Growing Number of Millionaires Around the World

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Growing Number of Millionaires Around the World.

Recently, CNNMoney reported that although the “Great Recession” still appears to have a strong grip around the world, the number of millionaires in the U.S. and across the world will actually grow rapidly over the next decade.

This amazing fact is contrary to the $15.5 trillion in household wealth that was eliminated just in the United States.

A report by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services concludes that by 2020, the total number U.S. families with a net worth of over $1 million (that includes real estate) is forecasted to double.

It may surprise many that China will be the leader in millionaire growth, followed by Brazil, then Russia. Despite this, the U.S. and Europe still hold the greatest concentrations of wealth around the world.

By 2020, both China and South Korea will hold spots in the top 10 of countries with the greatest total number of families worth more than a million dollars.

The U.S. is clearly the leader today in number of millionaire households – about 10.5 million in total. The forecast is the U.S. will reach approximately 20.6 million by 2020.

By 2020, the U.S. will have a total of 43% of the world’s wealth held by millionaire households.

Japan ranks second but there is a significant gap between number 1 and 2. By 2020, Japan is forecasted to have 8.6 million millionaire households or 9% of the world’s wealth.

Although China gets a lot of attention regarding its booming economy, it will still only rank No. 7, with 2.5 million millionaire households in 2020 and 4% of the world’s wealth.

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Flashy fashion grows as India’s rich flaunt wealth

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Flashy fashion grows as India’s rich flaunt wealth.

 
In booming India, being rich is not enough. For the moneyed classes, it’s increasingly about flaunting their wealth in ways typical of the nouveaux riches in Russia, China or the Middle East.

India’s well-heeled used to be more shy about displaying their wealth in the decades after independence from Britain when a tightly-controlled economy and dominant socialist thinking limited the opportunities for showing off.

But many prosperous Indians are embracing conspicuous consumption, turning their backs on the mantra of frugality espoused by independence hero Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation who eschewed possessions.

“They have thrown off the parsimonious Gandhian phase when it was considered poor taste to flash wealth,” says Radha Chadha, co-author of “The Cult of the Luxury Brand” who has studied the affluent in Asian countries.

The biggest sign of changing attitudes to wealth and shopping can be seen in the stampede to India of flashy Western designer brands from Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel and Bulgari as well as sports car makers Ferrari and Maserati.

Attend any society event in Mumbai or the capital New Delhi and “it’s a brave woman who arrives without a designer handbag”, says Chadha, who is also a brand consultant.

In the past, dazzling extravagance was the exclusive domain of India’s former feudal leaders who splashed out on bespoke Rolls-Royce cars, diamonds the size of duck eggs, palaces and armies of servants during British rule.

Later, luxury-seeking consumers had to go mostly to boutiques in five-star hotels. But a shopping mall building boom is bringing to India the sort of air-conditioned high-end retail found commonly elsewhere in Asia.

“People are less inhibited in their spending,” said New Delhi furniture designer Raseel Gujral Ansal at an opening show of her creations last month as the city’s elite oohed over sofas, chairs, beds and tables.

Even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called for the rich to tone down their excesses and to “eschew conspicuous consumption”.

But Indian billionaire Azim Premji says the phenomenon is common in nations like China, Indonesia and Thailand where people are enjoying new wealth. “The first few years, people want to show visibly they are very rich,” he said.

He heads one of India’s largest outsourcing companies, Wipro, and is renowned for his frugal lifestyle and philanthropy in a field of domestic billionaires whose extravagance frequently makes headlines.

The country’s richest man Mukesh Ambani, moved last year into a billion-dollar, 27-storey skyscraper home in Mumbai with three helipads in a development that towers over nearby slums.

He once gave a $60-million Airbus jet to his wife as a birthday present.

“People always had money but now they are no longer afraid to reward themselves,” said Shreyans Group chief executive Ashish Chordia, an importer for Porsche and other sports cars in India.

Sales of prestige cars such as Mercedes and Ferraris accelerated 80 percent last year, despite punishing 100-percent duties and potholed roads.

“Last year was phenomenal,” says BMW India president Andreas Schaaf, referring to sales.

Aston Martin last month joined the list of luxury marques driving into India with plans to sell three models — the V8 Vantage, priced at $348,341, the Rapide at $483,146 and the One-77 at a whopping $4.5 million.

The Indian luxury market as a whole is forecast to triple to $15 billion by 2015 from $4.76 billion at present, according to global consultancy AT Kearney, though it still lags China’s which stands at $9.6 billion.

The number of Indians who have financial assets of over $1 million, excluding main residences, now stands at 127,000, the 2010 World Wealth Report by Merrill Lynch Capgemini says.

According to a new survey of 160 financial advisors by a private banking arm of Citibank, Indians are the most likely members of the global super rich to spend more on private jets and yachts over the next few years.

At the same time, observers say the new ostentation underscores how the divide between India’s wealthy and its poor is widening.

“It makes me uncomfortable how much people spend on weddings,” concedes one New Delhi society wedding organiser, who says families will regularly spend 10 million rupees ($225,000) on just one event in India’s multi-day weddings.

India is home to the world’s biggest number of poor people. Some 42 percent of Indians, or 455 million people, live on less than $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank.

India‘s statistics on health, infant mortality and malnutrition are worse than those for some countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Shekhar Gupta, editor of The Indian Express, describes the well-off as “divorced and insulated” from poverty.

“We send our children to private schools, get treatment only in private hospitals, have our own security in gated communities, never need to use public transport,” he noted in a column.

At the glitzy Emporio mall in New Delhi, chauffeur-driven Mercedes, BMWs and the occasional Rolls-Royce or Bentley regularly pull up to disgorge wealthy occupants to shop at boutiques where handbags retail for $2,000 and more.

“I don’t take my mother-in-law here — she’s shocked at the prices,” said Shaila, a businessman’s wife, as she fingered a woven soft-leather Bottega Veneta bag priced at 136,899 rupees ($3,080) in one of the mall’s boutiques.

“I never tell her what I pay for things. She thinks it’s a lot if a handbag costs 500 rupees,” Shaila said, asking that her last name not be used.

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Arabian fantasy for royal wedding

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Arabian fantasy for royal wedding.

 
Luxury hotels in the United Arab Emirates are offering their guests an Arabian fantasy as Britain’s Prince William marries Catherine Middleton on Friday.

The Emirates Palace hotel in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, promises “a majestic experience fit for a king and deserving of an emperor” and said it wants to make the day unforgettable for its guests too.

The Palace, which bills itself as a seven-star hotel, offered an overnight stay from a modest $450 to $1,500 (300-1,010 euros) with a royal high tea thrown in.

“We are making sure to have them enjoy a unique wedding in a unique set up and surrounding,” said Emirates Palace general manager Hans Olbertz.

The hotel has suites going up to $11,500, according to its published rates. “Come and join this Arabian fantasy,” the hotel invites its guests. Included in the prices is a free buffet breakfast.

Dubai’s landmark Burj Al-Arab which is designed to resemble the sails of an Arabian dhow, offered a chance to win free nights at the super luxury hotel for those joining the royal wedding party there.

“Be sure to arrive in your finest dress and have a chance to win a two-night stay… for the best dressed, most elegant hat and most stylish couple,” the hotel said.

It said it will be “business as usual for Burj Al-Arab” on Friday although the popular Friday brunch will be turned into a “grand royal brunch” where a “bottle of the bubbly” will be thrown in on the house.

Most restaurants and bars in the UAE plan to show the day’s events on big screens hoping to cash in on the royal wedding fever that also coincides with the weekend in the region.


Source: AFPrelaxnews

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Audrey Hepburn – Lady By Birth and Nature

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Audrey Hepburn – Lady By Birth and Nature.

 
There are cases when the person comes from the aristocratic family though their actions and life style have nothing to do with the elite refinement. And on the contrary, people whose ancestors come from medium class or even the marginal but the person proves to belong to the high class of the society with all they do and feel. And again, we face people who are lucky enough to be born to the reputed and ancient nobility and who appear to be the genuine aristocrats. They treat evenly favorably to people from various levels of society. They are willing to give a hand to those who are in need and act as the model of worthy behavior to follow. Yet, we are blessed to enjoy such a talented and unique actress and a beautiful woman as Audrey Hepburn.

Audrey Kathleen Ruston was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels. Her mother, the baroness Ella van Heemstra, originated from the mixed blood of Dutch, French and English aristocrats and John Ruston, the British gentleman who was believed to be the banker, on one hand and the adventurer, by the other sources. Several years after their daughter was born, John Ruston changed his surname for Ruston-Hepburn and thus Audrey is known exactly with this surname. Her parents divorced sooner and a little girl was left with her mother since she was six to live in Holland. They lived there during World War II when Holland was occupied by the Nazi.

Those several years they spent in occupation were both horrible and happy for Audrey. Thehorrible moment was the threat of repression for her family. Her mother’s folks were repressed for collaboration with the Resistance movement; besides the last one year and a half were hungry and cold for her. She felt happy, though, since she lived her childhood and teenage period then, and that period of life is always considered as the most valuable and daring for every person, however difficult the period was.  That was the time when Audrey gained the most significant and valuable experience for the rest of her life which impacted her personality which was never spoilt then when the fame came to her with enormous money. Audrey Hepburn always remembered what it meant when you were hungry and hadno enough sleep; when you suffered from diseases because of thirst and hunger and shealways had problems with metabolism system. And there are rare celebrities who perceivethe problems of others and give their hands to those who really need help for particularreasons. And she is the one who is very comprehensive. Audrey has sober attitude to material values and luxury items: she has been seriously immunized against worship for the material benefits during her childhood period.

Audrey went for casting for actresses when she was in financial need but not for the vainglorious willing to get famous which is the triggering point for most actors and other celebrities. Audrey and her mother found themselves in misery and all their material aristocratic wealth disappeared during war time. So in 1948 Audrey debuted in the Dutch educational film to teach the rudiments of the Dutch language to the concerned foreign people and then till 1953 she featured in several more movies. The year 1953 was crucial and triumphal for Audrey since she played a leading female role in the legendary romantic comedy Roman Holiday, and which made her one of Hollywood symbols. The role was crucial to be awarded Oscar for the best female role and the prize was the one and the only for later on Audrey was only nominated. In the soonest time Audrey enjoyed her long and splendid career in cinematography though with considerable intervals and later Audrey Hepburn was acknowledged as the third significant actress in the history of cinematography.

In spite of the fact that the young actress started her career only for the purpose of money, Hepburn never assigned the paramount importance to her fees. In the meantime, within ‘50s and ’60 she was one of the highest paid Hollywood celebrities. For her first movies she was given some money which was not high: $12500 USD for Roman Holiday and $15 thousand USD for Sabrina. Since the middle of ‘50s when the real revolution occurred in HollywoodThe Nun's Story movie was favorable to earn $250 and 10 percents from the box-office receipts. The legendary film Breakfast at Tiffany’s from 1961 was famous for the original scenario by Capote and the fascinating performance of Moon River by Audrey. Her fee totaled $750 thousand USD. For Audrey Hepburn the year 1964 was marked with the climbing the grand master's threshold of $1 million USD for the movie and she earned them to star in My Fair Lady. Further on, the majority of movies with Audrey Hepburn as a leading star brought her $750 thousand USD at least and more often she was offered the amount over a million with the interest from the good box-office, as a bonus. thanks to Marilyn Monroe, the issue of salary for actors and actress was re-considered. Audrey Hepburn had the benefit of other money than before. For the role of Natasha Rostova in the screen version of War and Peace by Tolstoy in 1956 Audrey received $350 thousand dollars.

Nevertheless, Audrey donated significant part of her income for the charity purposes. And that was not that official tendency to donate for the charity action as it is for the celebrities of our times who deduct some money to numerous charity funds for the good image. Audrey was involved in the real active charity action where Audrey took long and frequent trips to those parts of the world where help was needed and she rendered her assistance everywhere it was necessary. She spent several last years of her life traveling along Africa for philanthropic objectives. And that was in Africa when Audrey felt an acute pain in her stomach which appeared to be inoperable cancer as it was revealed by the medical examination when she was back home. Audrey Hepburn, the aristocrat by heart and birth, the grand actress and a great woman of her time, died on January 28, 1993.

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Fifteen Richest Fictional Characters

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Fifteen Richest Fictional Characters.

Forbes magazine has released its annual Fictional 15, which ranks the richest characters from television, film, comics and books.

On top of the list is Scrooge McDuck, a billionaire bird known for storing a fortune in gold coins inside a massive Duckburg “money bin.”

With the price of gold up more than 30% year over year, the quacking Croesus’ net worth soared to $44.1 billion.

Joining the Scottish McDuck at the top of the cash heap are; immortal vampire Carlisle Cullen ($36.2 billion), Ireland’s master criminal and child genius, Artemis Fowl II ($13.5 billion) and business magnate Richie Rich ($9.7 billion).

The members of the 2011 list of wealthiest fictional characters have an average net worth of $9.86 billion, up 20% from last year.

In aggregate, the Fictional 15 are worth $131.55 billion –more than the gross domestic product of New Zealand.

Via Forbes

2011 Forbes Fictional 15

1. Scrooge McDuck $44.1 B — Mining and treasure hunting
2. Carlisle Cullen $36.2 B — Compound interest and investments
3. Artemis Fowl II $13.5 B — Theft, forgery and Facebook
4. Richie Rich $9.7 B — Inheritance and conglomerates
5. Jed Clampett $9.5 — Oil and gas
6. Tony Stark $9.4 B — Defense
7. Smaug $8.6 B — Marauding
8. Bruce Wayne $7.0 B — Inheritance and defense
9. Mr. Monopoly $2.6 B — Real estate
10. Arthur Bach $1.8 B — Inheritance
11. Jo Bennett $1.2 B — Electronics and inheritance
12. C. Montgomery Burns $1.1 B — Energy
13. Chuck Bass $1.1 B — Real estate
14. Gordon Gekko $1.1 B — Investments
15. Jeffrey Lebowski $1.0 B — Inheritance

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Trump: I’d Pay $600 Million for White House

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Trump: I’d Pay $600 Million for White House.

 
Billionaire business magnate Donald Trump is ready to shell out $600 million of his own cash to become President.

He told ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday that his name recognition would probably save him “hundreds of millions of dollars” compared with other candidates.

The 64-year-old, who held the interview aboard his private jet, said he’d announce his decision by June.

Trump’s net worth is $2.7 billion, making him the 137th richest person in the U.S., according to Forbes magazine.

Read the full story at Nydailynews

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Gold Vending Machine Debuts At Vegas Casino

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Gold Vending Machine Debuts At Vegas Casino.

 
The Golden Nugget hotel in downtown Las Vegas is living up to its name with the installation of an ATM that dispenses gold instead of cash.

Visitors are now able to buy gold coins and 24-karat “bars” weighing from 1 gram to 1 ounce at the new Gold to Go machine.

Prices automatically adjust every 10 minutes to reflect actual market value. The one ounce coin, at the moment, goes for about $1,400.

Golden Nugget owners believe a gold vending machine is actually a perfect fit for the casino. They already house the largest gold nugget in the world.

The first Gold To Go machine debuted in Florida just a few months ago. Operators say it’s so popular it has to be refilled about every three days.

The machine only accepts cash and is gold plated, bolted to the ground and virtually impossible to move.

Via Msnbc – latimes

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2011 Hurun Best of the Best Awards

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents 2011 Hurun Best of the Best Awards.

 
Luxury-brand awareness is growing among China’s super rich, who recognize 20% more of the lavish brands than they did last year, according to the Hurun Report.

The 2011 Best of The Best Survey, which interviewed 401 Chinese mainland millionaires, each with assets of more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million), said the super rich in China are developing more sophisticated tastes in luxury products.

“Chinese entrepreneurs are getting more and more sophisticated, discerning and confident in their personal style, and what they aspire to, as they try to turn new money into old money,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, founder of the Hurun Report.

“The time for China to learn from Europe is over. People here are becoming better educated. They are getting to know luxury brands that are not even familiar to some Europeans,” Hoogewerf said.

According to the 2010 Hurun Wealth Report, released in April, there are 875,000 multimillionaires and 55,000 billionaires in China, or 6.1 percent more millionaires and 7.8 percent more billionaires than last year.

This year, Louis Vuitton was again No 1 in the top ten overall most popular luxury brands among China’s super rich.

Hermes rose to second place from fourth last year, and Chanel stayed in third place. Cartier was fourth and Gucci remained in fifth.

Cartier was the No 1 overall jewelry brand for the sixth year running, and Patek Philippe the leading luxury watch brand for the third time.

Luxury watches and jewelry continue to rank as the top collectibles for the rich, according to 44 percent of respondents, up by 10 percent over last year. Meanwhile, more of the wealthy prefer collecting red wine to luxury cars, the survey found.

The report also found that the Chinese rich like to travel abroad more and four out of five millionaires consider educating their children overseas.

“Luxury brands have a very special place in China, as there is strong gift-giving culture here. Lots of people like to receive luxury brands to improve their status. It’s a noticeable trend,” Hoogewerf said

Via China Daily

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Mubarak: World’s Richest Man?

The luxury Lifestyle blog (the home of luxury Lifestyle) presents Mubarak: World’s Richest Man?

 
The New York Post picks up a Guardian report that embattled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak could be the richest man in the world.

Worth about $70 billion, the Post says most of his money is stashed in foreign bank accounts and “shadowy real-estate holdings.”

That sum makes Mubarak more wealthy than Mexico’s Carlos Slim and Bill Gates, whose fortunes clock in at $53.5 billion and $53 billion, respectively.

Mubarak has benefited from hugely profitable investments as president. “There was a lot of corruption in this regime and stifling of public resources for personal gain,” says an expert.

But other Middle Eastern leaders may boast comparable fortunes of between $40 billion and $70 billion, a political science professor tells ABC News.

Sources: NYpost - Newser - ABC News

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