Top Ten Most Outrageous Luxury Items
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Why Do You Say 'Bling' Like It's a Bad Thing?
Unless you were in a coma for most of 2008, you probably already know that the U.S. economy is a tad bit rocky these days. The federal budget deficit is now well over a trillion dollars, and President Elect Obama will probably need to push through a stimulus package of nearly another trillion (we'll just be printing that money up, thank you) as a last ditch attempt to keep the country from going entirely down the drain.
That's just so... depressing.
Anyway, the fact is, not everybody is depressed and not everybody is poor or about to become poor. One retail category that actually saw stock appreciation throughout 2008 and continues to do well is luxury goods--and oh boy, what goods they are!
It seems that while most of us are spending our days wondering if we should A) eat the house or b) heat the house, other folks are rolling around in French feather beds smeared with Belgian chocolates and diamond dust, then washing it all off in vats of imported Champagne and Evian water whilst noshing on snacks flecked with real gold leaf.
Seriously!
Recently I picked up a job researching and writing about the indulgences of the obscenely rich, and I must say that, although I consider myself fairly shock-proof, I quickly found all sorts of items that locked my jaw into a permanent dropped-to-the-floor position.
If, like me, you are the kind of person who thinks that the very pinnacle of self-indulgence is having a Starbucks coffee with your Little Debbie Cake at lunch, then read on.
Caligula may be long gone, but his spirit is alive and well and shopping at Neiman Marcus. And he's got cash!
The $300,000 Romaine Jerome "Night & Day" Watch
Made with base metals salvaged from the wreck of the Titanic, the "Night & Day" watch has an open clock face that sports the RJ logo, visible gears, and not much else. The pricey watch (made by fabled Swiss watchmaker Romaine Jerome) retails for $300,000 and is based on "...an interpretation of time based on two tourbillions operating sequentially."
In other words, this watch doesn't tell time. It only tells you if it is day or night.
Actually, the watch doesn't really even tell you that much, because the day/night feature is based on an internal mechanism that shuts the it off after 12 hours, an arbitrary span that may or may not coincide with nightfall, depending on when you get up and what time of the year it is. In the words of the Romaine Jerome CEO Yvan Arpa, "Time is really the ultimate luxury... Most of our customers don't know what time it is anyway."
Crazy? I personall thinks so, but...
The RJ $300,000 "Night & Day" watch sold out in the first 48 hours.
"Bling H20" Bottled Water
Hollywood writer and producer Kevin Boyd knew in his gut that something was missing from our world: A good $40 bottle of designer water.
So he started his own high-priced water company, and now he is a very wealthy guy indeed.
"Bling H20" is made from, um...water. According to Boyd, the water used in Bling H20 is natural spring water bottled in Dandrige, Tennessee and subjected to a "nine step purification process." The bottles are available in limited edition frosted and/or cobalt glass covered in Swarovski crystals which retail for between $25 and $75 a piece depending on design, with the most popular white frosted model retailing for $40.
Celebrities such as Ben Stiller and Jamie Foxx have been spotted with the expensive water, and Paris Hilton allegedly feeds Bling H2O to her dog. Recently posh NYC restaurants have also been listing Bling H2O on their menus for their more discerning customers.
The World's Most Expensive Toilet
Hang Fung Gold Technology, a jewelery firm located in Hong Kong and owned by entrepreneur Lam Sai-Wing, doesn't really let anyone use its solid gold bathroom. The room, which includes an 800 pound jewel-encrusted 24-carat gold toilet, is part of a display museum set up to illustrate the many uses of the precious metal that Lam's specializes in trading. Lam is very proud of this museum, which is a big tourist draw, and especially proud of the toilet.
When gold hit record highs this past summer, Lam came under severe pressure by the Hong Kong business establishment (and the popular press) to melt down and sell his prized loo, but he steadfastly refused.
"I don't care if [gold] hits $10,000 an ounce," he told the Wall Street Journal in July. "I'm not selling it!"
When push comes to shove, it's always all about priorities.
Thirsty for a Mouthful of Gold?
Mojitos are OK, if you're into that sort of thing, but when you really want to impress your date, pop into London's Modiva nightclub (if they'll admit you) and order a "Flawless."
The "Flawless" consists of a generous measure of Louis XII Cognac, half a bottle of Cristal Rose Champagne, brown sugar, agnostura bitters, and a few flecks of 24 carat gold leaf floated across the top. The piece de resistance is an 11 carat white diamond ring waiting at the bottom of each cocktail glass.
Clearly, you don't want to knock down too many of these things, and you don't want it to be your last drink either, or you'll be searching that solid gold toilet bowl for something sparkly the next morning.
Still, at $70,000 a snort, if this doesn't impress you're date, call Mr. Hilton and tell him his daughter has passed out again.
Stay Home in Style--TV and DVD Player Not Included
Going to the movies is getting so expensive, The popcorn and drinks alone will make you tap into your home equity--if you have any left. Why not stay home and watch a movie instead? And what better place to watch it than in your very own bat cave home theater!
“We chose to go with the Batman theme because the environments are very visual and give that ‘wow’ effect,” says Elite Home Theater CEO and founder Bobby Bala. “In our opinion, Batman is a bit more cool, dark and ‘theaterish’ than, say, Spider-man. It also has a few more props that can be more easily incorporated into a home theater.”
The posh home theater set up will run you right around $500,000, not including the actual home theater equipment (TV, movie player, sound system, and all that jazz), which you will have to purchase on your own, with additional funds. Popcorn is not included either.
<Sigh> It never is.
New York, New York, It's a Heckuva Town!
The Ty Warner Penthouse Suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York City takes up the entire top floor of the hotel and includes its own waterfall, a view of downtown Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, a four foot high cut glass chandelier by French designer Francios-Xavier LaLanne, and walls inland with thousands of pieces of mother-of-pearl. The bathroom floors and ceilings are solid onyx, which makes the rest of the bathroom features--an infinity-edge bathtub complete with chromatherapy, a separate glass-enclosed rain shower, radiant-heated floors, and sinks carved from a solid block of rock crystal--stand out nicely. The dressing room is clad in solid leather.
It used to be tackier. Recently, the Four Seasons redecorated the penthouse suite to the tune of $50 million, so if you plan to go there, go there soon before it gets trashed by some rock star or something.
Oh, and make sure your credit card isn't maxed out. The Ty Warner Penthouse Suite rents for $34,000 per night.
Champage, Chocolate, and Evian
Feeling a little dirty after a grueling day of self-indugence and debauchery? Do your arms ache from lugging all that cash and plastic around all day? Are those red-soled million dollar Louboutin pumps just killing your feet? Zip on down to the Spa V at the Hotel Victor in trendy South Beach, Florida and ask for the Evian bath. Over a thousand bottles of Evian water will be uncorked and specially heated just for you, then sprinkled with rose petals.
The Evian Bath at Spa V includes a bottle of Champagne, a slice of the signature desert The Seven Sins of Chocolate from the hotel’s restaurant, and your choice of two other spa treatments. A room at the hotel will set you back about $700 a night, but if that sounds too mundane, they also have a 4,000 square foot suite available with hot tub on the ocean view terrace and surround sound throughout. If you have to ask the price of that, you really can't afford to stay here.
Rich People Die Too
You may be filthy rich, you may get out of paying your taxes, but when it comes to death--that's a much tougher nut to crack. You probably will die, unless we get some Republicans back in the White House. But you don't have to spend eternity in some tacky socialist nightmare of a resting place. The Santa Barbara Cemetery can set you and your beloved up in a lovely ocean view plot for only $83,000. You will be surrounded by other filthy rich people (although not too closely surrounded) and you will spend eternity languidly looking out on the Pacific shore, remembering how great your tanlines used to look and being thankful that your lipsuction days are finally over.
Besides, nothing is more romantic that a gorgeous dual cemetery plot. Makes a great anniversary gift!
Move Over Jimmy Choo
When designer Jimmy Choo created a pair of sandals strung with diamonds for Vogue magazine, he started something that still hasn't been finished. Every year now at the Oscars ceremony some starlet shows up in multimillion dollar pumps, often crafted by cobbler-to-the-stars Stuart Weitzman.
The latest fund-a-third-world-economy footgear designed by Stuart was a pair of goldtone, 40s-style pumps encrusted with over 1,800 Kwiat diamonds weighing over 400 carats.
Screenwriter Diablo Cody, who wrote Juno, refused to wear the shoes, which at well over one million dollars make the fabled Ruby Slippers look like worn K-Mart scuffs. “They’re using me to publicize their stupid shoes and NOBODY ASKED ME,” Cody wrote on her MySpace blog. “I would never consent to a lame publicity stunt at a time when I already want to hide.”
You gotta love a woman who tells Prince Charming to go screw himself.
You go, girl!
And Finally, a Little Dessert...
I don't know about you, but after a long day spending money I like to finish up on a little bit of a sweet, and Serendipity 3 in NYC has just the thing with its "Frrrozen Haute Chocolate" dessert. Made with 12 kinds of imported chocolate, five grams of 24 carat gold fleck mixed into a slushy-type consistency, and topped off with lots of whipped cream and a la Madeline au Truffe imported French cherry, the tempting morsel is finished off with even more gold leaf. (You just can't ingest too much 24 carat gold.)
The Frrozen Haute Chocolate is served in a goblet surrounded with a crown made, of course, of gold. And diamonds. If that is not enough, the spoon is gold, too. At only $25,000 per serving, that's really a bargain, when you consider all the precious metals and blood jewels involved.
The ancient Romans, no slouches themselves when it came to debauchery, used to ingest gold leaf.
It caused them to go mad. And then, there was that fall of the Empire business.
I think some of these folks might already be there.
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Comments
Hi Nicole--I've never eaten gold, so I don't actually know how it tastes or if it even has a taste, but it's true that if you ingest enough of it it will cause brain damage and insanity, and the bit about the Romans is true too. I was shocked by some of the things I found to write about, and I don't shock easily. The one that got to me the most was the RJ $300K watch that doesn't even tell time and sold out in two days! At first I thought it had to be hoax, but no, it is a real thing. I don't think I've made $300K in my entire life! And then to blow it on a watch that doesn't really do anything except let other really rich people know you blew $300,000 on a dumb watch seems nuts. But I guess that is really the purpose of the watch. I mean, it's only purpose really is to show how rich the wearer is. It's kind of sick, really.
Kind of? No, it's completely sick. Fifteen dollars a day, (stretched pretty thin,) can feed an average family... let's see... that's 20,000 people you could have helped feed for a day. Is that shameful or what?
I swallowed some gold spray paint once. It was an accident when I was about 11 and spraying my bike. I can't vouch much for the taste, but I suppose if I had some ice cream to go with it, it might have gone down better.
Out of them all, I thought Bling H20 was a genius idea. I'd love to come up with something like that to part the extremely wealthy from their money-especially Paris Hilton. (Now THAT would be hot!)
Always fun and interesting reading your hubs!
It shows what's behind the economic crisis though. All the money is at the top, nobody else has much or any, and so the game is over. The only retail happening is obscene crap for the obscenely rich.
Personally, I don't see how anyone could buy any of this stuff with a clear concscience, but then I've never been incredibly wealthy, so it's easy for me to be judgmental. Maybe if I had billions of dollars I'd feel entitled too
I think there's not much chance THAT will ever happen though!
Hi rockinjoe--How about OxyBling--Bottled designer air? You can have that one--I'm too busy slaving away at this freelance stuff to have time to get it going. lol!
Loved the shoes, but some of those things are pretty far out
That final desert doesn't sound too appetizing for me although I know gold can be used sparingly in food/medicinal purposes but I don't understand whether the chocolate would taste better with Gold in it. Btw once I was reading an article about economics (price variance based on demand/supply rule doesn't apply for expensive items) where items like Diamonds the more the price then more the demand for it. I especially love this statement of yours "If you have to ask the price of that, you really can't afford to stay here" You are an absolute genius to cloth such great thoughts in beautiful words. Another great hub.
The items you highlight go way beyond "yuppie porn" into full on obscenity. What emptiness these folks must feel to have to spend their precious life energy (converted into $$'s) to buy this meaningless stuff. Oh, gag, I'm going to throw up!
Hi phoenixritu--thank you for stopping in and commenting.
countrywoman--So far no one seems to think that $25,000 dessert sounds good. Give me a piece of pie anyday. Thank you for your flattering comments!
Bruce--I agree. I felt kind of queasy just discovering this stuff was out there. And I didn't even list all of it, just the most obscene ones I've come across so far. No wonder our economy is falling apart. It sound like it needs to be flushed, not saved.
'Paris Hilton allegedly feeds Bling H2O to her dog.'............No surprise there! Great hub, you just can't imagine ever spending that kind of dough on any of the items listed. $25K for a desert......you could buy your own ice cream factory for that.
Pgrundy, if people want to pay exorbitant prices for worthless items -- and they are using their own money to do it -- then more power to them.
Maybe you could invent a competing brand of luxury water and make a fortune!
Which one would you prefer? (I personally prefer apple over pumpkin pie which seems to be all over during the halloween season). Come on I always think very high of your writing abilities and love the way you write. You know one of my goals in life is to be a good writer and you are one of the few people who really inspires me a lot to achieve that objective. I know I have miles to go but still I will keep trying and then maybe one day I will become a good writer.
Pgrundy,
I didn't realize water can cost that much. This is way too luxurious.
I must admit the shoes are lovely. So much suffering in the world and people are grabbing this items for the heck of what we call "pride".
Hi guys.
My favorite pie is,,, All of them! I never met a pie I didn't like. lol!
Hmmm...a luxury item business I could run? How about gold leaf dog poo bags? lol!
Of course after coming to hub pages my favorite pie is "SweetiPie"
You know what? As nice as it would be to be able to shell that kind of money out without thinking about it, if watches that don't tell time and s***ty-sounding food full of heavy metals is all I could think of to shell it out ON, I'd rather be poor!
Well said, kerryg!
If I were a rich man, Daidle deedle daidle, Daidle daidle deedle daidle dum, All day long I'd biddy-biddy-bum la dee laaaa
Ay ay ay! Sorry, couldn't resist! Well, I admit I laughed through most of the hub, it just sounds so goddanged crazy, but hey, whoever wants and CAN affort 34 grand a night, well, let them!
What some people will pay to be excentric. Even if I had their kind of money I could think of better things to spend that money on. Modesty has taken a back seat to everything else in today's world.
The people that take part in these luxuries are probably the same people that shout about world hunger. I'll never understand it and really don't think that I want to.
Aww, this was amusing! Especially since one of the silliest items is probably cost effective. If the museum owner refused to melt down his solid gold bathroom, it's probably getting him a gold mine in tourist visits to the museum. That actually made sense, even if it's silly -- and I'll lay odds that got his museum into the Guinness Book of World Records to put it on the sights list for tourists worldwide.
Neat trivia about expensive stuff there. Gold leaf decorated desserts are an old standby. My daughter, a pastry chef, once assisted in working on a wedding cake with about $1,000 worth of gold leaf on it and there was a mixup when the gold leaf got put on something else and served to the wedding guests decorating a salad or something. Unlike lead, gold isn't toxic and doesn't react to the body, just passes through.
There are medieval recipes involving gold on food too.
What I find curious is that every single insane-luxury dessert is chocolate flavored.
Chocolate is not my favorite flavor.
It leaves me hoping at some point in this life I can become a billionaire or whatever and tell one of these chefs "Build me something insane and luxurious but do it entirely in vanilla."
Watch them go nuts trying to make it work when they don't have chocolate in it for the expected sumptuary.
The thing is, minus the gold flecks, my daughter would probably create something just as sumptuous for me at home on one of her creative days and she's already working on the "vanilla" problem. She's already done it for caramel -- another favorite flavor, and something showoffy for a chef to do.
Hehehe, maybe I should do a painting on real parchment with a fair amount of gold leafing and go spamming these people.
Robert A. Sloan, http://www.explore-oil-pastels-with-robert-sloan.c
Hi Elena--Yeah, I laughed too. My Catholic upbringing started kicking up then later. I didn't know whether to feel guilty, jealous, outraged. amused... lol! I'm still in recovery!
What's News--Yes, I think though, same as it ever was, you know? There's nothing new under the sun and all like that.
Robert--I love chocolate, but I confess the dessert at Serendipity 3 doesn't sound all that good to me either. Actually I like most sweets if they are done well, which is too bad, because they aren't good for me at all. Bill's favorite is the flan you get around here in Mexican restaurants. It's a kind of custardy thing with caramel overtones and whipped cream. I like that too.
Vanilla is a wonderful thing. My grandmother and her sister used to dab it on their wrists like perfume!
Pam: I had a compuer virus knock down my main computer, so I am sneaking in Hubpages via my ooooold, slow, computer, before me and Phil tackle the backlog of work we have here. I had to chuckle about the Starbuck indulgence with the little Debbie, hehe, because now I think Starbucks is an indulgence, but after reading all these mega-rich waste of money indulgences, whoa, I wish I had the bucks to not buy those indulgences, but to know I could do it. The water bottle is unreal... I guess, when one is focused on image, these posessions feed it.
Thanks for an enjoyable hub that had me eye rolling and open mouthed. :)
Hi VioletSun--Computer problems are the worst when you work at home! (Or even when you don't!) I'm glad you stopped by. I was naieve when I started this--I had no idea about this stuff. It's kind of funny though. Thanks for your thoughts.
The stuff all seems so.... vulgar!
I call it a collosal waste of money. Imagine how many people that money could have fed. It's an abuse of one's resources. Thx for sharing it.
It's just that some people in this world will give almost anything to be set apart from others and doing something as crazy as dropping $25,000 on a desert seems way out of hand.
Robert Sloan did have a point on the golden toilet though. Great marketing on the jewelry stores behalf.
Hi Anjali, London Girl, & What's News--I think it's funny on one level and vulgar and sad on another.
So much money is wasted these days, it's no wonder we are in a financial mess. I just heard on the radio yesterday that the first $700 in bailout money the U.S. approved could have bought up every single bad mortgage in the country with $200 billion left over, but instead, it has gone straight into the pockets of bankers who are still not lending it.
It's like ordinary people don't matter anymore. Only the superrich matter.
I see nothing wrong with the free market and even the super rich having the type of money that they have. It's when they decided to take part in such waste of those funds that I deem them as irresponsible.
When they do that they show no character.
Though they do these kind of things it is still America and it is their right to do so. I just hope that they don't look to me again for any kind of bailout when they find that they have gotten up a creek without a paddle. We shouldn't have to run to the boat supply store and grab them some gear to keep them afloat.
It's not the American peoples fault that they spend incautiously. It's time those people take accountability for their actions and be more transparent. Quit making rash decisions and stay out of my pocket.
Pam,
You know I love your work and this one was quite amusing and a bit shocking to many people, I'm sure. There is sure a difference between being financially comfortable, rich, really reach and "are you flippin' kidding me?!" rich.
I support everyone's right to throw money away on whatever they want, but it's a true statement that some people have more dollars than sense! The Paris Hiltons simply find the need to be so super-cool that $75 bottled water carried around keeps her in the limelight.
I often wonder how often those hotel rooms are actually rented at the full price? Hummm? So much of the time the hotel greatly discounts the rooms for the stars so that the hotel can say that "so and so" stayed here just last week! Meanwhile, the rest of us feel even more poor than we are.
But Pam, Please don't pick on old Stuart! I love his shoes and they aren't that pricey compared to Jimmy Choo and Manolos...Manolo Blahnik himself can't believe he gets that much for a pair of shoes! (Neither can I!) But Weitzman does lots of charity fund raising events and raises lots of $$$$ for good causes. But, I have to say that even though they are the most comfy shoes, I only buy them on sale and not too often. (But don't mess with a girl's favorite shoe designer!!! Hehehe...)
There will always be the opulent rich; I think what pisses people off the most right now is that this country has become very pricey to live in and there is a bit of "in your face" over-the-top obnoxious spending on the part of a very few. In Europe, those few have to hire body guards to live safely and they hide out A LOT. I hope it doesn't come to that here but those who flaunt it do raise some very real concerns about where our society is and where we're going.
Madison
Nice post. Not surprised about the bottled water - the normal kind of bottled water is quite the scam already; at least where clean water is available from the tap.
Whoa! I'd say what I really think of even the rich spending money in these ways, but I'm too busy picking my chin up off the floor!!
Great hub.
Karen
There has always been insane and offensive conspicuous consumption, probably always will be.
Hi everyone!
I wasn't really writing this from a "string up all the rich people" perspective, I just was amazed and thought it would be fun to write about. I can't imagine how I'd act if I was superrich. I might be awful. I just don't know--it feels so out of the realm of possibility I literally draw a blank.
Madison-- If there is one thing I could be decadent about and feel totally entitled it's shoes. I have a pair of 1940s Red Cross pumps with little straps (Betty Boop style) that I cherish like precious artifacts (the are originals). I would buy Jimmy Choos, Stuarts, Louboutins--I'd fill my closet with shoes I can't even walk in if I had the money.
So I guess it's good it don't! lol!
Thanks again everyone.
Pam,
I'm guessing you're a lot like me; even if I could afford them, $1200 for a pair of shoes would send me into checkbook shock! And the watch; I could help my kids with a down-payment on a house and feel a whole lot better about it! I think we should all spend money the way we want to, but I just can concieve of some of this; as much as I do love shoes, I like to travel more so that's where my extravagances would head!
It must have been a fun article to research! I think so much of this stuff is just publicity stunt stuff; although, how would I know?!!!
Madison
Well, I think it's a safe bet that agonizing over whether or not to buy a $300K watch is not on the top ten list of problems for either of us this year! Lol!
Yeah, it was fun finding this stuff. Crazy world, huh?
I heard on the news the other day that all the gold mined in the world since the history of mankind would only fill two olympic-sized swimming pools, and that people find it hard to grasp an understanding of where and in what forms all that gold exists nowadays. Well, at least we know the location of a toilet bowl's worth.
Looks like you are having fun with this project. And I'm having fun reading about it. Thumbs up, always!
Thanks Sally. Wow, two swimming pools worth? That's amazing. I did have fun with this--thanks for your comment!
"Well, I think it's a safe bet that agonizing over whether or not to buy a $300K watch is not on the top ten list of problems for either of us this year! Lol!!
I worry about this stuff constantly, sweetie darling....
LOL! Good for you!
I have to say that's a huge waste of good real estate! I can imagine my house with that view. I just wish I'd thought of that water idea myself.
Me too Jewels, me too!
I love the humor you string into well written articles:) My personal favorite is the gold toilet. Although with a well and hard water, it probably wouldnt fair too well at my house!
Hi Ardie--Good point! I sure wouldn't want to have to clean that!
WOW, THATS CRAZY!
WOW, that's intense! It just goes to show how messed up the world is when some one can afford a $70,000 cocktail and a person of the same age living in the same city can barely afford food.
A disgusting waste of money and resources.
I agree! We live in crazy times, crazy times. Thanks for stopping by.
Sorry pgrundy, anjalichugh is right. I know you were thinking humor when you wrote this but it just isn't funny IMHO. This kind of totally out of control ostentation is downright disgusting. It makes me nauseous.
@ What’s News, anyone who can voice any defense whatever for any aspect of “free market" capitalism at this point is beyond delusional. Try completely psychopathic. "The proof of the pudding" as they say. We've had this trickle down bullshit shoved down our throats long enough, centuries in fact. Noblesse Oblige is a myth.
Capitalism will always fail because it ennobles wrong-doing and is, allegedly, based on the negative concept of competition rather than the positive one of cooperation. It rewards the best liars, cheats and thieves and elevates them according to their ability to exploit and oppress those who are honest, creative and hardworking. Capitalism has a built in self destruct mechanism that can’t be eliminated. It’s part of the system.
Hi CWB--The whole thing does put me in mind of Caligula. Did you catch Bush's farewell press conference? Disgusting. According to him, Katrina went well--he did a heckuva job. Thanks for your thoughts.
Hi Pam I enjoyed this hub but what might be interesting is to note the kind of money sportsman and movie Stars make per hour and then really see how being a "media darling" pays out of all proprtion to worth. No wonder these high priced celeb goods exist, some of them have no concept of the worth of money.
Lovely humour, Great hub. Unfortunately conspicious consumption has always been with us from the roman empire onward. BTW I have eaten gold , well drunk actually. When I was young and gold was only about $30 an ounce, there used to be a german liqueur called Goldwasser (gold water) which had miniscule bits of gold flake ( about 100th of an ounce in total) in it.When you shook the bottle it was bit like those snowflake domes. The gold has absolutely no taste whatsovever. Also gold is used in injections as a last resort treatment for severe arthritis and MS.
Hi sixtyorso--That's a good point about pay. I don't understand the sense of paying CEOs, celebrities, sports stars and so forth multimillion dollar salaries. After a certain point it is just a number. What I mean is, once you've purchased what you need and some things you don't need, past that, there's no use for it. Money almost becomes worthless at that point of superrichness. I find it all really bizarre. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Wow.. Soo expensive.. Its really outrageous to pay for them.. Might as well try the cheaper ones.. These are just waste of money since there are a lot of similar items that provide the same service and satisfaction.. Why bother paying for these expensive and outrageous items.. Thanks for sharing.. Again, another great post...
Wow, Incredible! Doing rich guys business is very profitable. I think because they don't bother the prices, instead they go for quality. If you got the unique ones, your business will definitely survive by just doing rich business.
The only thing here I'd be interested in is the Romaine Jerome watch. It would be great to wear something made from Titanic metal, but more importantly - it looks pretty cool.
... OK, and chocolate dessert looks good too, but I'm not so sure about ingesting a heavy metal... except via my eardrums! C'mon, that was a good one and you know it!
Hi CW! I thought the RJ watch looked kinda cool too, but for $300,000 it's a little out of my price range! Now chocolate I can do--and for way less than $25K--nad yeah, heavy metal--aw snap!
;-)
I wonder if you get to keep the jewles and crown that the desert is served with....
Great hub cheers for a great read
Thanks J_eds. I would keep them!
Do celebrities invest in companies to produce these sort of products? Such as the luxury water?? It's so weird... :/
Hi nzchristy--I don't know, but I do know the luxury water company is make a lot of money, so I'm sure if people are able to buy stock in that they are doing it. It is weird though, I agree.
I recently saw a story that gourmet chocolate is still doing really well dispite the economy. It seems that it is a comfort item that people do not really consider a splurge. Of course it is not outrageous but with this economy if you do not need it it is a luxury for sure.
Pgrundy you have done a great job. It will really help for my article.
home theater not that expensive, if you want to go over the top and spend 500k go for it but most run under 5k.
Lol k just to let you know the water is really good it is really refreshing, the cocktail was pretty good I got that for my engagement ring and the sundae was delectible i love the taste of gold.... but yea.......
vanity upon vanity =vanity.
there is a saying: those who have head, dont have cap!! and those who have cap, dont have head!!.
it unfortunate that some people will pay so much to be exploited all in the name of setting a class.....
Wow, i loved the items you have listed, but i believe life wont stop if doesnt have access to these items. Great hub btw
Hi Jay--I agree! Nobody needs this stuff. I was shocked to discover some of it existed. Thanks for stopping by!
I think if you are that rich, you really need to get a "real" life. I'm not against being rich, but these are disgustingly wasteful! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Dorene--I agree. Something kind of sickening about it, don't you think? Thanks for stopping by. :)
Hi Pam, I don't know how I missed this when it was first published. This is fantastic! More things for me to save up for! (If only!)
Hi Amanda--Yes, I did this one awhile ago. Not sure how much of a market for these there is now! lol! Thanks for stopping by. :)
Hi Pam. This hub is so much fun. I can not even imagine paying $40 for water. Thanks for the laughs.
I wish i was a millionare .....
This hub was thought provoking
The economy has impacted many. Yours truly included. Money comes and money goes even when you have been responsible and invested well, some things are just beyond your control. Everday there is a new corporation closing.
But on the other hand. I also realize that someone will always have to be rich beyond rich. Or should I say "obscenely rich" as you so appropiately stated! They keep everything going despite the economy.
I do not begrudge them the right to buy whatever...
But a designer bottle of water, a toliet, a luxury suite for, and a cemetery view plot for $$$$$... That's really far out there. My conscious would not allow it.
They're just trash with money. You can take them out of the ghetto but you can't take the ghetto out of them. These people have no class and without class will spend their money on worthless things that do no one any good. It's not like they're educated or worldly, or even intellectual. They're just rich, and that obviously doesn't prove them to be worth anything other than money.
Entertaining to say the least. The closest I have ever come to experiencing even a glimpse of this type of opulence was when I visited Prince Faisal of Arabia who had a home in Atlanta at the time off of Tuxedo drive. I'll never forget sitting on his heavenly 24 Carat gold throne (toilet), in his powder room and thinking, "now i am making a kingdom contribution."LOL!! Peace to you, fun Hub!! ~K
wow nice stuff, but way too pricey for my taste lol
Nicole Winter says:
10 months ago
Serendipity 3's frozen chocolate dessert doesn't even sound appealing. Here I was thinking, hm, what kind of true decadence do the rich and famous indulge themselves in when it comes to chocolate?!? Not interested. Can you actually taste the gold? I would imagine it isn't as tasty as the restaurants claim. Does it really make you crazy? Far out. No wonder the insanely rich can be so nutty. Fantastic hub, pgrundy. It's ridiculous what these folks will spend their money on these days.