around the world via shells: BVIs, Dubai, Singapore. He uses his Thai-British wife, a former model, to move hundreds of millions of dollars coming out of their Chinese-related business in Cambodia. Image
Read 10 tweets
Tom Wright Profile picture
Aug 19
EXCLUSIVE: At a Thai restaurant in Bangkok, a secret meeting took place in April 2025 between Thaksin Shinawatra and a convicted criminal fixer for Cambodia's elite. We have the photo. Read on. 1/5 Image
The fixer, Benjamin Mauerberger, was negotiating the purchase of a new $60M private jet for Thaksin. Why would Thailand's most powerful political figure rely on a criminal with deep ties to Cambodia's underworld? 2/5
Our revelation comes amid a border crisis where Thaksin's daughter, PM Paetongtarn, had a "chummy" phone call with former Cambodian strongman Hun Sen. That call was leaked, sparking public outrage and a national scandal. 3/5
Read 5 tweets
Tom Wright Profile picture
Jan 23
This is perhaps America's most successful serial squatter. How did she get there? (She's not even American.)

Step 1/5: Pose as a Hollywood screenwriter and post many photos in which you appear to be close to huge stars. Image
Step 2/5: Look for marks on the beaches of Malibu and other expensive rental areas. Not just anyone but the families of Hollywood casting directors, real estate magnates and more. Pretend your screenplay is about to make big bucks, and move in "for a few days." Image
Step 3/5: To build credibility, talk about when you almost got cast in a Scorsese movie in your 20s but lost the role to Patricia Arquette (this part is true). Image
Read 5 tweets
Tom Wright Profile picture
Nov 11, 2024
This guy, Mark Lombardi, was a famous artist who believed a hidden network of powerful individuals ruled the world. But he’d die before he could prove it. 1/ Image
Lombardi created art that looked like this. He claimed it showed the links between dark networks that controlled governments: politicians, banks, arms dealers. Image
Lombardi got interested in deep state networks in Houston in the 1980s, when he realized George W Bush, then a failed oil investor with a powerful father, was being bailed out by Saudi interests. He started to collect Rolodexes of these secret connections. Image
Read 9 tweets
Tom Wright Profile picture
Nov 5, 2024
This guy, Fat Leonard, just got 15 years in jail for a decades-long scandal in which he bribed US Navy admirals with prostitutes, Cristal, and Chanel handbags for their wives. What happened to the admirals you might ask? Image
In 2021, Project Brazen smuggled a microphone to Leonard, who was in detention in San Diego, awaiting sentencing. He’d pleaded guilty but was furious Navy admirals had got off scot-free, and so he talked for our Fat Leonard podcast. podcasts.apple.com/sg/podcast/fat…
It’s one of the worst national security failures in U.S. military history. Leonard supplied prostitutes to Navy admirals, and recorded the sex in case he needed leverage. In return, his Navy collaborators allowed him to overcharge for food, fuel and security by tens of millions.
Read 8 tweets

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