Ron Galotti

Ron Galotti is an American former magazine executive, who worked for such Newhouse publications as Vogue, GQ and Vanity Fair. He is generally considered to be and has been cited by New York Magazine as the real-life inspiration for the character of "Mr. Big" (played by actor Chris Noth) on HBO's Sex and the City (based on book of the same name by Candace Bushnell).^[1][2]

While at Vogue, he and his editor in chief, Anna Wintour, once retaliated against an anti-fur protest by PETA outside the Condé Nast offices during the company's annual Christmas party by sending down a plate of roast beef.^[3] After his last magazine position at GQ, Galotti sold his homes in Manhattan and Long Island, and relocated, around 1999, with his family to a farm in North Pomfret, Vermont.^[1]

Background

The Bronx-born Galotti was raised in Peekskill, Westchester County, New York. His parents ran a liquor store. Young Ron raised chickens and earned a five-year 4-H pin from the Yorktown Grange. His only known sibling was a sister (born with Down syndrome) is now deceased. Galotti's father died when Ron was nine years old. After managing to barely graduate from high school, he enrolled in the Air Force, at the height of the Vietnam War. He was stationed for more than 3 years in the Philippines, rising to the rank of sergeant. He earned income by loan-sharking and later opened a brothel with the usury proceeds.^[1]

References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Galotti profile, New York Magazine
2. ↑ Galotti profile, New York Magazine, February 12, 2001.
3. ↑ Johnson, Richard (December 19, 1997). "Vogue fights PETA beef with beef". Retrieved June 24, 2010.