ANGELENO – Pawn, Baby, Pawn…

via Angeleno

by Amandy Gordon

Want proof that the recession is finally affecting the rich too? The high-end Beverly Loan Company pawn shop is currently granting twice as many $50,000-and-up loans in exchange for luxury goods as it was just six months ago. “Never before have we seen so many white-collar customers in need of short-term cash: doctors, producers, politicians, agents, brokers,” says CEO Jordan Tabach-Bank. Ninety-five percent of the collected “collateral” is jewelry (Cartier, Tiffany, etc.) and fine watches, but recent pawns have included everything from Frank Gehry chairs and Francis Bacon triptychs to jewel-encrusted ivory horse bookends.