From BuzzFeed · · 2m
Rich People's Wild Purchases Revealed
Millionaires buy $108K apartments, $30M river lines, and $7,000 wine bottles for 'regular' folks to see.
In brief
Millionaires buy $108K apartments, $30M river lines, and $7,000 wine bottles for 'regular' folks to see. Wealthy individuals make bizarre purchases like $108K apartments, $30M river lines, and $7,000 wine bottles that regular people don't understand. Originally reported by BuzzFeed.
Apartment Rental
A millionaire rents a $108K-per-year apartment in a high-rise over his gym because he doesn't use the gym's facilities.
“I have a friend who rents a $108K-per-year apartment in the high-rise over his gym because he didn't feel like using the gym's toilet, showers, and locker room. He literally uses it maybe two hours per week.”
Household Chief of Staff
Some rich people hire a logistical CEO for personal lives who manages pilots, yachts, estates, nannies, and art curators.
“Some rich people buy a 'household chief of staff.' Not a butler. A logistical CEO for their personal lives who manages the pilots, the yacht crew, the multiple estate managers, the nannies, the art curator, and the person who makes sure the fridge in their fourth home is stocked before they arrive.”
River Line Purchase
A billionaire spent $30 million to line a river bank so guests wouldn't get muddy feet swimming.
“This rich guy spent $30 million to line the banks of a river so his guests wouldn. Also, I've told this story before, but my brother worked for a fireworks company. This billionaire hired him to do a private show. That alone was $28K.”
Bookshelf Filling
A wealthy man paid $5,000 to have someone fill bookshelves with $11,000 worth of books to appear well-read.
“He called me back out a couple of weeks later to 'rough up' the books because it was obvious they had never been read. All in all, he paid me around $5,000, plus meals while I was there, to make strangers think he read a lot.”
Burning Man Pizza
A billionaire flew in 5,000 pizzas from an Italian restaurant for Burning Man.
“I was at Burning Man last year, and some billionaire really wanted pizza from his favorite pizza place in Italy. So, he had them fly in something like 5,000 pizzas, the restaurant crew, and a pizza oven. He then got on the oven and made pizza for everyone.”
Hotel Suite Renovation
A Russian oligarch spent 300K euros renovating a hotel suite for a five-day stay.
“For job-related reasons a few years ago, I happened to be part of a project to completely renovate a luxurious hotel suite that a Russian oligarch had booked. He liked the place, but didn't like the room. He spent around 300K euros to have the suite completely redone. For a five-day stay.”
Towel Waste
A wealthy woman threw away $58 towels after every use, costing her $58 per towel.
“She told me, 'Oh, just toss it.' This woman actually threw her towels away after every use. And I'm not talking Walmart towels. I looked them up, and they cost $58 a towel!”
70,000-Sq-Ft House
A person paid $2 million for a house to raze as front yard and $1 million for storage.
“A guy down the road from me is building a 70,000-square-foot house. He paid $2 million for the house in front of his so that he could raze it and make it his front yard. He paid another million for the house next to his so that they could store all of the construction equipment needed to build his house.”
Travel Planning
A billionaire's travel planner selects hotels and restaurants in advance for every detail of a trip.
“I know a person who works as a travel planner for a billionaire. They aren't just making reservations on Expedia. They travel to the locations in advance to select just the right hotel and restaurants and arrange absolutely every detail of every day of the trip in advance.”
Estate Sales
Wealthy people sell entire houses for furniture, often with autographed memorabilia.
“I frequent estate sales for home furnishings and decor, and wealthy people will sell an entire house's worth of furniture because they are selling the house. They don't move the same way you or I would. They might move some sentimental or rare items, but they will literally sell all their furniture if they are selling the property (note: great way to get nice stuff cheap).”
Four Seasons Dinner
A C-suite executive paid for a private villa at the Four Seasons for a Fortune 100 company.
“One of my coworkers asked him if he was ever going to buy a house in our city. He just sort of laughed and said, 'Nah... I already have too many houses.'”
Private Jet Travel
A private jet was used to fly six people from Detroit to Cleveland for dinner.
“My fiancé's parents flew the six of us from Detroit to Cleveland on a Thursday evening to eat dinner then go back the same night, and the flight was a private jet out of a private airport.”
Kidnapping Insurance
Wealthy people buy kidnapping and ransom insurance for family members or themselves.
“There is a branch of insurance that covers kidnapping and ransom. The people who buy that are usually wealthy people who might have a family member or themselves held for ransom.”
Nanny Allowance
A successful attorney's wife gave $8,000 monthly allowance to two girls.
“The girls' monthly allowance was $8,000 each. Yes, you heard me. That was 15 years ago.”
Flower Expense
A wedding spent $400K on flowers at the venue for four hours.
“I just worked a wedding, and they spent $400K on flowers at the venue. They were at this venue for four hours.”
High Altitude Oxygen
Some ultra-wealthy people buy in-home oxygen systems for high altitudes.
“Some uber-wealthy people buy in-home oxygen systems to make the air more breathable at high altitudes.”
The one thing
Wealthy individuals make bizarre purchases like $108K apartments, $30M river lines, and $7,000 wine bottles that regular people don't understand.
