7 Buys that Will Show You're Stinking Rich
A Holiday
For the billionaire with nothing left to buy on earth, here’s an option.
Follow in the footsteps of Dennis Tito, the American multimillionaire. He was the first to pay his way to space, becoming the first ‘space tourist.’ Space Adventures (spaceadventures.com), the company that put him into orbit, offers a number of ‘spaceflight experiences,’ from a Zero G flight (just Rs. 24,000 per head; Rs.77 lakh charters you a whole plane with 35 passengers, just in case you’re throwing a party and plan to invite us), through sub-orbital trips and stays on the International Space Station, to the absolute top-of-the line Rs. 444 crore ticket on the first private expedition to the moon.
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Image: Malay Karmarkar
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You won’t be landing in the lunar surface, merely orbiting the moon, but you’ll get to see something very, very few have had the chance to see: The earthrise over the moon. If you’d rather not go with the Russians (all Space Adventure’s tourists are passengers aboard Soyuz rockets), capitalism’s Mr. Flamboyant has an offer for you. Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic will soon be selling tickets aboard Spaceship 2, for Rs. 93 lakh a seat.
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2 A car
The Bugatti Veyron (which we appraised in our issue dated June 5), is the fastest car in the world. Powered by a monster 8-litre, 16-cylinder engine, it has a top speed of around 407 kmph, faster than a Formula One car, and acceleration that would leave behind a jet taking off (100 kmph in 2.5 seconds, 200 kmph in 7.3 seconds; 300 kmph in 16.7 seconds).
It will set you back Rs. 8.1 crore. Of course, for the price, it does give you a lot, like the fact that it is hand-assembled, has great interiors, a Rs. 27 lakh stereo system, and tyres that cost Rs. 27 lakh a set.
You’d buy this beauty only if you had enough road to really put pedal to metal. Barring the Mumbai Pune Expressway, parts of the still-being-built Golden Quadrilateral, and, we hear, a few roads in Rajasthan, there aren’t enough smooth straight stretches in this country.
3 Lingerie
There’s one fashion show each year men actually look forward to. The Victoria’s Secret show. Every year, VS debuts a “Fantasy Bra” just in time for the holidays, and one angel gets the honour of wearing it during the televised runway show. This year’s Fantasy Harlequin Bra, designed exclusively for Victoria’s Secret by Damiani, the third generation celebrity Italian jewellery house. Hand set with over 2,350 brilliant-cut white champagne- and cognac-coloured diamonds, accentuated with a rare 16 carat heart-shaped champagne diamond pendant, it can be worn five different ways: Strapless, halter, crossback, one strap or classic. Total carat weight? 150 carat. Price? Just Rs. 14 crore.
VS claims people have actually purchased one of these. Can you imagine waking up to this thing under your tree on Christmas morning?! Tell me ladies, what’s the most you’ve ever spent on a bra?
4 Get some sea air
Back in the eighties, there was a song which, at some point, asked plaintively, “Why do they build swimming pools fifty feet from the ocean?” Well, how about taking your swimming pool right into the ocean with you? Buy yourself a super luxury yacht. Here are some benchmarks. Roman Abramovich, Russian oligarch, has two pools on the Rs. 5,328 crore yacht being built for him, one of which can be drained and turned into a dance floor, and an aquarium. To keep the paparazzi at bay, it includes a security system, laser bursts that will mess up their photos, and a missile detection system. If you’re a tad more conservative, you could knock Rs. 888 crore out of the bank and still get a pool, a chopper and a movie theatre. You could base out of Phuket, Dubai or some parts of Europe — tax reasons, naturally, plus they have some cool resort facilities, just in case life on the bounding Main palls.
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