On the morning of May 30, Matthew Christopher Pietras was found unresponsive in bed inside his modest New York City apartment.
The 40-year-old socialite and patron of the arts had died suddenly in the night – just 48 hours after a $15million donation he’d pledged to the Metropolitan Opera was flagged as fraudulent by the bank.
In recent years, Pietras had told close friends he suffered from an enlarged heart. To those who knew him, the diagnosis felt like a metaphor.
Pietras was impossibly generous – regularly picking up tabs at New York’s most expensive restaurants, whisking friends away on private jets, handing out jewelry like party favors – and never asked for anything in return.
His wealth, like his generosity, seemed endless. But the source of his fortune was never clear.
By day, Pietras worked behind the scenes for the ultra rich – first as an aide to Courtney Sale Ross, widow of Time Warner CEO Steve Ross, then as a personal assistant to Gregory Soros, son of billionaire George Soros.
But he behaved like a billionaire in his own right. He wore only designer couture, held a seat on the Met’s board, and had his name etched on the wall of The Frick Collection.
All the while, he gave those in his orbit shifting answers about where his money came from. The stories didn’t always add up – but few pushed for the truth.
Matthew Pietras, 40, was found dead in May – just 48 hours after a $15 million donation he’d pledged to the Metropolitan Opera was flagged as fraudulent
Despite lavishing attention and praise, at Pietras’ instruction, there was no funeral, no obituary, and no memorial
Only after his mysterious death – and as word of his fraudulent Met donation spread – did those closest to him begin reexamining everything.
Among them was Jane Boon, a friend of more than a decade, who is now questioning whether she ever truly knew Pietras.
‘When I heard he had died, I just thought: what happened? And then when I heard about the Met donation, I knew this wasn’t going to be good,’ Boon told the Daily Mail.
‘And then everything kept unraveling from there.’
Boon first shared her story in a feature for Air Mail, which was followed by a New York Magazine investigation.
She first met Pietras in April 2012, while both were working as background actors on the set of Law & Order: SVU. Boon was 44, Pietras was 27. She played an upscale partygoer, he played a cater-waiter.
She was surprised when the effusively charming Pietras struck up a conversation between takes.
Pietras told her he’d recently earned an MBA from NYU, had interned with the UN in Afghanistan, and casually mentioned he lived at the Pierre Hotel on Fifth Avenue, where rents can top $500,000 a month.
The apartment, he claimed, belonged to his wealthy grandparents and had been designed by architect Peter Marino, with Tory Burch as a neighbor.
He spoke of it often – but Boon was never invited over. There was always a leak or construction whenever she asked.
Pietras (right) is seen with a friend on May 28, 2025, the night his Met donation was blocked
Jane Boon (right) met Pietras (left) in April 2012 while the pair were working as background actors on the set of Law & Order: SVU
From the outset, Boon sensed Pietras was exaggerating – if not outright fabricating – parts of his story. But she chose to indulge him.
‘I thought the embellishments were just part of being an actor,’ she said.
‘New York is a tough city, and so many people fake it until they make it. It seemed harmless, so I just let his imagination run.’
Despite her doubts, Boon was charmed. Soon, she, Pietras and another actor her age were meeting regularly for lavish lunches at the Four Seasons or Cipriani, sharing acting dreams without the usual financial strain.
‘It was a giggle… the lunches were over-the-top,’ said Boon. ‘We had this joke that we were the most elite background actors in the city.’
Unbeknownst to Boon, Pietras’ financial situation was actually dire. He had no trust fund, no assets and didn’t live at the Pierre. He owed a former landlord $25,000 in back rent and had been caught squatting at a family friend’s vacation home in Connecticut the year before.
Around the same time, he stepped down from the junior board of a nonprofit after clashing with colleagues who questioned his credibility.
‘He was manipulative,’ one former colleague told NY Mag. ‘He didn’t seem well.’
Boon and Pietras met regularly for extravagant lunches at the Four Seasons or Cipriani, trading hopes for their acting careers
Years later, Pietras would be flying his entourage across the world for lavish trips to the Caribbean, Europe and beyond
In the last years of his life, Pietras hosted at least 14 lavish galas, costing more than $200,000 each
Despite having no steady income and mounting debts, Pietras clung to the illusion of wealth, spinning increasingly elaborate tales to maintain the fantasy.
Soon, he dropped his acting dream and told Boon he wanted to write screenplays instead.
At the time, Boon’s husband was chief content officer at TIME, so she began inviting Pietras to screenings and industry events to help him network.
He was the perfect plus-one, she said – dazzling wealthy strangers with wild stories and a larger-than-life personality.
Then, in 2015, Pietras finally seemed to land on his feet. He got a job as personal assistant to Courtney Sale Ross and was quickly promoted to chief of staff, managing nearly every aspect of her life – including her finances.
After landing in Ross’ orbit, those around Pietras noticed a shift.
His Instagram was suddenly awash with images of him flying business class, enjoying champagne and caviar, and sunbathing in the Hamptons.
Though likely taken on work trips, the pictures portrayed Pietras as a man of means reveling in the spoils of hard-earned wealth.
Pietras rose from complete obscurity to the heart of New York’s elite, earning a seat on the Met’s board and his name etched into the wall of the Frick Collection
In the years before his death, Pietras’ spending habits became increasingly ‘manic’, according to Boon
Pietras’ theatrics escalated in 2019 when he landed a job working for Greg Soros – a 32-year-old artist who struggled with mental health issues.
Greg’s mother was looking for someone trustworthy to manage his finances and well-being. Ross recommended Pietras for the role.
According to Boon, Pietras was vague about his salary and duties – but claimed he now worked not only for Greg, but also managed affairs for George Soros and his other son, Alex.
After years of embellishment, Boon was relieved. It seemed Pietras had finally secured the luxury lifestyle he’d long pretended to have.
Then COVID hit, and Boone didn’t see him for almost two years. When they finally reunited, she barely recognized him.
Pietras had undergone extensive plastic surgery, including multiple nose jobs, a hair transplant, and jaw enhancement. Boon said his personality had changed, too.
He was now surrounded by a rotating entourage of young, attractive professionals, jetting off with them to Egypt, Bhutan and the Caribbean.
His spending had become increasingly absurd.
Last winter, he treated a group of friends to three weeks of skiing in France, covering room and board for most at the Alps’ most expensive hotel
Lunches at the Four Seasons were no longer enough. Now it was multi-course meals at Four Twenty Five, paired with rare wines costing thousands.
He wore Tom Ford suits, Hermès tuxedos, and custom diamond brooches.
Boon once saw Pietras buy his boyfriend a $40,000 watch on a whim. He paid for two friends’ weddings in Ireland and Spain, and threw countless ritzy parties with white glove service.
Though she knew he worked for the wealthy, Boon couldn’t fathom how Pietras was bankrolling his billionaire lifestyle.
‘After every event that we attended, I got home and asked my husband, ‘Do you think he’s insider trading or involved with a crypto scam of some kind?’
‘I felt bad thinking that – but the spending I was seeing wasn’t sustainable.’
By then, Pietras had been stealing from Andco, LLC – the company Ross used to pay her household staff – for some time, according to NY Mag.
He also had full access to Soros’ accounts, using his credit card for personal expenses that went unchecked. Pietras could approve his own charges and had rerouted Greg’s fraud alerts to his own email.
With unfettered access to two family fortunes, Pietras began upping the stakes. He made astronomical donations to the Met and Frick, and hosted at least 14 lavish galas, costing more than $200,000 each.
Though she knew he worked for the wealthy, Boon couldn’t fathom how Pietras was bankrolling his billionaire lifestyle
For his 40th birthday, he chartered a private jet and took a group of friends to the British Virgin Islands
In late 2024, Pietras donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Frick Collection, prompting the museum to name a position in his honor – the Matthew Christopher Pietras Head of Music and Performance – and etch his name on its donor wall.
He was also elected a managing director (the highest tier) of the Met’s board, which requires annual dues of $250,000.
All the while, he was chartering helicopters to attend Taylor Swift concerts and buying court-side seats at the US Open.
That winter, he treated friends to three weeks of skiing in France, covering room and board for most at Les Airelles – the most expensive hotel in the Alps.
Boon joined for the final week. By then, she said, his spending had become delirious – almost manic.
‘I was mystified how he had the means to be able to party at that level, because the weekly cost of hiring the chalet was between €250,000 and €350,000,’ said Boon.
When she discreetly asked a friend how it was being funded, she was told Pietras had landed a job with the Qatari royal family – and likely received a large signing bonus.
‘I thought, I hope so – because unless you’re [Russian oligarch] Roman Abramovich, who had the neighboring chalet, I don’t know how anyone affords that.’
Pietras is seen dining at New York’s esteemed Polo Bar with friends
The NYPD has not confirmed whether an investigation into Pietras (pictured with a friend) is ongoing
In the months before his death, Pietras told Boon he was planning a move to London for the new job. The package, he said, included a generous allowance and an apartment at the exclusive No. 1 Grosvenor Square.
But before the move, Pietras continued to embed himself in New York’s cultural elite.
In March, to celebrate the reopening of the Frick, Pietras invited 60 friends to a gala, where they toasted his brilliance and admired his name on the donor wall.
Then came his boldest gesture yet: a $15 million pledge to the Met. The gift – announced by opera leadership just days before the Frick gala – included plans for a speakeasy beneath the lobby bearing his name.
His final Instagram post came on May 22: a picture of Grosvenor Square captioned, ‘Time for a new adventure to begin…’
Six days later, on May 28, a $10 million transfer from an LLC tied to a Greg Soros property was routed to the Met but flagged as fraudulent, according to NY Mag.
That night, Pietras attended the American Ballet Theatre’s spring gala at Cipriani. Red carpet photos show him pale and hollow-eyed, staring blankly into the lens.
Boon said the photos give her chills.
‘He looks awful… I think he knew it was over, and he was trying to figure out if he had the courage to do what he needed to do,’ Boon said.
‘He was a real snob. He wouldn’t have lasted in prison.’
In late 2024, he gave a gift large enough to the Frick – somewhere between $1 million and $5 million – that they named a position after him
Two days later, Pietras was found dead in his surprisingly modest studio apartment on 39th Street.
Authorities have not released a cause of death, but Boon is convinced it was suicide.
She wasn’t surprised. Pietras, she said, often joked about ending his life in his 40s – while he was ‘still gorgeous’ – so he could be ‘a beautiful corpse.’
Per his instructions, there was no funeral, no obituary, no memorial. Friends told NY Mag he’d made it clear he wanted no fuss.
His will directed nine friends to each select a few items from his jewelry and personal effects. The rest of his estate – about $1.5 million in cash and $500,000 in property – was to be divided among his friends and the Met.
Boon noted the irony: In life, Pietras lavished attention and praise; in death, he wanted to disappear without a whisper.
‘He wanted to forestall speculation,’ Boon said. ‘He must have known everything would come out – and that certain friends would stay loyal to the end and protect his privacy and reputation.’
As for motive, Boon speculates Pietras resented his employers – their wealth, their lives – but says he was no Robin Hood.
The people he took along for the ride, she said, weren’t friends, they were pawns enlisted to serve a darker need.
‘I think he chose his victims with surgical precision, that was part of his brilliance,’ Boon added.
‘His genius was exploiting people’s desire for discretion. And because of that, the full extent of what he did may never be known.’
Pietras often joked about taking his own life in his 40s, according to Boon
Grieving Pietras’ death has been difficult for Boon, because she’s not sure who it is she’s grieving
As for the $15 million pledge to the Met, Boon believes Pietras was testing just how far his web of deception could stretch.
‘Part of his compulsion – and I think the dishonesty was compulsive – was that he had to project success to whoever was in front of him.
‘But maybe he had to keep raising the stakes to feel the thrill – and eventually, he pushed too far.’
The NYPD told Daily Mail it is not currently investigating Pietras’ alleged crimes or the circumstances of his death.
The Daily Mail reached out to representatives for Ross, Soros, the Met and the Frick for comment but has not heard back. Messages to Pietras’ family went unanswered.
Boon, meanwhile, admits she’s still grieving – but she isn’t sure who.
‘I feel this loss,’ she said. ‘But what did I lose? I had a long relationship with him – a good one – but it wasn’t real.
‘I want to believe there was something sincere at his core, but I just don’t know.
‘For now, I’ll choose to remember him as the young actor trying to find his path – not the artificial con man he became.’
