1. Proud dad:
In 2004, Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal splashed up to US$80 million (B2.4 billion) on his daughter’s wedding (pictured, right), an event hailed as the most expensive wedding in recorded history. Parts of the six-day festivities were held at the Palace of Versailles near Paris, and the 1,000 hi-so guests were put up in five-star hotels for the duration. The live music included performances by Kylie Minogue and top Bollywood movie stars, and the bill for the wine alone was estimated at US$1.5 million (B45 million).
2. Gaga’s wheelchair:
Was ironic diva Lady Gaga being ironic or just a diva when she ordered this new set of wheels? A regular wheelchair was presumably out of the question when the pop star suffered a hip ailment recently – she had a custom gold one made for her in a few days by New York jewellery designer Ken Borochov, who used about 50 grams of 24 karat gold plate to complete the commission.
3. Fire sale:
One the richest men in history was the Roman Senator Marcus Licinius Crassus – Romans wits used to joke that “Crassus is richer than Croesus,” an allusion to a mythical Greek king said to be the richest in the ancient world. Crassus amassed a huge fortune in land and slaves, in part through the curious practice of buying houses that were on fire: Crassus’ men would turn up in the street and offer a “special low price” for the burning building. If the offer was accepted, his army of slaves would put out the fire – otherwise the building would be left to burn.
4. Golden shirt:
Wealthy Indian landowner Dattatray Phuge likes to wear as much gold as he can lift – including this US$22,000 golden shirt. It took 15 goldsmiths two weeks to make the 3.5 kilogram shirt, which includes more than 14,000 gold threads, dozens of gold rings, and Swavorski crystals as buttons. As well as the gold shirt, Mr Phuge often wears four kilos of gold as necklaces, bracelets and rings – and employs 20 bodyguards to ensure his safety.
5. Silicon billions:
For conspicuous consumption, Silicon Valley database billionaire Larry Ellison has few modern equals. Among his recent purchases is the rather large island of Lanai in Hawaii for a cool US$500 million. Ellison also has a flotilla of America’s Cup racing yachts, and seems to change his executive jet as often as other billionaires change their cars. Just for fun, he owns and flies two fighter jets, including a Russian MiG-29.