Chuck Prince, Barry Diller, John Thain, and Steve Schwarzman: larger than life, but still smaller than the stars.Photo Illustration: Everett Bogue; Photos: istockphoto (space), Patrick McMullan (Prince), Getty Images (remaining)
Many of you know celebrity astrologer Susan Miller as the uncannily accurate predictor of your fate. You’re in good company: She’s got A-listers like Kirsten Dunst and Orlando Bloom paying her to do their charts and gets 15 million page views a month on her Website, Astrologyzone. She’s asked to analyze the stars for actors, musicians, and starlets all the time — but when we got the chance to talk with her, we wanted to know what the future holds for a group of guys even nearer and dearer to our heart. Guys like embattled IAC CEO Barry Diller, Blackstone CEO Steven Schwarzman, ousted Citigroup CEO Chuck Prince, and Merrill Lynch newbie John Thain. After all, these people have much more power to wreak havoc in our lives if the stars choose not to shine on them. After the jump, read Miller’s uncannily prescient analysis (it would be more precise if she knew the times of day they were born) and learn what warnings these four financial powerhouses need to heed if they want to come out of 2008 on top.
Barry Diller: With IAC/InterActiveCorp posting large losses and not-great fourth-quarter results last month, Barry Diller’s days haven’t been so sunshiny lately — and that’s before the whole “John Malone is trying to steal my company” thing. But Miller says that Diller’s immediate future is looking pretty awesome. As a full-moon-born Aquarius, Diller’s about to have a fabulous turn for the better. “His progressed moon is in Aquarius,” she says, “and about to conjoin his sun in August 2008.” Diller will likely be in the news again this summer, but this time announcing a huge new venture. In fact, Diller’s fortunes are going to get better and better between now and 2010. “Career wise, his chart shows steady development. Astrology is not destiny, but the study of cycles, so the choices will be up to him,” says Miller.
Stephen Schwarzman: Meanwhile, the Blackstone CEO (and Diller’s fellow Aquarian) needs to be conservative with his own fortunes this year and next, says Miller. “Saturn in his solar eighth house of joint financial contracts shows possible problems concerning money being held up because of contractual conflict,” while a deal he made around December 11 last year “will take time to fully blossom and will exceed expectations.”
Chuck Prince: Despite what you may think, Prince, a Capricorn, is in a perfect position to make a fresh start after parting ways with Citigroup. “This is the perfect year for Prince to get back on his feet again,” says Miller, who says that he just last week experienced wonderful aspects and has a further fortnight in late November and early December during which the planets are aligned in his favor. “His chart suggests he is doing all the right networking and he is getting sympathetic help from all the right players,” she says. But Prince will have stiff competition for at least one position he goes for, says Miller. “Transitioning Pluto will be in a very hard angle to Prince’s Mars,” resulting in a “sweaty, intense, difficult fight to finish for the job.” However, Prince has three planets in Aquarius, so he will always play fair, and he’s no dirty-tricks man. Try telling that to Todd Thompson! But seriously, Mr. Prince, if you’re reading this, the best time for you to get a new job is during last days of September and the first week of October. And no Christmas vacations — the holidays will be a key time for Prince to keep abreast of looming developments in business. Good luck, Chuck! There, we said it.
John Thain: The Merrill Lynch CEO’s cool troubleshooting at the company looks like it will earn him performance-based compensation (maybe a bonus for his plan to solve the stock-drop debacle?), but the new moon this Friday that links the sun, moon, and a brilliant Uranus, will bring news of sudden changes in relation to Mr. Thain’s career path, and he’s going to respond in a way no one expects! What could it be? Our money’s on guitar teacher, focusing on the back catalog of his totes all-time favorite band, Led Zeppelin. We can practically hear him practicing his “Stairway to Heaven” already. —Fiona Byrne
