Many people would think that the very wealthy have nothing to fret about: because many of them have net Worth's ranging from the moderate $5 million to the mammoth $1 billion. A blip in the markets shouldn't be what sends their chateau-size Park Avenue co-ops to foreclosure or exile them to Payless Shoes. I know a few lawyer-friends and financial advisors, and some of them have told me that as of lately their days have become crammed seeing clients, all worried about how an economic downturn will affect their marriages. Their clients are concerned because their incomes have shrunk, say, to $2 million a year from $8 million, and they know that their 2008 bonus checks are likely to be much less impressive. It's a mentality unknown to many millions of middle class people but its a growing downward momentum for alot of wealthy people. When a person's net worth decreases to $8 million from more than $20 million a year, they may start thinking that their wives will leave them. They may start hiding their fall from fortune by taking on debts to pay for the extravagant clothes and family vacations.
The wealthy don’t generally speak publicly about their finances, in good times or bad. It’s in poor taste, for one, and their employers could fire them for talking even a little. But people who provide services to the wealthy — lawyers, art advisers, personal trainers and hairstylists — are getting an earful about their clients’ financial anxieties. It would seem as if everyone is living on less than they did a year ago, regardless of how expansive the definition of “less” may be.
The top execs for GM, Ford and Chrysler took luxurious private jets to Washington to make their case that the auto industry is running out of cash and needs $25 billion. Wagoner's private jet trip to Washington cost his ailing company an estimated $20,000 round trip when compared to what it would have cost him, first class on Northwest Airlines - $837.00. Despite their reluctance to save money, private jet rental companies say the wealthy ARE cutting back on luxuries like $10,000-an-hour jet rentals.
Sean Combs is grounding his private jet because of the extravagant cost of fuel. It could cost about $250K for two round trips between New York and Los Angeles. Sean Combs, who juggles a Hollywood career with a thriving clothing business and other ventures in New York, thinks that's just too much...and rightly so. This change in habit comes from a multi-millionaire, who was listed number 33 on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list. These financial problems — if they can be called that — will hardly elicit tears from the rest of us. But in those extravagant living rooms, there is a quiet nervousness about keeping up appearances.
The only one who may not be feeling the pinch is the Sultan of Brunei who sleeps comfortably when he flies in his private jet cabin (pictures above). His fortune is well over $55 billion...and Oh, he has two wives, so he's not worrying about probable divorce lol. I understand that he owns the McLaren F1 racer, a vehicle that was previously assumed to only exist in racing video games.
What a Life...
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