Venus Williams turns 29 today. Greg Kinnear is turning 46. Comedian Will Forte is 39. Newt Gingrich is turning 66. Rep. Jack Murtha is 73. Architect Liz Diller turns 55. Actor Thomas Haden Church is 49. Director Bobby Farrelly is turning 51. British director Ken Loach is 73. Latin singer Paulina Rubio is 38. Real estate heir Andrew Farkas is 49. Plastic surgeon Gerald Pitman turns 67. Retired General Tommy Franks is turning 64. And Barry Manilow celebrates his 66th birthday today.

Some people are toning things down because of the recession. Then there's Andrew Farkas, the real estate heir and yaching aficionado who purchased the Montauk Yacht Club in 2007 and has since presided over a multi-million-dollar renovation of the property. Farkas is hoping "to lure the mega-yacht crowd into his slips and turn his club into a nightlife destination," reports Vanity Fair's Jessica Flint, and to drum up interest in the M.Y.C.—as well as celebrate the club's 80th anniversary and his own birthday—Farkas hosted a Great Gatsby–themed party last weekend:

If it feels like every week brings news of yet another cash-strapped American company raising money from Abu Dhabi or Dubai or selling itself entirely to one of these emirates, it isn't your imagination. From real estate (the GM building) to finance (Citigroup), cash has been pouring in from the Middle East as of late. But the expressway of money goes in both directions. Today the Times covered many of the banks setting up shop in Dubai. But loads of other prominent New Yorkers are heading East to take advantage of the petro-dollar gravy train. Here's a look at the growing list of prominent restaurateurs, fashion designers, architects, and real estate developers setting up shop in one of the world's fastest-growing—and richest—regions.

A scion of the family that made a fortune in real estate and retail, Andrew Farkas is the man behind the real estate investment firms Insignia and Island Capital.