Billionaires

The Aga Khan's $200 Million Superyacht Snafu

Recently we reported on the impressive racehorses owned by His Highness the Aga Khan, the immensely wealthy Muslim spiritual leader. The urbane Aga Khan, a philanthropist, Harvard graduate and stepson of Hollywood bombshell Rita Hayworth, hasn't had as much good fortune when it comes to superyachts however. A considerable portion of his $800 million fortune has gone into what is supposed to be the world's fastest superyacht, but instead is a serious snafu.

The 164-ft. Alamshar (pictured above), named after a prized racehorse, is a $200 million vessel commissioned by His Highness from the UK's Devonport, which has now been in build for twelve whole years. Designed to break the transatlantic speed record, her ultra-expensive Rolls-Royce gas turbine engines underperformed and had to be replaced. It also caught on fire a bit. However, the luxurious craft was recently spotted performing sea trials and may one day soon be ready to sail.

[via JamesList]

Tags: Aga Khan, Aga Khans yacht, Alamshar yacht, billionaires, Muslim, richest Muslims, Rolls-Royce, superyacht, superyachts, wealth, yacht

Bill Gates Gives Up "World's Richest Man" Status for Philanthropy

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Charity, Big Givers, Wealth

On Wednesday, Forbes magazine will publish its annual list of the richest billionaires in the world. It's almost certain to include Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim in the top three, but while Gates has topped the list nearly every year since 1995 (losing out only once to Buffett by a margin of half a billion), this year we're not expecting to see the Microsoft co-founder in the top spot.

The reason for Gates' displacement? His overwhelming philanthropic activity. Although his personal fortune today is estimated around $49 billion, he and his wife Melinda have funneled some $28 billion into their non-profit foundation. As a result, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim – who contributes far less than Gates or Buffett to charity - is expected to top the list.

[Source: Reuters]

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Tags: bill gates, billionaire, billionaires, carlos slim, philanthropy, warren buffett, worlds richest man

The World's Most Expensive Toilet Brush Holder

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor, Yachts & Sailing

The 24 Carat gold plated toilet brush holder.

Think you've seen it all? How about the world's most expensive toilet brush holder? Called "The Rock Star", the 24-carat gold plated bathroom must-have is selling like hotcakes, even though it retails for $575.

The toilet brush holder measures 3.25" X 15.25" in size and is made in Spain by Windisch. The holder is oven varnished and is guaranteed not to corrode, pit or tarnish. Apparently, the toilet bowl brush holder is a big hit among owners of super yachts. After all, shouldn't a billionaire's luxury bathroom be outfitted with the most exclusive and luxurious bathroom accessories available?

The Rock Star toilet brush holder is available for purchase from Pioneer Linens, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based luxury bedding retailer. It can be purchased online or by calling (800) 207-LINENS. Pioneer Linens offers free UPS Ground shipping on all orders over $175.

Tags: 24-carat gold, billionaires, gold, gold-plated toilet brush holder, Pioneer Linens, Windisch

Armani Beats Gates and Abramovich to Buy $190 Million Greek Island

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Wealth

Legendary Italian fashion designer Giorgio Armani has reportedly become the proud owner of one of the world's most beautiful and expensive private islands – Skorpios (above). In closing the deal, said to be worth about $190 million according to reports in the European press, the designer faced stiff competition from rival bidders including Bill Gates, Roman Abramovich and Madonna. Located in the Ionian Sea off the western coast of Greece, the island formerly belonged to famed Greek shipping billionaire Aristotle Onassis and was the site of his wedding to Jackie Kennedy in 1968. It was sold to Armani by his granddaughter and heiress, Athina Onassis Roussel. There is a lavish villa on the island known as the Pink House which Onassis built for Jackie, along with tennis courts and plush gardens, though most of the island remains undeveloped and pristinely beautiful.

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Tags: Aristotle Onassis, Athina Onassis Roussel, Bill Gates, billionaires, designer, fashion designer, Giorgio Armani, Greece, heiress, island, Jackie Kennedy, Jackie O, jaqueline kennedy, Madonna, private island, Roman Abramovich, wealth

Chinese Billionaire Joins Gates/Buffett Giving Pledge

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Big Givers

A Chinese philanthropist has joined the Giving Pledge campaign started by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Chen Guangbiao, chairman of Jiangsu Huangpu Renewable Resources Utilization, is a well-known Chinese philanthropist and wealthy businessman, he recently gave one million yuan (around $150,000) to the Pakistani flood victims. He is the first in China to respond to the campaign. Gates and Buffett plan to make their pitch to Chinese billionaires in person in Beijing, China at a special dinner on September 29. Around 50 super wealthy Chinese businesspeople have been invited to the banquet but some have opted not to attend.

News reports say that Chen Guangbiao posted an open letter to Gates and Buffett on his company website. The letter pledges that he will donate his entire fortune of more than five billion yuan ($735 million) to charity when he dies. Chen's letter says that it will be a "glory" to return his entire fortune to society and that it is a "shame" to die hoarding wealth.

He's no stranger to showy philanthropy. Earlier this year he built a "money wall" at the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's (ICBC) Jiangsu Branch to collect donations for poor families. He was on the top of the 2010 China Charity List released by the China Association of Social Workers. It is said that he has already donated a total of 1.34 billion yuan.

Tags: bill gates, billionaires, chen guangbiao, giving pledge, philanthropy, warren buffett

Want to Be a Billionaire? First, Get a Harvard Degree

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Obviously you don't have to have a degree from Harvard in order to become a billionaire – but it certainly helps. According to Forbes' new ranking of universities with the highest number of billionaire alums, Harvard thrashes the competition with a record 62 billionaire grads to its credit – more than double the total of the #2 ranked school, Stanford. A whopping 62 Harvard grads are worth $1 billion or more this year, up from 54 last year. Yale clocks in at No. 5 on the list of the top 10 with 16 billionaire alums, while Princeton barely makes the cut at all, coming out tied for last place with Cornell with 9. Notable billionaire Harvard grads include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Citadel founder Kenneth Griffin, Meg Whitman of eBay and David Rockefeller Sr. Worth noting: an Ivy League degree isn't necessarily better, and Forbes points out that on last year's Forbes 400 list, at least 41 billionaires did not have a college degree at all. Check out the full list of the top 10 after the jump:

Tags: billionaire, billionaires, Chicago, Columbia University, Cornell, education, Harvard, Ivy League, Massachusetts, Meg Whitman, Michael Bloomberg, Princeton, Stanford, the rich, universities, University of Pennsylvania, wealth, Yale

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Billionaires Compete to Get Highest Champagne Tab

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

Billionaires entertain themselves differently than everyone else, case in point at St Tropez last week when two partying tycoons got into a competition over who could rack up the highest champagne bill. The competitors were Malaysian billionaire Zhen Low, little brother to the more famous Jho Low, and Winston Fisher of the prominent New York real-estate family. The competition to see who could order more £600 bottles of Cristal took place at Les Caves du Roy nightclub and the winning bar tab, belonging to Zhen Low, came out to be a whopping £1.77 million ($2.6 million). That's a lot of champagne.

And among the guests witnessing the competition and helping Low to celebrate his win was none other than the infamous Paris Hilton who has been spotted all around St. Tropez this summer with her sister Nicky.

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Tags: billionaires, champagne, paris hilton, world record

Oracle's Larry Ellison Is World's Highest Paid CEO

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

Oracle's Larry Ellison received a whopping $1.84 billion in compensation over the past decade, making him the world's highest paid CEO according to a new Wall Street Journal survey of public companies. The founder and chief executive of software maker Oracle Corp. beat out rival Barry Diller, chairman of IAC/InterActive, for the top spot; Diller received roughly $1.14 billion in compensation. Following Diller are Occidental Petroleum Corp. CEO Ray Irani at $857 million, Apple Inc.'s Steve Jobs with $749 million and, in fifth place, Capital One Financial Corp. CEO Richard Fairbank at $569 million. Ellison, the sixth richest person in the world with a personal fortune of $28 billion, is known for his passion for high-tech sailing yachts and owns a Woodside, California estate estimated to be worth $200 million. He's also said to have recently paid $10.5 million for Beechwood, the historic Astor family mansion in Newport, RI that was our estate of the day back in May 2007.

Tags: Apple, Barry Diller, billionaires, CEO, highest paying jobs, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, wealth

Art Market: Russian Billionaires Are Back

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

The numbers may not have big, but it felt like 2007 all over again during "Russian Week" in London. Russian billionaires descended on the art auction houses and fought fiercely for prized lots. Compared to last year, auction sales nearly doubled, with the Russians spending $86 million to repatriate icons, paintings, porcelain and Faberge items. This follows $18.5 million in Russian art sales by Sotheby's and Christie's in New York back in April.

The most popular pieces were early 20th century modernist works, with the top lot Alexander Yakovlev's "Titi and Naranghe, Daughters of Chief Eki Bondo." It was good for £2.5 million, almost tripling its high-end presale estimate of £900,000.

Sotheby's was the top auction house of London's Russian Week, generating £22.3 million by selling approximately 70 percent of its 615 lots. The result falls within the presale range of £19.3 million to £28 million.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art market, auction house, auction houses, billionaire, billionaires, Christies, ChristiesAuction, ChristiesAuctionHouse, faberge, Faberge Eggs, london, russian art, RussianBillionaires, sotheby, sothebys

Art Auctions Bet on Russian Billionaires

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Four auction houses are betting that the Russians will keep the art market recovery alive. Sotheby's, Christie's, MacDougall's, and Bonhams all have sales lined up this week, and the objective is clear: bring in Russian billionaires, and get them to spend. With a reclining nude portrait, Orthodox icons and Faberge jewelry all going under the gavel, sales could reach as high as $86 million.

Historically, Russians have been reliable buyers of their own culture's works, with William MacDougall noting to Bloomberg that classical nineteenth century paintings leading the charge and early twentieth century pieces showing promise.

And, there's hope from an economic perspective:

"Russia's economy is clearly in recovery and oil prices are up," William MacDougall, co-director of MacDougall's, said in an interview. "The main dark cloud is the Greek debt crisis. While it raises problems for euro-denominated assets, it should be good for fine art, which is a safe haven."

Last year, the four auctions were good for only 29.1 million pounds, down 50 percent from the same week in 2008. Prospects look far better for 2010. Sotheby's has 615 lots, one of which may go for 1.5 million pounds, and Christie's has more than 550 lots with a total top-end estimate of more than 11 million pounds.

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Tags: art, auction, auction-house, auctions, billionaire, billionaires, bonhams, BonhamsAuction, christies, ChristiesAuction, faberge, jewelry, russia, Russian, russian art, RussianBillionaires, sothebys

Flaccid Prices at Phillips de Pury's Sexy Art Auction

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

Art auction house Phillips de Pury has learned that sex sells. Pushing erotic-themed contemporary works, the house brought in $2.1 million at a London sale on Saturday night at a sale called simply "SEX." Of the 271 lots that went under the gavel, including art, design and photography, 69 percent sold. Unfortunately, the auction's revenue only hit 78 percent of the presale estimate: competition wasn't exactly stiff for the hottest works on the block.

The highlight of the evening was a painting by UK pop artist Allen Jones. His 1966 "Soft Tread" featured a pair of legs in stockings and adorned with stiletto heels. The sultry effort aroused at least six bids and enough action to thrust the selling price to 361,250 pounds. With a presale estimate of 60,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds, the action surely justified the art world's equivalent to a post-coital cigarette.

Apparently the erotic and sex-themed art market is hardening ... and it's turning on billionaires. A piece by Otto Mueller featuring two nude female bathers fetched 2.1 million pounds at Christie's last month, three times the high estimate.

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Tags: art auction, art auctions, art market, billionaire, billionaires, erotic, london, phillips de pury, sex, sexy

Russia Is Back In The Billionaire Minting Business

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

In the last few months we've been noticing Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich doing a lot of spending. There was that pricey New York dinner, the lavish New Year's Eve party, the new house in Los Angeles. He seems to be doing quite well and he's not alone, Russia is making billionaires once again. The Moscow-based magazine Finans says that Abramovich remains one of Russia's top three richest men. The magazine's data reveals that all those in the top ten had a fortune of at least $9.95 billion. Two of the richest, Mikhail Prokhorov and Roman Abramovich were worth more last year, with $14.1 billion and $13.9 billion, respectively.

Businessweek reports that Russia gained 28 new billionaires bringing the total to 77 from 49 a year ago. That's a good number but not quite up to the 101 billionaires that were filling Russia's coffers in 2008. Finans states that the combined wealth of the 10 richest Russians now sits at $139.3 billion, up 84 percent over last year but still down from the $221 billion the 10 richest were worth two years ago.

Tags: billionaires, Mikhail Prokhorov, MikhailProkhorov, roman abramovich, RomanAbramovich, Russian billionaire, Russian billionaires, RussianBillionaire, RussianBillionaires

Billionaire Larry Ellison Wants to Buy the Warriors

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Sports

The Golden State Warriors are for sale and billionaire Larry Ellison wants to buy, so what's the problem? It seems current team owner Chris Cohan is asking for too much money. He wants $400 million for the team today when he paid only $120 million when he bought it back in 1995. I'm no expert in valuing sports teams but that does seem like quite a jump, especially when the team has hardly been doing amazing things over the last 15 years.

Ellison seems determined, however, having been in talks with Cohan since last summer. He also seems a little frustrated, though, saying "I'm trying, I'm trying," and "Unfortunately you can't have a hostile takeover of a basketball team."

If Ellison does become owner of the Warriors his net worth of $22 billion will make him the richest NBA team owner in history.

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Tags: basketball, billionaire, billionaires, golden state warriors, GoldenStateWarriors, larry ellison, LarryEllison, nba, warriors

Tell Us Everything, Winemaker Patricia Kluge

by Carrie N. Culpepper (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine, Tell Us Everything

Patricia Kluge, 61, is probably best known as the former wife of Metromedia billionaire John Kluge, although their divorce happened nearly 20 years ago. It takes a while for folks to forget about that much money. In the 1990s they were said to be the wealthiest couple in America known for their lavish parties and high-profile friends like Malcolm Forbes, Frank Sinatra and Katherine Graham. But more recently the English-Iranian Kluge has put her fortune to work.

Ten years ago she began planting grapes on her 1,800 acres of rolling Albemarle County, Virginia property - one of the most enviable plots of land in all of Virginia. Her ambition was to become the most prestigious winery on the East Coast and with advice from Robert Mondavi, top wine consultants from France and a state-of-the-art winery, she's getting there. Her wines, which sometimes seem a bit ambitiously priced, have done well in competitions (especially the Blanc de Blancs sparkling Chardonnay and sparkling rosé), are now available in 16 states and China, and she has one of the most lovely tasting rooms in the area.

Most recently in the news for putting her 25,000-square-foot, 45-room estate on the market for $100 million, Kluge and her husband, William Moses, are downsizing, but still keeping 1800 acres and the winery. They had architect David Easton build them a 6,500-square-foot "old Virginia"-style home on another portion of their land which they've designated to be "Vineyard Estates," an über-high-end community of which, they'll be the first residents.

On the 10 anniversary of her Kluge Estates winery, we asked Patricia to tell us everything:

1. What made you want to go into winemaking 10 years ago?

I've always loved wine, particularly the art of pairing wine and food. I'm an avid gardener and consider myself a steward of the land so I was not surprised to learn, when studying my genealogy, that I have farmers in my ancestry. For some time I would look out over the rolling hills and the many acres surrounding my home and felt that creating a vineyard and winemaking operation was a natural choice. I also researched this very thoroughly, studied the soils, consulted with experienced individuals within the industry. Their affirmation of my dream proved that my gut was pointing me in the right direction.

2. For many in Virginia a vineyard is something of a gentleman farmer's pursuit but from the start you have been very serious about making Kluge world-renowned. Did you ever consider just dabbling in it as a hobby?

Although I have hobbies, gardening for instance, I don't do anything halfway. I really throw myself into every endeavor and try to be as educated as possible. So to enter into the wine business with anything less than 100 percent commitment, the utmost passion and excitement never crossed my mind.

3. How close are you to your goal?

The problem with goals is that I keep raising the bar! When we started we had about 30 acres and a handful of varietals. We launched with three wines. Kluge Estate now has over 220 acres under vine, 8 varietals planted and 4 brands. My new goal is to see our wines available in all 50 states.

4. What have you learned in that time about the art/science of winemaking?

In addition to our fabulous vineyard staff and winemakers at Kluge Estate we work with two great consultants from France: Michel Rolland for our red program and Laurent Champs for our sparkling program. Their time in the field and blending in the cellar prove that there is an art and a science to it. There is a saying that anyone can be a cook but a handful of people study and train to become great chefs. There is that difference when working with an experienced winemaking team.

5. What's a common misunderstanding about wine?

I think people can take wine very seriously, to the point where the fun is taken out of it. As a business I do take it seriously but wine is meant to be enjoyed, shared and it can enhance an experience much like music. When I think of a meaningful evening, a great meal or special celebration, there is always wine involved.

Gallery: Kluge Estates Vineyard

Tags: billionaires, john kluge, JohnKluge, kluge estates, KlugeEstates, monticello wine trail, MonticelloWineTrail, patricia kluge, PatriciaKluge, tell us everything, TellUsEverything, virginia wine, VirginiaWine

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Auction Houses Relying on Russian Billionaires This Week

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Auctions, Art

In London today, $90 million in Russian art is going under the gavel, and the auction houses are hoping that a still robust community of Russian billionaires will come out in force to repatriate their heritage. Both Christie's and Sotheby's are holding auctions on December 1, 2 and 3, with MacDougall's, which specializes in Russian art, also selling on December 2 and 3. Bonhams is conducting one today.

There are some signs that the sales could go well. Sotheby's moved $13.8 million in Russian art at an auction a month ago, topping the $9 million presale estimate. The Russian government is saying the economy should grow next year, after falling 10 percent this year. If recovery is en route, big spending Russians may show up at this week's art auctions.

There's no shortage of Russian art coming on the market this week. In addition to the 540 lots being offered by Sotheby's, at a presale range of 14.8 million pounds to 21.2 million pounds, MacDougall's is selling 460 lots (12.5 million pounds to 17.6 million pounds), including a painting of a topless woman by Zinaida Serebriakova for between 1 million pounds and 1.5 million pounds. Christie's has 578 lots, with a presale estimate of 6.5 million pounds to 9.3 million pounds.

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Tags: art, art auction, art auctions, art collecting, art collection, art collector, art market, ArtAuction, ArtAuctions, ArtCollecting, ArtCollection, ArtCollector, ArtMarket, artwork, auction, auction-house, AuctionHouse, auctions, billionaire, billionaires, bonhams, BonhamsAuction, Christies, russian art, Russian billionaire, Russian billionaires, RussianArt, RussianBillionaire, RussianBillionaires, sothebys