For more than two decades, Claude Palmero held the purse strings of the House of Grimaldi, hereditary rulers of the millionaire-packed Mediterranean principality of Monaco since the 13th century and among Europe’s glitziest royals.
For 22 years as principal asset manager to the house’s current head, Prince Albert II, the bespectacled accountant handled its investments, oversaw its expenditures and – as best he could – balanced its books.
