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Billionaires Hoard $100 Million Homes At Record Pace: "Beats Gold, Because You Can Boast"
Nowhere is the new normal more evident than the frenzied hording of so-called "trophy homes" by the world's 1800 billionaires. As Bloomberg reports, the ultra-luxury housing market is scaling new heights as a record number of properties around the world command prices topping $100 million. Demand is growing among affluent Americans and Europeans; billionaires from unstable economies, such as Russia and Middle Eastern countries; and buyers from mainland China, who were barred from investing overseas before 2012. Why - simple (to them?)... "They’re a scarce commodity. And they’re better than gold because you can boast about it."
Just one home sale exceeded the $100 million mark in 2013, following four such transactions in 2012 and three in 2011, Christie’s reported. But as Bloomberg reports, demand for mega-mansions and penthouses has accelerated as wealthy buyers seek havens for their cash and search for alternative investments such as art and collectible real estate, according to a report Thursday by Christie’s International Real Estate, owned by auction house Christie’s. Five homes sold for more than $100 million last year, with at least 20 more on the market with nine-figure asking prices, the brokerage said.
“You’re looking at a universe of over 1,800 billionaires who are starting to become members of this club of collectors of the most unique and incredible real estate in the world,” Dan Conn, chief executive officer of Christie’s International Real Estate, said in a telephone interview. “It’s something they’ll hold onto for a lifetime, the same way they’ll hold onto a Picasso or a Warhol or any number of the great pieces of art we’ve sold over the years.”
Sales are likely to increase this year with more newly built properties and off-market homes trading for at least $100 million, Conn said. Demand is growing among affluent Americans and Europeans; billionaires from unstable economies, such as Russia and Middle Eastern countries; and buyers from mainland China, who were barred from investing overseas before 2012 and since have snapped up houses in cities including Hong Kong, Los Angeles, New York and London, he said.
But do not worry about this being a bubble...
The fact that asking and sales prices for ultra-luxury properties are reaching new heights isn’t a sign of problems in the broader market and shouldn’t raise concerns that last decade’s housing bubble will be repeated, Conn said.
“I think of this market as fundamentally different from the rest of the market,” Conn said in an interview Thursday on Bloomberg Television’s “Market Makers.” “In order to buy one of these properties, you have to be in the billionaires club.”
“People want trophy homes,” Eyal Ofer, a Monaco-based shipping and real estate magnate, said in interview earlier this week at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California. “They’re a scarce commodity. And they’re better than gold because you can boast about it.”
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Self-aggrandizing much?
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Never "invest" in anything that eats or needs repairs.
Buncha ego-maniacal self centered narcissistic assholes
That's MISTER ego-maniacal self centered narcissistic asshole to you, son.
You can carry gold to Mars with you while you are evacuating Earth in a hurry, Can you carry buildings ? No.
Good point.
Hello! This is Brian Williams reporting to you on the CNN Charles Jako News Hour with Geraldo Rivera live from the Blue Screen Mobile Studio at the Peak of the Universe Sun Spot Cycle Penthouse just sold for $One Bazillion to Juan Valdez in New York City. Juan, a modest coffee farmer from Alpaca Ontario and reformed member of ISIS has just revealed himself as the purchaser of the world's most expensive bedroom condominium, financed exclusively from the New Deal You Won't Fucking Believe Democratic Voter Resettlement Program. Now Juan, if you'd get off your BammiePhine for a moment, we'd like to ask you a few questions.
Juan: Fuck you Brian, get off of my cloud. Throw his ass off the balcony and we can watch him pass by the red hot pennies form Lloyd's place 4 stories down. Brian, you ever thrown red hot pennies to starving diseased natural born children? It gives one a tremendous feeling of power. Serious Fuck You Money Power. And I did this on nothing but your tax dollars, you gullible liberal Progressive asshole. Now Jump! (pushing Brian over the parapet)
BW: Aaaaaaarragggghhhhhhhhhh!
Millionaires are the smartest people because they have lots of money! Brian Williams excluded.
:)
Yep, but you can't brag about square feet or the number of bedrooms....
Really, people want to brag?
I'd rather people think I have nothing worth stealing. Just because I'm a quadrillionaire doesn't mean I have to show it off. (Sure I do have a stack of $100 trillion bills on my desk, but nobody even notices them any more.) Why brag? It makes you more of a target.
agreed. much better to be rich and anonymous than rich and famous.
"Beats Gold, Because You Can Boast"
It's like a huge billboard.
You too, can end up like Edmond Safra. The really smart rich people are moving to New Zealand.
Really smart people are picking some country where they can buy into the poker game that runs that country.
Rich is the new royal.
Hollywood and TV are their Entertainers and jesters at large.
Royale had a rationale, as there was an age of enlightened kingship. Too many stories around the world and the awesome culture they supported and left behind.
This is the long cycle nouveau riche, crass in their displays, their lack of manners/courtsey or empathy...
For anyone thinking we are a part of an evolutionary branch of some tree, think again.
+, the wor(l)ds have it...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_yoSBep5Io
You need to occasionally kill royalty to keep them on their toes.
Maybe that is waters the tree of liberty, not some poor bunch of patriots...whatever that means anyways...
"....you can boast about it." Sure, but nothing can compensate for your micro-manhood.
...and governments can claim their share through taxes.
... and guess which homes will be the first ones destroyed if there ever is a revolution against the .01%.
<< Never "invest" in anything that eats or needs repairs. >>
... or goes by the name of "Buffy."
Renting a "Buffy" by the hour is much cheaper in the long run.
prefan4200 ... and guess which homes will be the first ones destroyed if there ever is a revolution against the .01%.
-------
The lower class homes of course. More reason to put the serfs in FEMA camps. The top 1% will be protected and who cares if their homes are destroyed. Why? First, they are more likely to have insurance as compared to the serfs. Secondly, they have economic mobility. That means they have another multi million dollar home in another location that is more friendly to the 1%.
Have you learned nothing yet?
Yeah, you bought it. Now let's see you defend it from the #BlackLivesMatter Jihadists. God, I wish they'd burn down something worth burning down. Jamie Dimon doesn't go to CVS.
Buying a property in a libtard run area is a quick way to impoverish yourself. Fools who bought cheap greek property are being sent to jail for not paying enormous property taxes. The Greek government won't confiscate the property, if they did that, they couldn't keep piling on more tax.
Or is taxed yearly even if it depreciates.
Bulletin: The bbbbillionaires do NOT own those homes, stupid bastards, the taxing authorities owns them.
What are the taxes on a 100 mill home in NY, CA, TX, FL, etc.?
A millage rate of 15 means ad valorem taxes of $1,500,000 PER YEAR. Millage on PMs, 0.00 mils.
Like people don't own the money they put in a bank.
If you don't hold it, you don't own it.
Not a lot of freehold property left out there. It all has government fee simple titles attached.
If it floats, flys or ...
I forgot the last one, it's cheaper to rent.
If it floats, flys, or the third-floor toilet leaks through the dining room ceiling when you've invited the Obamas for tea and biscuits, blah, blah, blah, ...
We boasted at some folks.
Or needs massive buybacks
"Never "invest" in anything that eats or needs repairs."
And... Never invest in only one asset that can be manipulated, taxed (via buy-sell margins, storage and transport fees), or confiscated via "POS windfall-surtax". Like... Art, Gems, PM. Plus, a Pleasure Palace can be used for all sorts of purposes (that really matter to life and living). Note that Larry Ellis bought a Hawaiian island a couple of years ago. Infinitely more useful than a vault of shiny metal. Especially if TSHTF.
If your Home is in one of those states that have amazing Bankruptcy Protection (Florida, Texas...), then you CAN buy a nice McMansion and keep your Appreciating Assets adorning your walls and safe. Be sure to check the fine print via a Tax/Bankruptcy lawyer, to err on the safe side. If you live in CA or NY, you're screwed of course, when it comes to Estate or Bankruptcy protection.
OTOH... smart money (always) has a modest place in the city (Condo or Townhouse) to limit you property taxes, and some acreage/estate out in the country (Bugout place or McCastle). And some Bugout Condos abroad, if possible.
What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?
Look how shiny my fucking Tulips are you poor stupid fuck!
Boastful billionaires, bitchez.
Time to find a patron.
Just don't boast about it in the wrong soon-to-be, not-quite-yet hipster neighborhood.
Apparently the word humility isn't in their vocabulary
" The Meek shall inherit the Earth. "
... and that's about all they're going to get it looks like.
And who is going to protect these homes when the SHTF? Police, how many bath fixtures fit in a cruiser.
Wood, hay and rubble.
Stubble, isn't it?
Bullshit. Exposed asset. If the government can see it, the government will eventually tax it at a made up asset value. When this happens, property prices will crash making it impossible to off load without a huge loss. These idiots are a true testament to the policies of the Fed. The incredibly stupid, living in lala land thinking they have achieved something.
They are the protected blow-buddies of the Fed.
Yeah, I'm sure some Joe blow who stumbled upon QE is a Fed buddy. When push comes to shove, the first ones the Fed will screw will be them Expendable muppets, because they are so visible. Stop believing in grandiose conspiracy theories. When you are at the top, everything bellow you is expendable. Especially when it comes to maintaining your place.
Agreed. Writing is on the wall. Governments around the world are desperate to maintain the status quo. They are going to bleed everything that is exposed in the process.
This is good for wealth distribution. It is a cash sink; a material outflow from a concentrated position under one person to a dilutied position among many people. I hope they never stop buying houses. In fact, I hope the houses start selling like tulips circa 1620s. Truly, I hope the houses appreciate to $1 billion, as it has been empirically shown people will spend unrealized capital gains as if they were ordinary income. The crash comes soon after they spend a large portion of their money.
Indeed, this actually dilutes their wealth ... bidding up farmland on the other hand is troublesome.
What's the monthly payment on that?
"They’re a scarce commodity."
Yeah, because nobody would EVER build a house nicer than the one you just bought.
You can boast about it until you can't, because it's confiscated by a revolution.
versailles revisited
Yea,
Most of the rich lost a little while the serfs lost a lot.
but the serfs walked away with their heads on
"...billionaires from unstable economies, such as Russia and Middle Eastern countries"...
Whew... Sure am glad I live in the U.S. and not in one of them 'unstable economies'...
Think I'm gonna 'cut & paste' that little snippet for safekeeping - or maybe to pass down to the next generation - in year or two...
Europe is a potential powderkeg, same as the US and South American countries.
The rich are running out of safe roads and parking lots to drive and park their Lambos and Bentleys.
My home's better than your home
My home's better than your's
My home cost $500 million
My home's better than your's...
Property taxes!
Even the most elite have to kiss hind to the master, than own the ultimate wealth.
Everyone is a little boy to someone else. A better boyscout if you will.
Except...
GOLD
They can simply start punitively taxing gold sales ...
You can still have an underground economy in it of course, but if you think it's value relative to other goods won't crater if and when they do this you're naive. As long as they have the bigger guns you will pay the taxman one way or another.
The best investment to avoid getting your assets taxed is owning people in government, gold can't compete with that.
Never sell the family silver. Enjoy owning it, then pass it on to the grandchildren.
Do they get two or three parking spaces for that price....does it come with a wet bar.....and who mows the grass and cleans the pool every week....where do you hang the laundry to dry....can you raise chickens there...free range of course....I just want to know what I can brag obout if I bought one.....hey man...I got a chicken coop with ten cihickens..what do you have?????
A cock up Rooster, four hens laying and one setting on 8 eggs. Beef in the freezer, calf out in pasture. Pork in the freezer and pigs in the sty. A well for good tasting water that is hard as nails. Darn good water for brewing great beers. If I just had a young enough woman to kanodle with, who just wants to stay home, till the garden and brew the beer.
I own a 1260 sq. ft. two-floor rectangle with a roof that pitches for rain. Approx. 3/5 of the space is devoted to waking life, and 2/5 to a family of four sleeping cozily. Tell me what I lack.
A view of Park Ave.?
I'm living in the country farming and I have a room rented in Portland so when I see my girlfriend I can have a place to shave and keep my suits. I have no liabilities and own silver and gold coins. I write as a financial terrorist and Max Keiser and Paul Krugman wish they had my ideas. No one knows who I am and so boasting proves nothing. I am with ego and without it at the same time.
WELCOME TO FIGHT CLUB
:)
a billion dollars
38,740 square feet
right size yur house and you'll be in the club
40,000 square feet
You are still a renter in most cased if you live in the US. With property taxes, you never own.
Yeah you can boast and pay property taxes and maintenence costs up the wazzu! These millionaires sure are smart.
"Billionaires Horde"
Sometimes Tyler's lack of mastery of the English language borders on poetry...
I wonder if properties like that come with whip holders as built-ins? I imagine with a property that size, there would need to be several slaves and several whip holder places.
Just another way of saying: 'the dollar is no good as a store of value'.
The real reason they don't buy god is BECAUSE THEY CAN'T GET IT!! (in size).
Uhuh, sure ... they're all conspiring not to short squeeze gold because they are all such good friends.
The boasting will be short-lived. Expensive real estate is where stupid money goes to die.
You would think there would be a little more empathy for the rich .... amongst the business blog class ?
MY house is in three zip codes and two time zones... My kids wear GPS homing devices so I know where they are at... Beat that, peons of the 99.999%....
Do Chen come home .... we need your jaundiced eyes ! ..... UP VOTE Do Chen come home .... and help me fight socialism ! ..... DOWN VOTE
There are some funny posts.
How many of you would buy a ferrari or lamborghini or whatever fantasy sports/luxury car, if you were a billionaire?
After all, you can afford it and it wouldn't put a dent in your income or networth.
I am betting many of you would buy that car even though you are posting how bad it is to buy these multi million dollar homes.
It all depends on your financial situation. PERSPECTIVE.
Personally, I am a bug out bag type person, so I'd buy a good 4 wd vehicle with ample storage a towing capacity.
"Horde?"
I think belonging to the Fight Club got Mr. Durden brain-damaged from too much pounding on his head.
"Horde?"
I think belonging to the Fight Club got Mr. Durden brain-damaged from too much pounding on his head.
These houses are only worth as much as the sea-worthiness of the insurance companies insuring them. And when the Financial Tsunami comes, it lifts all boats to smash them to flotsam and jetsam on the ground below where we groundlings dwell.
These will suffer the same fate as Saddam's castles.
Lavish headquarters for military occupation.
Saw a program* on TV last night, showing what the Billionaires are up to and might be up to -- besides what I've been telling you for a long time: NEO-FEUDALISM.
Besidee the Usual Suspectes, one such guy (tech billionaire Peter Thiel) is working on a series of libertarian, utopian, Floating Sovereign Islands, each of which would cost $100-200M to build. One such idea is a The Freedom Ship, that is 1600 meters (one mile) long, is home to a city of 50,000 people and has its own Airport (5000 ft Runway), nuclear power plant, desalination & sewage plants, defense, living, working, playing zones, etc. It would stay out of the Territorial waters of all nations, and travel from nation to nation, to preserve its sovereignty -- and maintain the same tax status that Monarchs and Religions enjoy: Tax-Free. IOW, they choose what they take and give back. Call it a "Floating Elysium".
Which also becomes EXTREMELY handy if/when there is a great culling of the human herd, where 90% are wiped out (by an act of Nature or Man). In which case, you'd best plan to have the smarts, skills and assets that keep you in the Top 10%, if you want your gene pool to go on.
I suspect that the true NWO agenda is based on an old world order: Feudalism. They intend to wreck nation-states, so that they can keep their billionaire lifestyle in their native country and also abroad. Libertarian, meet your New Lords: same as your libertarian feudal Lords of the Middle-Ages. Power-hungry, narcissistic, arrogant know-it-alls -- who will seek to play demi-gods, while 'blessing' the world with their vision and worldview.
* "America's Book of Secrets" -- 'The Billionaire Agenda', S3E7, 2014.
Never trust a person who refers to a liability as an "investment".
Its not a liability if you get the extra security service free. We'll even throw in a congressman, a governor and a few judges! Call now! Operators are standing by.