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London’s cobbled and quaint streets are no longer paved with gold as their fictitious character, Dick Whittington might have once believed in fairytale land. But, they certainly do attract the golden billionaire boys from around the world these days as London gets to the top position in the places to have a pad; but you don’t necessarily need to live there!
London is the new billionaires’ paradise according to new research that has just been released after analysis carried out on the high-end estate market by Beauchamp Estates ad Dataloft in the UK.
• There are 2, 170 billionaires in the world.
• Net income combined stands at $6.46 trillion.
• It stood at $3.08 trillion in 2009.
• 60% are self-made billionaires.
• 20% have inherited wealth.
• 20% have a combination of inherited and acquired wealth.
• 67 billionaires live in London, making it the top western capital.
• Paris has 25 billionaires.
• Geneva comes in at 3rd place in the list of cities in the western world that billionaires go to live in. But, it only has 18 of them and that’s despite the fact that it’s a tax haven.
What is the make-up of a typical billionaire, then? There are a few must-haves that every billionaire that has any self-respect needs:
• Over $83 million in real estate.
• An average of four residences.
• One of which must be in London to the tune of an average of over $38 million.
• 42% of the wealth of a billionaire these days is in private holdings.
• 35% is in publicly-held companies.
• 18% in cash.
• Just 3% in residential real estate.
• 2% goes to artwork or travel expenses.
According to the study, if it’s under £10 million, then the residence is for the servants and not for the billionaires themselves.
But, will all the billionaires be staying in London, or will they be going there? Despite the financial crisis the safe haven of the world of real estate in London (in particular, in places such as Chelsea, Kensington, Knightsbridge and Mayfair) has risen by 23% since 2008 (the previous peak). London has seen super-prime properties change hands more often in London than in any other city in the world. In 2012, there were some300 super-prime sales made in the world and over 50% of them were in London. About one third of the people that bought those residences were British. The vast majority were from overseas.
According to recent studies, it’s the woes of the European Union periphery countries such as Greece, Portugal and Spain that have meant that the ultra-high-net-worth people have been moving their assets out of those countries and they have chosen London for the property increases that have been seen there. It’s the Russians who (until now!) have been the driving force also behind that market.
Apparently, each nationality has its idiosyncrasies when buying. Singaporeans need lots of staff and the quarters to go with it. The Russians need security and the Middle Eastern billionaires need elevators everywhere. Brokers make a standard commission of 1.5-2.5%, but that’s a hefty sum in itself. Although, along with immense wealth goes (hand in hand?) ‘pain-in-the-neck’ demands and 100% availability of the brokers. Remember that money buys anything and everything; it can buy your time and even gets its hands on you.
Just a few days ago data was released that showed that housing in London rose by an average of £11,217 in March 2014, meaning that they are now at an all-time high.
• That’s a 2%-increase.
• The average property in London is worth £552,530, up 1.5% on October 2013 (previous high).
• But, property in some of the most expensive boroughs fell.
• Westminster fell by 2.3%, for example.
• A slow-down in prime areas has occurred, and the price rises are now rippling out to other areas of London.
The oil magnates, Middle Eastern Royalty and heir’s to world power have a place on London’s most expensive street, also known as Billionaire’s Row (once it was just plain old Millionaire’s Row), The Bishop’s Avenue in north London. But, it is a derelict forgotten wasteland, where the owners buy and then never go there. The buildings fall derelict, but they go up in price.
Perhaps just like the fictitious character Dick Whittington, with accompanied cat in tow, when they get to London the billionaires band of boys might just realize that the streets are not at all paved in gold, but rather they are grimy and poverty stricken.
Originally posted: London’s Billionaires Paradise [7]
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