| It is always nice to see how the other half | | | | |
| lives, take for instance there is the | | | | According to the Federal Reserve, the net |
| | | | wealth of American households hit a high at |
| Life of Luxury: the George Hamilton way. | | | | the end of last year, increasing from $46.59 |
| | | | trillion in the third quarter of 2004 to |
| This is a TV show which looks at the lives of | | | | $48.53 trillion in the fourth quarter. |
| the Super Rich in which the first episode | | | | |
| looks at the PlayBoy Mansion, a collection of | | | | Rising real estate and stock prices helped |
| multi-million dollar homes, hip-hop | | | | push the country's household net worth up 4% |
| half-billion dollar empires and some queens | | | | between the third and fourth quarters. You |
| of shopping. | | | | can now buy a $67,000 hand-crafted bathtub; |
| | | | Luxury is no longer confined to the affluent. |
| Tom Delay's Life of Luxury over the last six | | | | |
| years: | | | | To enhance people's lives they are willing to |
| | | | pay more for luxury items like expensive |
| Public documents reviewed by The Associated | | | | perfumes and designer handbags. Sometimes |
| Press document his 48 visits to golf clubs | | | | it's hard to justify spending much more on an |
| and resorts; 100 flights aboard private | | | | item when something considerably less |
| company planes; 200 stays at hotels, many | | | | expensive offers the same functionality. |
| world-class; and 500 meals at restaurants, | | | | |
| some averaging nearly $200 for a dinner for | | | | You can, for instance, buy a watch for $10 |
| two. Not all paid for by Tom Delay. | | | | and you can buy a watch for $20,000 that |
| | | | offers the exact same functionality so where |
| ARCHESTRATUS: THE LIFE OF LUXURY | | | | is the rationale for buying the expensive |
| | | | watch? Still, the expensive watches get sold |
| ARCHESTRATUS was a Sicilian Greek who wrote a | | | | and people are proud to own them. |
| poem that was an actual cookbook describing | | | | |
| styles of Greek food in antiquity In | | | | The exclusive maker of mattresses for the |
| travelling throughout the Greek world - | | | | British royal family will reject a container |
| Greece, Southern Italy and Sicily, the coast | | | | of cashmere if it is deemed to be clumpy or |
| of Asia Minor, the Black Sea - Archestratus | | | | defective in any way, says the director for |
| shows us how the ancient Greeks were | | | | the American division. |
| extremely cosmopolitan. | | | | |
| | | | For each bed, workers cover thousands of |
| His influences - ingredients, combinations of | | | | springs in calico cotton; the damask cases |
| flavours, techniques - are drawn from a wide | | | | are hand-woven in Belgium If you have to ask |
| Mediterranean background, taking in a | | | | how much these mattresses cost you can't |
| diversity of ideas unrestricted by the | | | | afford them. |
| topography of the Greek mainland. | | | | |
| | | | Life of Luxury: living on your own Cruise |
| The Life of Luxury: Check out the Robb | | | | Ship |
| Report: Luxury Homes | | | | |
| | | | The World is the only private luxury |
| The Robb Report features this Beverly Hills | | | | community at sea. It is a Cruise Ship built |
| house. The owners, a retired industrialist | | | | with apartments and studios for long term |
| and his wife, who is a trustee of Los | | | | residency rather than vacation cruises. |
| Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art, wanted | | | | |
| the architect to maintain a simple palette | | | | For sale originally were 106 apartments, 19 |
| that would not compete with their art | | | | studio apartments and 40 studios, with square |
| collection, which includes a beautiful | | | | footage starting at 675 for studios and |
| collection of contemporary art. | | | | maxing out at 3,242 for a three bedroom |
| | | | apartment with optional jet pool. With the |
| The Life of Luxury's Most Expensive ZIP Codes | | | | exception of studios, which have more limited |
| | | | amenities, The World's residential |
| From Beverly Hills to TriBeCa, from notorious | | | | accommodations include fully-equipped |
| enclaves of mansions and lush lawns to | | | | kitchens, living room, veranda and all |
| little-known niches of wealth, this is where | | | | furniture and audio/video equipment. |
| the most expensive real estate in the country | | | | |
| can be found. | | | | Studios and Apartments can be had from 1.4 |
| | | | million to 4.8 million dollars and annual |
| Many of these neighborhoods are rarified | | | | maintenance costs start at $100,000. |
| places, of course. They are close to beaches | | | | |
| and golf courses and prime yacht moorings--or | | | | This is a 40,000-ton ship which could easily |
| at least within spitting distance of the | | | | carry 1,500 passengers but the World |
| power centers that are the sources of great | | | | Residensea carries an average of 285 guests |
| wealth. they have high tax bases, expensive | | | | plus a crew of 252. |
| private schools, exclusive restaurants and | | | | |
| they are not all located close to Rodeo | | | | The passenger distribution is about 40% |
| Drive. | | | | Americans, 40% Europeans and 20% from other |
| | | | nations. The price of a "home" on board the |
| The Life of Luxury; Some Expensive Must-Have | | | | ship includes furniture, appliances, carpet, |
| Items | | | | draperies, linen, china, cutlery and crystal. |
| | | | Maintenance charges will cover daily |
| We must be getting richer. Designer items are | | | | housekeeping service, repairs and replacement |
| becoming more and more popular, we are no | | | | of appliances, fixtures and fittings supplied |
| longer happy with a cheap watch but want an | | | | by the builder. |
| Omega or a Tag Heuer. | | | | |