Billionaires // Current

Signallers Club of Canada - Signals Links

THE LITTLE PRINCE, WRITTEN AND ILLUSTRATED BY ANTOINE DE SAINT-EXUPERY TO LEON WERTH... more

Gilbert_Schramm
added this
4 months ago
|
1 comment

Tough Times for Billionairs on Forbes List

combined net worth fell by $300 billion in one year; Gates, Buffett still at top.

ryan8566
added this
4 months ago
|
0 comments

Wealth Distribution in America

All figures from the US Census Bureau. Retraction: a person earning 46,000/year... more

asherp
added this
5 months ago
|
23 comments

WARNING:Affordable Health Care May Cause Severe Loss of Profits

The price of freedom is that lies can be told over and over and people believe them.... more

resolute
added this
5 months ago
|
1 comment

Will You Go See A Movie About Facebook?

From the author of "Bringing Down The House", the best seller that became... more

jeffgarlick
added this
7 months ago
|
11 comments

Richard Branson And A Naked Denni Parkinson (NSFW PHOTOS)

New pictures are online of Richard Branson cavorting around his private island Necker... more

wirehedd
added this
10 months ago
|
10 comments

Mexican billionaire invests $250 million in the New York Times

The Times is seeing a decline in ad sales, and is millions in debt, so it welcomed an... more

joshuaheller
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

Records Smashed: Man buys house for $750 million...

A mysterious Russian billionaire has trumped his big-spending rivals and broken a world record by splashing out $750 million on one of the most sumptuous villas on the French Riviera.

The price of the Villa Leopolda, a Belle Epoque mansion on the heights of Villefrance, has amazed estate agents but fueled local worries that the invasion of Russian money on the Cote d'Azur is getting out of hand.

Since the early 1990s, Russian oligarchs, drawn by memories of the Riviera-mad old Russian aristocracy, have been piling into seaside properties at Cap Ferrat, Cap d'Antibes, Saint-Tropez and the other great playgrounds.

None, however, has come near the price with which the unnamed Russian clinched the Leopolda deal with Lily Safra, the widow of Edmond Safra, a Lebanese banker who was killed by an arsonist's fire in Switzerland in 2003.

The previous record for a house was said to be the £57 million that Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon, paid for a property in Kensington Palace Gardens in 2004. The macho spending contest by Russian oligarchs is making property agents giddy.

Jean Pierre, a high-end agent, said: “It's completely surreal and we are really uneasy. We don't dare any more to propose any price below €100 million for these clients. Anything below and they throw you out...and you should see how they do it,” he told Le Parisien. The Nice Matin newspaper said: “At this price tag, we are beyond luxury and even reality.”

Russian excess is feeding discontent among poorer people. Pierrette, a housekeeper for one Russian, said: “I attended a party where the guests had fun throwing burning €500 notes into the air while everyone split their sides laughing. The domestic staff were later told to collect the ashes. It was sickening.”

Jean-Marie Tarragoni, a Nice property manager, said that the Riviera market had gone mad. “Two hundred people are completely destabilising it. These Russian oligarchs have thrown themselves into a bidding war like Onassis and Niarchos.” Rivalry between Aristotle Onassis and Stavros Niarchos sent local prices rocketing in the 1950s.

The price for the Leopolda, which once belonged to the late Gianni Agnelli, the Fiat tycoon, has dwarfed the €20 million paid six years ago by Roman Abramovich, the Chelsea Football Club owner, for the semi-derelict Château de la Croë. Mr Abramovich is lavishly restoring the château, home to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor after the Second World War.

A mysterious Russian billionaire has trumped his big-spending rivals and broken a... more

sanjaygupta
added this
1 year ago
|
0 comments

TAGS

tagged w/ Billionaires

Signallers Club of Canada - Signals Links

Tough Times for Billionairs on Forbes List

Wealth Distribution in America

WARNING:Affordable Health Care May Cause Severe Loss of Profits

Will You Go See A Movie About Facebook?

Richard Branson And A Naked Denni Parkinson (NSFW PHOTOS)

Mexican billionaire invests $250 million in the New York Times

Records Smashed: Man buys house for $750 million...

current videos

Top 5 "I Love You's" in the Movies

Taboo: Forbidden Television

The Super Bowl Sucks!

Top 5 Grammy Moments

Sexiest R&B Jams

Douchey-Doo! Pool Party Mystery

about current

watch current

the people are talking

the basics

take us with you

tools

stay in touch

© 2010 Current TV, LLC
All Rights Reserved