The ambassador wears Prada? Maybe so.
Anna Wintour, longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue, is in the running to be President Barack Obama's next ambassador to either the United Kingdom or France, Bloomberg reports.
Wintour was one of Obama's highest profile fundraisers this election cycle, helping design a fashion line that earned his campaign $40 million. She also hosted a $40,000-a-plate fundraiser with actress Sarah Jessica Parker in June, and a $35,000-a-plate fête with Hollywood mega-producer Harvey Weinstein in August.
Per Bloomberg:
Wintour, 63, may have some competition for the London posting, with Matthew Barzun, the finance chairman of Obama's presidential campaign, also interested in the job, officially known as ambassador to the Court of St. James's, said the people, who requested anonymity.
Both Wintour and Barzun were among Obama's biggest bundlers in the campaign, with each raising more than $500,000 to help re-elect the president. Marc Lasry, the managing partner and founder of Avenue Capital Management, covets the Paris embassy, said the people.
Speculation first surfaced that Obama might tap the British-born editor as ambassador last summer, when the Guardian ran a piece reporting the possibility. A state department representative skirted the issue at the time, saying:
An ambassador serves at the pleasure of the president. It's a designation of the most qualified person. But it would be erroneous to think of London as a nice, cushy, westernised post. This is a key strategic ally, so you're going to want a very seasoned person, be it on the economic or diplomatic side of things.
The White House declined to comment when approached by Bloomberg for the story.
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