Yes, the very rich are different than you and I, and this entertaining memoir will prove it to you. This isn’t the type of book in which you can honestly say, “I can relate to that,” because every aspect of Mr. Mellon’s long life is so rarified, empathy is well nigh impossible.

His childhood is unenviable. His father was a very formal, reserved man; and his mother – “impossible” is a good way to describe her. She was flagrantly unfaithful and had the maternal instincts of a turtle. She caused the senior Mr. Mellon agonies of grief with her not-so-polite blackmail by threatening him with scandal if she did not get her way. They were divorced (think of it---in 1912!) when Paul was six years old. Mr. Mellon insists it didn’t have much effect upon him as he was so young, but allows his older sister, Ailysa, bore the brunt of it and grew up to be a shy and reclusive woman.

When Paul graduated from Yale and Clare College, Cambridge and put in an obligatory year in the Mellon banking institution; he announced to his father he was not cut out for banking. What he wanted to do was ---not much of anything in the way of employment. He collected art, racehorses, and became a philanthropist of the first order. The word “dilettante” never appears on these pages, but it did indeed cross my mind. This is not to say Mr. Mellon was idle or unsuccessful. He inherited his father’s business-like mind and made money with his art collections and racing stables. He spent his life doing exactly as he wished—somehow this seems vaguely un-American!

Mr. Mellon relates at some length how distant and reserved his father was. I think he was truly unaware how distant and reserved he was himself. He was kind and had a closed circle of friends with similar interests (and money), but seemed to see the rest of humanity as his worker bees. His first wife died tragically young, but he matter-of-factly states he was not so sure the marriage would have lasted anyway. He praises his second wife, Bunny, highly, but she never comes to life; it’s as if he is admiring a monument. He had four separate residences (all fully staffed, including butlers). Mr. Mellon was bemused when people asked him if going back and forth between four homes wasn't a bit wearisome. He said he couldn’t understand their question because their main home in Upperville, VA has an airstrip. When he wants to move on to Antigua, he just steps out the back door and gets on the Gulf Airstream IV. Now what trouble is that?

“Reflections In A Silver spoon” is a fascinating read, though there is a long section on his various directorships that was not of much interest to me. I was involved enough to check out what happened beyond the end of the book written in Mr. Mellon’s 85th year. He died in 1999 at the age of 91 at his home in Virginia.

Though this book is out of print, it is easy to obtain used through the Amazon Marketplace.