Showing posts with label wealth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wealth. Show all posts

Monday, July 21, 2025

People were coaxed into spending millions for the chance to buy a super-limited Patek Philippe Nautilus 5711 with a Tiffany blue dial





One write-up:
To commemorate 170 years of collaboration between the two heritage brands, Patek Philippe produced just 170 timepieces. As demand soared, Tiffany’s leadership—led by Americas head Christopher Kilaniotis—recognized an opportunity: they could prompt clients to spend millions on jewelry for a chance to buy the $52,635 watch.

Salespeople were allegedly encouraged to guide top clients toward purchases worth $2 to $3 million. There was no official waitlist and no guarantees. Just whispers, strategy—and frustration.
....
But what began as a masterstroke of exclusivity has become a cautionary tale—how mishandled scarcity can tarnish brand prestige.

Since the Blue Dial’s launch, Patek Philippe has closed three of its four boutiques inside Tiffany locations.

Labels: , ,

Friday, June 7, 2024

Coastal home owners in Florida are fighting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over beach access as the ocean increasingly erodes the land

Route Fifty:

A series of storms, culminating in last fall’s Hurricane Idalia, have eroded most of the sand that protects Redington Shores and the towns around it, leaving residents just one big wave away from water overtaking their homes.

This perilous situation is the result of a standoff between local residents and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency that handles flood prevention and protects many of the nation’s beaches. The Corps often rebuilds eroded beaches by hauling in thousands of tons of sand, but the agency is refusing to deliver $42 million of new sand to Pinellas County unless the area’s coastal property owners grant public access to the slivers of beach behind their homes. Hundreds of these property owners, however, are in turn refusing to sign documents that grant these points of access, which are known as easements. The faceoff has brought the area’s storm recovery to a near standstill.

...

The Corps put the easement policy in place decades ago to ensure that it didn’t spend public money to restore private beaches, but the agency didn’t begin enforcing the rule in earnest until after Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Labels: ,

Thursday, January 18, 2024

The LA Times goes "Inside the world of the ultra-wealthy Mexicans who own exotic animals"

An article by Kate Linthicum (much of the article focuses on a veterinarian who never asks the owners what they do for a living):

They walk tigers on leashes down city streets and parade them in the backs of luxury cars. Socialites have formed private “monkey clubs,” gathering for extravagant Christmas posadas and pool parties. 

...

“So many people here have them,” ... “It’s fashionable. It says: ‘I have the money to have a monkey.’”

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, August 22, 2023

Three suicides in seven months at probably L.A.'s most prestigious private high school

A terse write-up, noting the third death. The school had enacted various policy changes after the second, including that grades couldn't drop fourth quarter. Tuition starts at $46,900, not counting substantial fees.

Labels: ,

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Reenacting the Narkina 5 prison escape on Disney's Galactic Starcruiser

Some impressive planning (the comments say that it was done after planned events ended for the night, and that they stayed fairly quiet for people sleeping). There should definitely be a similar scene in Andor season 2 featuring Mothma's husband throwing a Narkina-themed party to show how divorced the wealthy of the Empire are from the downtrodden:

@princessandscoundrel ONE WAY OUT - there were many after hours activities that the passengers on the “Galactic StarCREWser 2023: Ultimate Fan Voyage” organized but one that we personally (@princessandscoundrelshow and @thedanochannel) organized was a little Narkina 5 jumpsuit photo op in the atrium. Little did we know it would evolve to so many people getting involved and going all out! We even had a passenger adapt “I can’t swim” to “I can’t go down the stairs”. #maythefourthbewithyou #starcrewser #starwars #starwarshotel #starcruiser #galacticstarcruiser #halcyon🐰✨ ♬ original sound - Princess & Scoundrel


*Previously: There's a chain of prison-themed bars in England called "Alcotraz"
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, December 18, 2022

Washington Post suggests someone bought a Virginia newspaper to try to remove any mention of a 2004 rape accusation from the internet

WaPo:

It wrote about grisly homicides, corrupt land deals and environmental issues in the Shenandoah Valley. Three times in just a decade, it won the Virginia Press Association’s top honor, the prize for “journalistic integrity and community service.”

...

Their evidence, while circumstantial, is intriguing. There’s the mystery buyer who purchased the Hook archive from its longtime custodian a few months before it went dark. There’s the reluctance of people involved in that sale to say much about it.

Then there’s the flurry of copyright complaints apparently filed by the new owner in the days and weeks after the sale. These complaints, seeking removal of links to the archive, have targeted news sites, discussion forums and small-time blogs, most of which cited one particular story among the thousands the Hook wrote about in its heyday: a rape accusation involving students at the University of Virginia nearly 19 years ago.

Labels: , , ,

Wednesday, November 30, 2022

"The main difference between the luxury and non-luxury seats at this year’s World Cup is alcohol"

NYT:

[The ban on the sale of alcohol] didn’t affect the flow of free beer — or free champagne, Scotch, gin, whiskey, wine and other drinks — available to non-regular fans in the V.I.P., V.V.I.P. and hospitality areas. The rules, it seemed, did not apply to them.

At a $3,000-a-seat hospitality lounge at Al Bayt during the U.S.’s game with England, for instance, the bar menu included Taittinger Champagne, Chivas Regal 12-year-old whisky, Martell VSOP brandy and Jose Cuervo 1800 tequila.

...

In all, there are five tiers of “hospitality” in the stadiums

...

The most exclusive suite is the Pearl Lounge, right above the halfway line at Lusail Stadium, which offers each guest an “exceptional commemorative gift.” There is also, according to someone who has been in it, a suite at Al Bayt that, for some reason, boasts a retractable bed and a bathroom equipped with a shower.

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, October 11, 2022

"A wealthy landowner is pressing ahead with legal moves that could threaten the right of backpackers and youth groups to wild camp on Dartmoor"

Guardian:

Dartmoor is the only place in England and Wales where it is legal to wild camp in designated areas, without a landowner’s permission. 

...

People have also camped in these areas for at least 100 years, with bylaws brought in under the Dartmoor Commons Act in the mid-1980s enshrining it as a right.

Now a fund manager who purchased an estate in 2011 is trying to end the practice.

Labels: ,

Monday, September 19, 2022

Proposal to build luxury hotel in wealthy part of Los Angeles "pits celebrities against celebrities"

LAT:

Among the project supporters, according to letters written on behalf of the project, are actors Mark Wahlberg, Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Gerard Butler, Orlando Bloom, Adrien Brody and Jon Lovitz, plus rock musician Gene Simmons. The celebrities or their representatives could not be reached for comment.

Several hundred neighbors have signed testimonials in opposition to Safady’s project, including such notables as Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, television host Phil McGraw and actors Jacqueline Bisset and Stefanie Powers. 

...

Opponents created a website, Saveourcanyon.la. Supporters launched Enhanceourcanyon.org.

...

The project was originally proposed in 2018 with 99 rooms and branded “The Retreat.” It has since been revised with fewer rooms and dubbed “The Bulgari Hotel.”

Labels: , ,

Friday, September 9, 2022

The LA Times looks at new private clubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco

LAT has lots of photos:

The [Britely] Sunset Strip establishment charges $2,900 a year for access to its two members-only Wolfgang Puck restaurants

...

After a two-year COVID price freeze, Soho House raised its “Every House” annual membership to $4,000 in February, a double-digit percentage increase to help it manage inflation. ... Soho House has yet to turn a profit after 27 years, reporting a loss of $82 million in the second quarter. Its shares, which began trading at $12 a year ago, have fallen to $5.95; the company is currently valued at $1.16 billion.

...

When the Aster debuted, it did so with what appeared to be a pointed dig at Soho House...“We’re the exclusive inclusive club”

...

One members-only club that is fully owning that it isn’t for everyone: NFT-based SHO Club, scheduled to open in San Francisco next year. ... The most expensive [membership level] will be capped at 20 people who will pay a one-time fee of $300,000 via fiat currency or Ethereum and “receive ownership-like benefits” ... “We’re not suggesting that an exclusive membership can’t coexist with humility.” ... “It’s actually a Japanese farmhouse cooking methodology,” [the founder] told a group of journalists, gesturing to a series of renderings. “This is really inspired by what you would call the commoner.”

Labels: ,

Tuesday, November 3, 2020

"Two multimillion-pound properties [in Chelsea] destroyed during building work"

Evening Standard:

Dramatic pictures from the scene in Durham Place, Chelsea, show the mid-terrace buildings reduced to rubble after the “extremely loud” crash on Monday evening.  

Firefighters said two four-storey properties that were under construction collapsed to the ground. 

...

Three properties on the street, including one next door to the collapsed buildings, are currently undergoing basement excavations

...

A spokesman for Kapital Basements, a company which is carrying out the basement dig, said the firm’s work had nothing to do with the collapse.

Guardian:

Large-scale basement developments, often including the construction of entire new floors under the footprint of an existing house and garden, have become relatively common in London’s wealthy neighbourhoods.

Some of the more lavish constructions include multiple basement levels and can go as deep as 18 metres underground

Labels: , ,

Monday, March 23, 2020

Young Anthony Fauci with Mother Teresa; Environmental graffiti; Playing as the shooter and the keeper





Read more »
Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, March 7, 2020

Ten funny tweets

















































*More funny posts.
Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, October 20, 2019

"The multibillion-dollar wellness real estate industry believes air purifiers, pollution sensors, and natural materials can breathe new life into high-end homes"

Curbed:
The sales pitch highlights “hospital-grade air, energizing light and pollutant-free water to protect from contaminants, free radicals and aging.” Kapoor says when all is said and done, the units, which start at $1.65 million, will benefit from a “five-figure investment” per unit in air purification systems, circadian living lighting, a Savant home audio system, and the Darwin system, a new smart-home solution that monitors environmental pollutants (roughly 1,000 will be installed in high-end homes by the end of 2019). Residents can set alerts for certain allergens and be notified when they reach a critical level indoors, which turns on the HVAC to remediate and circulate fresh air. Along with access to landscaped rooftops and a hammam spa, the features within each unit can, according to the sales material, create a home that “makes you live longer.”

...

his firm, which now offers sleep-optimized luxury homes that shield residents from electric and magnetic fields and vent dangerous gases from chemicals under the sink

...

the record-breaking wildfires near San Francisco last summer inspired Troon to create new smoke sensors that shut windows and recirculate filtered air inside homes.

...

all the developers and experts interviewed for this story made a point to discuss how they see this technology and development approach trickling down, and all hope to develop more affordable and workforce-focused projects in the future.
Labels: ,

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

"Apple warns you may permanently discolor your Apple Card if it’s stored in leather"

The Verge:
Apple is advising customers store it in some container made of soft material — but not leather — and to make sure it doesn’t come into contact with any loose metal objects (and of course magnets, as that could demagnetize the strip). The company also advises cleaning the card with only a slightly damp microfiber cloth dipped in water or isopropyl alcohol. “Don’t use window or household cleaners, compressed air, aerosol sprays, solvents, ammonia, or abrasives to clean your titanium Apple Card,” warns the support page.

This all sounds a little excessive, as most people don’t take such studious care of their credit cards, let alone forgo a leather wallet just to avoid discoloration.

...

The only solution to that, I’m guessing, is the advent of the Apple Card case.
Related:
‘I’m not even 30, and I’m flying my own jet’ — Silicon Beach elites take a seat in the cockpit

...

Planes have long been a passion of the rich, particularly in Los Angeles, which boasts more than a dozen general aviation airports and near perfect year-round weather for flying. But among Silicon Beach elites like Mah, who moved from San Francisco to Venice last fall, having a pilot’s license is less about leisure than it is a program of self-improvement. For engineers, flying is fun with applied math. It’s intellectual exercise in the guise of a sport.

...

“Some are a little socially inept, so the idea of going to an airliner and being herded through by TSA — it’s like, no way.”
Labels: ,

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

"Why a Banking Heiress Spent Her Fortune on Keeping Immigrants Out"

NYT:
she was heralded as potentially “the richest baby in the world.”

...

Mrs. May’s story helps explain the ascendance of once-fringe views in the debate over immigration in America, including exaggerated claims of criminality, disease or dependency on public benefits among migrants.

...

Her twin passions, protecting natural habitats and helping women prevent unplanned pregnancies, merged over time into a single goal of preserving the environment by discouraging offspring altogether. “The unwanted child is not the problem,” she would later write, “but, rather, the wanted one that society, for diverse cultural reasons, demands.”

...

The sheer number of groups nurtured with Mrs. May’s money — dozens over four decades — played an important role in the success of the anti-immigration movement by giving it the appearance of broad-based support. Groups would send representatives to appear before Congress, talk to journalists and provide briefs in lawsuits, without disclosing their common origins and funding.

...

Mrs. May left almost everything to the Colcom Foundation. In 2005, $215 million from her family trust poured into the foundation’s coffers, along with another $30 million from her personal estate. As her affairs were wound up, another $176 million transferred from her estate in 2006.

In all, since Mrs. May’s death, the anti-immigration groups have received $180 million. The market value of Colcom’s assets is $500 million, more than she bequeathed it in the first place.
Yesterday:




Related:

Labels: ,

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Ten funny tweets





































Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, September 28, 2017

"The High-End Horse Market Has Finally Recovered From the Financial Crisis"

"It’s been a slow climb back for the thoroughbred market since it collapsed amid the panic of the global financial crisis."
Labels:

"Some of fast-food’s biggest names, including Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Pizza Hut and, until recently, McDonald’s, prohibited franchisees from hiring workers away from one another"

NYT:
The restrictions do not appear in a contract that employees sign, or even see. They are typically included in a paragraph buried in lengthy contracts that owners of fast-food outlets sign with corporate headquarters.

Yet the provisions can keep employees tied to one spot, unable to switch jobs or negotiate higher pay. A lack of worker mobility has long been viewed as contributing to wage stagnation because switching jobs is one of the most reliable ways to get a raise.

Defenders of the practice argue that the restaurants spend time and money training workers and want to protect their investment.
Labels: ,

Saturday, September 23, 2017

"Tumult After AIDS Fund-Raiser Supports Harvey Weinstein Production"

NYT:
In May 2015, the entertainment producer Harvey Weinstein arranged for two items to be auctioned off at a fund-raiser for amfAR, a New York-based charity that works to cure AIDS.

The offers — a sitting with a famous fashion photographer and a package of tickets to a Hollywood film awards event and parties — came with a condition: $600,000 of the money raised at the auction, in Cannes, France, would go to the American Repertory Theater, a nonprofit playhouse that had done a trial run of “Finding Neverland,” a Broadway musical that Mr. Weinstein produced.

...

Mr. Weinstein, who is a longtime supporter of the AIDS organization and was a chairman of the 2015 event, said that he had done nothing wrong and that everyone benefited from the arrangement, which raised $309,669 for amfAR. “I honestly thought we were doing something fantastic for both sides,” he said in an interview. “We get money, they get money, and it’s all our money.”
Labels: , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)