We've been chronicling Russia's growing batch of billionaires for years. Sure, they have the yachts, the luxury cars, the expensive real estate all over the world but every person regardless of their wealth needs one thing in order to be happy: health. For Russia's ultra-rich the place to go is Neo Vita. a clinic that offers a variety of treatments for both mind and body, including psychoanalysis at $10,000 an hour.
The clinic offers the ultimate in privacy, visitors must pass a police post and surveillance cameras and confidentiality is maintained at all levels. There is even a discreet side door and according to the AFP, the truly secretive and wealthy can reserve the clinic just for themselves for $200,000. Russian psychoanalyst Artyom Tolokonin justifies his prices by saying he only he understands the Russian mentality, offering services his clients can't get elsewhere. He is quoted in the article as saying: "If he has a castle in Monaco, but can't find love, then I wouldn't be effective if I weren't charging him the equivalent of a castle." And you thought health care in the U.S. was scary!
Having a million dollars isn't what it used to be. In fact, having a million dollars in the bank in today's world only equates to being a "middle-class millionaire." To be truly rich you'll have to clear somewhere around $10 million in the bank, and to be considered "crazy wealthy" those stacks of dough will need to add up to more than $30 million. That is a lot of money.
So what to the rich and the crazy-wealthy of the world do with all that cash? Of course they all have their quirks, but some things are pretty consistent: lavish home improvements (think private massage rooms and relaxing zen gardens), one-of-a-kind jewels and jewelry, obnoxiously fast and expensive vehicles, fashion fashion fashion, lots of traveling to exotic locations, and of course all kinds of conveniences and amenities like concierge services and fine dining.
If you had unlimited funds what would you most look forward to spending it on?
Being rich isn't always about being famous, in fact many wealthy individuals go to great lengths to keep out of the spotlight -- even when it comes to being recognized for generous gifts to charity. Recently I posted on billionaire Chuck Feeney and his anonymous "giving while living" motto, but he's not the only one out there that wants to give money away without being recognized -- as one donor put it "I don't want to walk into the coffee shop and have strangers come up and talk to me about this gift."
The reasons why this trend is growing vary wildly, sometimes it's a simple matter of safety and privacy and sometimes it's about family politics -- they don't want all their relatives knowing how much they really have. Anonymous giving is generally a good thing, I think. After all, it's about the charities, not the donors who keep them going.
"Giving while living" is one of the mottos that the very wealthy Chuck Feeney lives by, along with "not tooting his own horn" -- which means that although he gives boatloads of money away as many billionaires do he's different in that he pretty much always does it anonymously and/or goes to great lengths to make sure he doesn't get acknowledged in any way for his generosity.
His current plans are what's getting him into the news (much to his dismay, I'm sure) as he plans to give away $8 billion by the year 2016, mostly through the foundation Atlanta Philanthropies that he started back in 1984. He says there's no point in holding onto all that money and that he's "not going to die until he can spend it."
Attention gold diggers! Just kidding. Whatever your reasons are for looking for a millionaire love match (hey, we all have our dreams) you've probably realized with the rest of society that meeting quality people to date isn't easy, wealthy ones especially. Dating online is becoming more and more common for people of all walks, millionaires included. Sites like MillionaireMatch.com, SugarDaddy.com , and DateAMillionaire.com are some examples of what online dating services are out there, plus if looks aren't a priority there's also the hilarious Marry-An-Ugly-Millionaire-Online-Dating-Agency.com.
If you were a billionaire what would you spend your money on? Most people have this vision that all billionaires spend like crazy on lavish amounts of bling gilded in gold, diamond-encrusted gadgets, expensive designer handbags, ridiculously huge homes, and private jets. Some of these things are pretty standard among the rich, but some other things aren't that may surprise you. There are a handful of billionaires in the world that are very choosy with where they indulge -- for example although they may have a few fast cars they may also be cutting their own hair.
One of the biggest and most frugal billionaires of them all: Warren Buffet. He still lives in the same home he bought back in 1958 for $31,500 and he drives a modest (considering) 2006 Cadillac DTS. For more of the most frugal billionaires see Forbes' complete list.
What does a billionaire want for Christmas? And what does he or she buy for billionaire friends and family? Obviously anybody with that much money already has pretty much everything that can be bought with said money, so it should be no surprise that on the top of the list is one of the few things that can't: time spent with family. Yacht charters, ski trips, and other family vacations are some of the hottest items this holiday season, but other popular gifts for the uber-wealthy include commissioned biographies and personalized gifts to unique or meaningful charities.
We first became familiar with Mukesh Ambani when we saw the picture of his planned billion-dollar skyscraper home. It turns out that Ambani, who we already knew as the richest man in India is now said to be the richest man in the entire world skating past Carlos Slim, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and fellow builder of blockbuster homes, Lakshmi Mittal. BloggingStocks took a look at the actions of the top five reporting that Gates and Buffett are also the world's biggest philanthropists and that Slim has also pledged a desire to set up a $10 billion foundation. Mittal is busy buying up the world's steel production. Ambani is the chairman of Reliance Industries and his businesses include petrochemicals, oil refining, textiles, retail and biotechnology. Thus far his efforts on behalf of his fellow man just might be limited to subsidizing the 600 staff his new home is said to require.
Holy moly (sorry, just had to say it), this is one big list full of some big fun stuff. If you were a millionaire, what things would you definitely have? According to the Daily Mail, you'd have these 50 things at least. There's a complete "life" full of things on the list -- they hit everything from clothing to kitchen gadgets to transportation to edibles. Any of them you think absolutely don't belong? If I was going to kick something off it would be the AGA Oven, if only because it's so ugly.
Interestingly enough though, as Deidre pointed out, the list is missing one key item: a home to put it all in!
Visit our below gallery for more images from the list.
First off, it's not a cocktail that costs a billion dollars (although I'm sure there's one out there, somewhere...) but instead a cocktail designed for a billionaire. That would be an intimidating job I think, to create a drink especially for a specific, very rich, person. Calvin Ayre, billionaire founder of Bodog.com is that person, and The Liquid Muse is the creator of his signature drink, Billion-Ayre's Bet.
Based on his choice spirit Bombay Sapphire, the drink also includes grapefruit juice, Campari, lime, and champagne. See the complete recipe here, and think: what would your signature cocktail be?
There are high-end resorts and playgrounds all over the world for those who are used to experiencing the best of the best on a daily basis -- and "billionaire" is the magic ticket in.
Where does Steven Spielberg go when he wants to get away and relax (and maybe pow-wow off-the-record with some of the other powerful people in the world)? The Hamptons of course, because it provides that luxuriously secluded feeling without any pesky long-distance travel. And Oprah Winfrey, who obviously doesn't mind serious plane time, prefers spending time in South Africa.
But, for the ultimate in privacy and escapism, some billionaires such as Richard Branson simply buy a private island all for themselves. Well, Richard actually has two islands...
Where do would you go to fight a yacht tax? How about a nightclub called Billionaire. The club, owned by serial modelizer and Formula One manager Flavio Briatore, was the setting for a new debate in Sardinia. Briatore is protesting new taxes for the megarich yacht owners who flock to Sardinia's ports. New laws charge owners of megayachts for port usage, charge fees on larger private planes each time they land and levy large taxes on those with large second homes on the island. According to the Independent, Briatore has has taken out full-page newspaper advertisements and hosted a party at Billionaire for objectors to the new rules. Briatore says that the wealthy bring money and to the island and should not be charged these fees but the locals feel that the fees are necessary to help preserve the unique character of this gorgeous place.
David H.
Koch, number 33 on Forbes Magazine's list of the world's billionaires, is selling up to accommodate his
growing family and putting his 1040 Fifth
Avenue apartment on the market. The apartment occupies the entire 15th floor of the building and was once owned by
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Koch purchased it in 1995 for $9.5-million and spent and estimated $5-10 million on
renovations. He and his wife felt they needed a larger space to raise what will be their third child, though the
apartment at 1040 Fifth has four bedrooms, two dressing rooms, a staff room, a library, living room, dining room,
conservatory, two terraces, three fireplaces, five and a half bathrooms and a wine room. The family is moving to 740
Park, which Koch says is a duplex twice the size of the Onassis apartment. The asking price is $32
million.
No one can claim Trump doesn't think big, especially
when it comes to real estate and lawsuits. Not only is he working on a 45-story luxury condo high-rise in Philly,
he's decided to file a defamation lawsuit against Warner Books and author Timothy O'Brien for publishing claims
that Trump's net worth is considerably lower than he claims. Trump is seeking $2.5 billion in compensatory damages and
$2.5 billion in punitive damages. Trump said in a statement, "Rather than sitting back and letting false
statements be published without challenge, I believe it is important to expose irresponsible, malicious and false
reporting." The book claims Trump's worth "somewhere between $150 million and $250 million."
