Christmas is fast approaching and the billionaires have been busily making their wish lists. It's not easy to buy a gift for a billionaire, but there are services that can assist you in picking just the right item that will delight him or her. The Wall Street Journalreports:
With a record number of billionaires in the U.S., and even more consumers who want to spend like them, retailers are dreaming up ever-more-outrageous and excessive holiday gift ideas for the new Gilded Age.
Most are just for show. Neiman Marcus's Triton 1000 submarine (price: $1.4 million, leather seats included) and its $1.59 million private concert by the Kirov Orchestra have generated more publicity than buyers so far.
Yet the rich are truly spending, seemingly unrattled by the quakes in the financial markets. According to a survey done by Prince & Associates, a Connecticut-based wealth research firm, shoppers worth $10 million or more plan to boost their holiday spending by up to 67% this year. Most will be putting money into jewelry (average expenditure of $152,400), fashion items ($46,200) and yacht charters ($487,000).
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The Robb Report, a monthly bible of conspicuous consumption, recently published its "21 Ultimate Gifts" in time for the holidays. The list includes Beechwood, an Astor family estate in Newport, R.I. (asking price: $18 million) as well as a 300-carat diamond necklace created by a division of Sotheby's in conjunction with Steinmetz Diamond Group of Geneva, for $16 million.
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Mint Lifestyle produced a mini gift guide for its clients this fall. The most popular item was a commissioned biography, which it says wives are buying for their husbands. The books, which cost around $30,000, tell a person's life and business story.
"It's perfect for that someone who is no one but made a billion dollars selling his widget business," says Gordon MacGeachy, co-founder of Mint.
Instead of giving someone the gift of a biography, we think a better gift is a documentary: That seems much more hip. Give the gift of reality television -- a film crew will trail your loved one and make him/her look like a real star. And if you run into the guy that's spending an average of $152,400 on jewelry presents this year, please send him our way. He sounds absolutely fascinating.
