Words: Gentleman's Journal
They might not seem it, but the majority of the world’s richest are a relatively frugal bunch. Perhaps the best example is Warren Buffet: one of the world’s richest men, Buffet still lives in the comparatively modest Nebraskan home that he bought for $31,500 in 1958. He also drives a simple, stock-model Cadillac, and admits to prizing simple pleasures such as fast food and watching sports. All this, in spite of a personal fortune in excess of $60 billion. Buffet is, however, a rarity, and for others with great wealth, the call to indulge is satisfied a little more often. Here, we take a look at some of the most extravagant purchases of recent years, along with the men that made them.
Property
Image: fascinatingplanet.com
To rank the world’s most expensive property entails defining a private residence. Buckingham Palace, for example, has been valued at around £1 billion, but with an abundance of offices, staff quarters and function-rooms, it is as much a state asset as a private home. Indian billionaire Mukash Ambani’s Mumbai home, Antilia, is generally accepted to be the most expensive private residential property in the world. Completed in 2010 to the cost of around $1 billion, this 27 story high-rise is said to require 600 staff to function fully. Unsurprisingly, Antillia is controversial; it stands in close proximity to those living in extreme poverty, and lay empty for months after completion due to Ambani’s belief that the building would bring him bad luck.
Art
Willem de Kooning’s Interchange. Image: widewalls.com
Art has long been associated with the wealthy, offering both an inherent value and a degree of social prestige. It does, however, also offer an excellent investment opportunity – the unique nature of a work meaning that is has no rival on the market. In 2015, Kenneth C. Griffin, the CEO of investment management firm Citadel, bought two abstract impressionist works, Willen de Kooning’s Interchange and Jackson Pollock’s Canvas 17 A, for $300 million and $200 million respectively. Both paintings were sold by the Geffen foundation in a combined $500 million transaction, making this the most expensive private art sale on record.
Private Islands
Image: hawaiitravelideas.com
For many of the world’s richest individuals, discretion and privacy rank among the highest luxuries of all. In this respect, the rise of the private island has been fairly well documented – notable examples include Richard Branson’s Necker Island, which offers a haven away from the prying eyes of the press. Ever one to make a deal, Branson acquired his island for only $175,000, the deal stipulating that he would have to build a resort there within 5 years. Larry Ellison, on the other hand, paid a reported $300 million for Lanai Island in Hawaii, which he acquired in 2012. Unlike Branson, Ellison still shares the island with several thousand residents; he does, however, own over a third of all its businesses, including shops, restaurants and the island’s largest hotels. Fellow billionaire Bill Gates was married on the same island in 1994, booking out every single hotel room in order to ensure that any uninvited press wouldn’t have anywhere to stay.
Cars
Image: bloomberg
Chrome-plated renditions of the latest sports cars may be the most conspicuous for motor wealth found on the streets, but it is the vintage market that produces the biggest transactions of all. As of this moment in time, the single most expensive car to be sold at auction to a known buyer was a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which was sold to cellular entrepreneur Craig McCaw for $35 million. This particular car was originally built for Stirling Moss to race in, but his crash in April 1962 prevented him from ever getting behind the wheel of it. Another 250 GTO was reportedly sold in a private transaction in 2013 for upwards of $50 million, but the discreet nature of the transaction means that the price remains unconfirmed.
Private Jets
Image: airbus.com
The term ‘private jet’ is usually associated with a small, twin-engined aircraft capable of carrying up to 20 passengers. Prince Alawaleed bin Talal, a Saudi Royal and business magnate, redefined the concept when he paid around $450 million for a customised Airbus A380 – the largest aircraft in the world – for himself and his entourage. It is said to include, among its many luxuries, a room with a glass floor, offering unrivalled if slightly dizzying views of the passing landscape 30,000 feet below. The Prince himself never used the aircraft, however, selling it instead to an unnamed billionaire before its maiden flight.
Sports teams
Image: manchestereveningnews.com
Drawing enormous crowds and many millions of TV viewers, the largest and most successful sports teams are lucrative businesses for those that own them. Notable owners include the Glazer family, who own Manchester United; Roman Abramovich, who owns Chelsea FC; and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan, the deputy prime minster of the United Arab Emirates whose great wealth was responsible for the meteoric rise of Manchester City. As of last year, Manchester United was worth around $3.5 billion.
Philanthropy
Image: Kjetil Ree
Some of the richest people in the world sue their wealth for more than personal enrichment, redirecting vast sums towards worthy causes. In 2000, Bill and Melinda Gates merged several of their charitable foundations in order to create the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, whose aims include the reduction of global poverty and an increased access to technology. To date, they have donated $28 billion to charity, and plan to donate a further 95% of their fortune by the end of their lives. They are matched in their giving only by Warren Buffet, who is the third trustee of their own foundation.
Main Image: Getty
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