Super rich seek new heights in pampering

[EV_Ares]

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer

NEW YORK - Forget about the $350 stilettos. Shoes with status these days come with $1,000 price tags. And $600 handbags have become so bourgeois. A-listers don't want to be seen with anything costing less than $5,000.

It's no secret that luxury sales have been booming over the past six years. But at a time when the average American is grousing about meager wage growth and feeling strapped by a 30-cent spike in the price of gas, splurging by the wealthy has risen to gaudy proportions as the super rich seek new heights in pampering, price tags and one-of-a-kind items that set them apart.

"There's this insatiable appetite for the most luxurious," said Faith Hope Consolo, chairman of Prudential Douglas Elliman's retail leasing sales division, who has brought European designers including Versace and Valentino to the U.S. over the past two decades.

Luxury sales worldwide topped $150 billion last year, of which 30 percent came from the U.S., where such sales have been rebounding after taking a pause following the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to Telsey Advisory Group's James Hurley.

While U.S. store executives say that the weakening dollar has fueled a surge of tourists from Asia and emerging countries like Russia, whom experts say tend to go for the bling, luxury stores don't have to just wait for foreigners. Sure, investment bankers and Internet entrepreneurs have kept luxury sales booming, but the latest source of new wealth are hedge fund managers — the top 25 last year made more than a combined $14 billion a year, according to Institutional Investor.

(((entire article @ link below)))

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070615/ap_on_bi_ge/over_the_top_spending;_ylt=Ak7AWI0imHCQzggP05tGaJFv24cA

[kurth]

1. 25 hedge fund managers made more than a combined $14 billion last year

And the Fed is gonna bail them out next time - just like last time - right?

[EV_Ares]

5. U are headed in the rt direction. Did you see the losses on the sub-prime

lending to Bear Stearns & another company. Wall Street keeps saying "no problem" not having any effect on economy. How could over a trillion in losses not have any effect? Somebody is going to have to absorb the loss as those companies showed their losses yesterday.

Bear Stearns was trying to sell over 4 billion in sub-prime losses in bonds yesterday, don't know about any takers.

Yes, one of these days we will be hearing they need taxpayer help and a bailout. I just hope the public draws a line and says no way.

[entanglement]

8. You might be interested in this link about hedge fund manager pay

The top three make over $1 BILLION a year - that's right, one billion
Number 25 on the list was making at least $240 million a year

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/apr2007/hedg-a27.shtml

[fasttense]

2. Well they have to have something to do with all the money they steal. n/t

[jollyreaper2112]

3. I can see where this is going.

All I can say is whatever their fate, they've well-earned it.

[Clark2008]

9. Let them eat high-fructose corn syrup!!

[tanyev]

4. The Bush economy is working very well for them.

[Double T]

6. It is ONLY a matter of time till the robber barons meet their demise...........

and if any of THEM need a hand, I'll be happy to give THEM a push!

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[ordinaryaveragegirl]

7. What a sad commentary on our culture...

Especially the one woman who is so obsessed, she puts a Fendi bag above her bills. This is the kind of money-obsessed, greedy mentality that the Repugs seem to perpetuate. I'm sure there are people out there that would probably love to have $3,000 a month to live on, much less $3,000 to spend on a stupid bag. A lot of these "super-rich" are really making the most of their tax breaks. :sarcasm:

[entanglement]

10. The top 3 hedge fund managers were paid $1.7 BILLION, $1.4 BILLION & $1.3 BILLION in 2006

The average pay of the top 25 hedge fund managers was $570 million. Poor CEOs :cry:

[Bright Eyes]

11. Let Them Eat Cake

History repeats

[mitchum]

12. I guess that they will demand luxury tumbrils when the day comes

[derby378]

13. That's why I'm a renegade Quaker...

Do those trousers fit me? Cool. Any rips, holes, or tears? Wonderful. Made in the USA with union labor? Even better. Ring me up.

If I'm going to pay $1,000 for a pair of shoes, then they had better calculate my income taxes, give me GPS coordinates for the nearest Chinese or Tex-Mex restaurant, and come equipped with emergency booster rockets. My needs really are very simple.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

14. Ehhh. Their Perogative Really. They Can Spend How They See Fit When It Comes Down To It.

And let's face it: The majority of us here spend on luxury too, just simply within our means. We may not consider it luxury but undoubtedly others in the world would. Like even the computers we're all typing on right now. I'd wager the overwhelming majority of them aren't 100 dollar throwaways. Or our clothes, shoes, food choices, furniture, tv's, internet connections, cars, appliances, make up, and god knows how many other things. Sure, some here may be in dire straits and may be able to claim no 'luxury' items, but overall the vast majority of us engage in the same type of violations as those in the OP, just to a smaller scale due to our means.

So I say it's your money, do what ya want with it.