jackie o

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

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

Maria Callas Yacht Experience Aboard the Christina O

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Yachts & Sailing

There's a unique opportunity to be transported into the jetset era of the 1950's and 1960's with a new yacht charter aboard late Greek shipping tycoon Arisotle Onassis' legendary 325-ft. Christina O. One of the world's most luxurious yachts, it has played host to the likes of Jackie Kennedy (later Onassis), Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra, Greta Garbo and Grace Kelly. John F. Kennedy first met Winston Churchill on board in 1957, and more recently Sean "Diddy" Combs chartered the craft; and it was also the setting for of the most glamorous, chronicled and ill-fated romances of the 20th century, between Onassis and the world's most famous opera diva, Maria Callas. The yacht's owners are now offering a special Maria Callas Experience charter this spring and summer, featuring a memorable voyage along the Cote d'Azur from Monte Carlo to Cannes, luxurious appointments, exquisite personal service from the attentive crew, superb dining, fine wines, and a bespoke recital of operatic classics with a storyline of Callas' life by some of Europe's most renowned sopranos.

[via JustLuxe]

Tags: Aristotle Onassis, AristotleOnassis, Christina O, ChristinaO, Jackie O, JackieO, JFK, Maria Callas, MariaCallas, opera, yacht

Koch Sells 1040 Fifth Avenue

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

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.