Ed Bazinet, Millionaire, Goes On $20 Million Shopping Spree Before Landing In Mental Hospital

A frenzied Manhattan mogul went on a bizarre shopping spree at the New York International Gift Fair, The New York Post reports, ordering $20 million worth of swank bric-a-brac before ending up in a mental hospital.

No, it wasn't Arthur, and it wasn't Brewster. It was one of New York's actual richest men, multi-millionaire Ed Bazinet, proprietor of "porcelain Snow-baby figurines" and other ceramic collectibles, who had a bipolar episode at the Fair, "the premier gift and decorative accessories market in the United States."

Bazinet (purportedly worth $100 million and owner of a $28 million, 10,000 square foot TriBeca apartment) went from booth to booth in the Javits Center two weeks ago, placing orders with shocked vendors worth $200,000 to $2 million.

From The Post:

"He’d just say, 'Give me 1,000 of this and 1,000 of that!" recalled designer Nima Oberoi.

Bazinet forked over a credit card to buy more than $200,000 worth of Oberoi's cake platters and serving items before she cut him off.

"My antenna went up -- he wasn't looking at prices, and he was giving insane unit numbers. He didn't ask questions about the products," said Oberoi.

"I feel awful for him; there was clearly something going on."

At elizabethW, maker of swank bath, body and home goods, Bazinet ordered $1.6 million of soap, sachets and clothes hanger covers, said President Michael Lindsay.

Another vendor called Bazinet to confirm a large order when an assistant told her the order was cancelled.

"We called to get his credit card information," the vendor told Gawker "and his assistant told us that he had ordered $20 million worth of merchandise. She said he was having a bipolar incident, and had been hospitalized. They're canceling all the orders. Hopefully all the other vendors called ahead to check like we did."