Here comes the billionaire jet set

By Gary Smart  |   2008-6-18  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

AFTER enjoying roaring success in London, Hong Kong and Cannes, an exclusive new club is about to open its doors in Shanghai. It will be like nothing the city has ever seen, says its creator. Gary Smart reports.

Alistair Paton was a 25-year-old kid sitting in the sun in the Caribbean, drinking beer and watching cricket when he decided to change the world.

He was not thinking of world peace or settling eons-old religious struggles as he wandered to the bar for a refill while a cacophony of steel drums - so omnipresent at West Indies cricket matches - rattled madly in the background.

Instead, the young Australian from Melbourne had only one thought on his mind and he could not shake it following a recent visit to London.

Paton wanted to open a club. But he wasn't thinking of just any club. In his mind was an establishment reminiscent of the grand old days when private members' clubs in London and New York were the bastions of class, style and civility, not to mention outrageous amounts of money.

Of course, New York has Soho House, the Algonquin Club and others, while London has its own Soho House, the Kingly Club, Eight Club and the Groucho Club, to name just a few.

But Paton wanted a new, modern place, a place where "high net worth individuals" could wheel and deal over the finest food and wine. It frustrated him that there were no private members clubs with the polish and structure of an operation befitting the 21st century.

And Paton wanted to take his idea globally - England, France, and China at least. So he decided to do something about it.

Despite his youth, Paton had the ability to make it happen. His CV is impressive. Twice nominated for Australian Young Entrepreneur of the Year, he moved from being a foreign exchange trader in Sydney to establishing a carbon credit trading business in 1999.

By all reports, he had also just made US$10 million on a buyout of his company.