
Then we found out a few things—for instance, that Wenner's own use of the jet only accounts for a fraction of its total air miles. Just as often, it's ferrying around one of his celebrity friends, or a politician such as John Kerry, who borrowed it during his presidential campaign (and whose recent book This Moment On Earth is about environmental stewardship).
"Lending out the jet is a huge part of Jann's starfucking," says an insider. "It's half the reason he has the plane."
Moreover, according to another Wenner source, the Gulfstream isn't his only emissions-intensive vehicle. He also recently purchased a GMC Yukon Denali—an SUV whose fuel efficiency is on par with that of the Hummer—and also keeps a pair of snowmobiles at his place in Sun Valley, Idaho. Snowmobile engines are notoriously dirty, producing as much pollution in a day of use as a typical car does in 100,000 miles.
And Wenner isn't much better when he's in town, where he has a chauffeured Mercedes to shuttle him the 15 blocks or so between his apartment and his office. Even more wasteful is his lunch routine: a private chef prepares his meal at home, then staffers drive it down to the office, don black-and-white uniforms, and serve it to him on his personal china. "It's like a scene from Gosford Park," says the source. "He's the original limousine liberal." Employees also blame the scarcity of recycling bins in the office on Wenner's anti-clutter fatwas.
A Wenner spokesman declined to comment.
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