A “capacity to perform and to lead a life that’s a mix of fact and fantasy”: Matthew Pietras at the Metropolitan Club in 2023.

Was My Friend a Fraud?

Matthew Pietras worked for the Soros family, donated millions to museums, and produced a fistful of Broadway shows. So why did it all feel make-believe?

By Jane Boon

To those of us who knew him, Matthew Christopher Pietras seemed larger than life, and well on his way to a place atop the pillars of New York society.

He was an aide-de-camp to Courtney Ross, the multi-millionaire widow of the legendary Time Warner C.E.O., Steve Ross. He played a similar role with the family of George Soros, the billionaire investor, and he also claimed a connection to the Qatari royal family.