This is part 2 of a 4-part series.
It is easy to imagine uber-rich businessmen climbing the red carpeted steps that lead up to Beny Steinmetz’s hotel suite. Located on the shores of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss city’s old town, Hotel Métropole seems untouched by time. Some find its decor outdated. Others are paying for an identity that has changed little since the hotel opened in 1854. At the top of the stairs, a butler welcomes the sparse stream of masked guests staying at the hotel today, 21 January.
Not so long ago, bankers and investors booked rooms here because of its relative privacy. People would cross paths and recognise each other, but pretend otherwise. More than anything else, people would scrutinise one another, watching the procession of the powerful. But in the Covid-19 pandemic era, the lobby remains depressingly empty and the restaurant deserted at lunchtime in
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