New York, Nov. 24, 2002: Sant
Chatwal lives in a 7,000-square-foot East Side
penthouse, presides over a massive hotel and
restaurant empire and counts celebrities and
politicians - including Bill and Hillary Clinton
- among his friends. On weekday mornings, when
he leaves the 45th-floor apartment where he's
entertained the former First Couple, Sen. Chuck
Schumer and rap mogul Russell Simmons, he steps
into a chauffeured Land Rover for the ride to
his offices on the West Side. It's an entire
building with its own private garage.
Chatwal has been lionized by Schumer as the
personification of the American Dream - an immigrant
who made it big. He came here by way of Canada
from India as a young man to build his empire,
starting with the Bombay Palace Restaurant at
30 W. 52nd St.
But with all that, on the books of the New
York City Department of Finance, Chatwal has
another billing.
