Throughout the 1980s, Christopher Skase could do no wrong. The Australian businessman had the golden touch, turning a pot of $20,000 into a global development, tourism and media conglomerate worth billions. His award-winning Mirage resorts on the Gold Coast and Port Douglas set international benchmarks in design, luxury and style; his media interests grew to include a television network spanning the nation; his eye for a business bargain with hidden potential never seemed to fail him. With glamorous wife Pixie by his side, the French champagne flowed. Yachts, parties, Rolls-Royces, jets, the world was the couple's oyster, and they were rarely out of the headlines. Then it all came crashing down. Quickly. And hard. A series of commercial and national events combined to strike like an economic tsunami and suddenly the name Qintex was being washed away forever. The next decade was spent on the Spanish island of Mallorca, the cash and the high life long gone, as they tried to recover their losses and start afresh. But illness began to dog him and ultimately, imprisoned in a hospital gaol ward, life was reduced to fighting off orders to extradite him back to Australia. How did it all happen? Where did it all go wrong for the man dubbed 'Señor Skase'? What was the mysterious lung disease that created such intrigue and prevented him from returning home? Did it really? Was he putting it on? What did he really die of? And, when the smoke cleared, where did all the money go? Tony Larkins knows all the answers. Married to Pixie's oldest daughter, Tony Larkins spent nearly eleven years on Mallorca working side by side with Christopher Skase as he tried to re-establish his life, his business and his credibility. Trials, punch-ups, projects, drink, drugs, breakdowns, madness, threats, gaols, extraditions, guns, gun-runners, movie stars and a hacienda full of huskies, it was a dramatic saga that a constantly marauding media pack ensured was rarely out of the headlines. Now, the truth. By the man who lived through it all. Skase, Spain and Me. Never a dull day.
About the Author: Harold Antony 'Tony' Larkins is a former film technician who became caught up in one of Australia's most celebrated business sagas, the rise and fall of Christopher Skase. Raised in Hunters Hill, Sydney, Tony worked on the production of top Australian movies including 'Crocodile Dundee' and 'Phar Lap' as well as numerous high-quality commercials. Marrying Amanda Argenti, the eldest daughter of Pixie Skase by an earlier marriage, he was settling into a happy life in Sydney when life changed dramatically. After Skase's business empire collapsed and he re-located to Spain, he asked Tony and Amanda, along with their new-born daughter Charlotte, to throw everything in and come and live in Mallorca. Tony Larkins spent almost eleven years working side by side with Skase as he tried to re-establish his life, his business and his credibility. It was a dramatic saga that a marauding media pack constantly at the gate ensured was rarely out of the headlines, ending in Skase's death in 2001. Now Tony is telling his story. Skase, Spain & Me. By the man who lived through it all.