Last month I wrote about the Millionaire Fair in Istanbul but it appears it didn't go over quite so well in Moscow this time. The Wall Street Journal's Wealth Report led me to the Guardian's report of the Moscow Millionaire Fair where yachts were going two for one and no one was buying. Socialite Ksenia Sobchak, the fair's master of ceremonies, applauded guests for showing ups saying that: "Everyone is a superhero for finding it in themselves to come here tonight, to try to bask in the luxury." The fair was the usual dazzling spectacle of exotic cars, jewels and free-flowing Champagne. Moscow still has more billionaires than any other city but many have seen their fortunes dramatically pruned over the last year. The end result seemed to be a rather grim spectacle of luxury where people weren't quite sure if they were celebrating what remains or mourning what once was.

Gap co-founder and art philanthropist Donald Fisher would like his money now please. He has sued a private jet charter company, JetDirect Aviation, Inc. for $376,770 he says the company owes him in jet rental fees. Fisher rents out his Bombardier BD-700-1A10 Global Express jet for $8,000 an hour when he isn't using it. The lawsuit contends that the company hasn't been paying the rent after the deal was signed a year ago.

As my colleague Jared Paul Stern recently reported, some Russian billionaires have been been losing money hand over fist the last few months. And they are not alone. The Guardian has a piece on the falling numbers of Chinese billionaires. There were 66 Chinese billionaires in 2007 but there are just 24 now due to the plunging Chinese stock market. The combined worth of the country's 400 richest people is down 40% and the top 40 lost 57% of their wealth according to Forbes magazine. Those who lost their money are hopeful that the tide will turn and they will be back up again soon. After all two years ago, there were only 15 Chinese billionaires.

In a global marketplace, even Dubai isn't protected from the economy's frosty embrace. Although real estate giants don't anticipate a market crash in this tourist hot spot it has certainly slowed the rush to invest in Dubai down a bit. There may be a positive note in this unpredictable market as some believe the speculators or "flippers" will get weeded out and bring more stability. I don't pretend to understand everything about the effects of our economic issues but it's certainly disconcerting when Dubai is feeling the strain.

Apparently not everyone is feeling the bite of the recession. A European mogul has commissioned luxury Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin to create a one-of-a-kind $6.5 million timepiece that will instantly become one of the world's most expensive watches. The design, which may take years to complete, will be many times more precious than Vacheron's Tour de l'Ile timepiece (above) created for the company's 250th anniversary in 2005. Only seven examples of the Tour de l'Ile timepiece, billed as the "world's most complicated double-faced watch", were made for an astounding $1.5 million apiece. A few more commissions of this sort and the luxury watch industry will have nothing to worry about.

[via Affluent Page]

Bad news for free-spending Russian billionaire and Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich: he lost a staggering $20 billion over the past few months as Russia's financial markets took a tumble. The figure was calculated "based on assets excluding property and cash," Bloomberg reports, and it means that Abramovich's net worth is now only $3.5 billion. He had previously been ranked as the 15th richest man in the world with a fortune of $23.5 billion.

Some other Russian oligarchs have fared pretty poorly as well. Russia's richest man - well, formerly anyway - Oleg Deripaska lost more than $16 billion, and Vladimir Lisin lost $22 billion. Overall, Russia's richest men have lost a combined total of $230 billion in five months, Bloomberg notes. No single man has suufered as much as Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, who lost $28 billion as we reported earlier this week. Still, Abramovich's loss is likely to affect him more as he so obviously enjoyed spending his immense wealth. So - anyone want to buy a $350 million megayacht?

Forbes has just released its annual ranking of the 100 most expensive zip codes in America, and what with fluctuating real estate markets some of the results may surprise you. Beverly Hills for example, the famous 90210, barely makes it into the top 10 nowadays with a median home price of $2.41 million, while Bel Air (90077) lags way back at No. 29 with a median price of $1.72 million. New York City doesn't rate an appearance at all until Tribeca zip 10013 clocks in at No. 14 with a median price of $2.2 million.

That famous province of the rich, Greenwich, Conn. (zip 06870 in Old Greenwich) is way down at No. 26 with a median price of $1.75 million. The most expensive zip code in the country? 33109, the tiny private enclave of Miami Beach known as Fisher Island (above), where sales prices rose by $525,000 over the last year and which has an unbeatable median price of $3.85 million. Listed below are the Top 10 zips. You can see a slideshow of the full list here.

1. Fisher Island, Fla., 33109, Miami-Dade County
Median sales price: $3.85 million

2. Alpine, N.J., 07620, Bergen County
Median sales price: $3.59 million

3. Mill Neck, N.Y., 11765, Nassau County
Median sales price: $3 million

4. Newport Coast, Calif., 92657, Orange County
Median sales price: $2.8 million

5. Water Mill, N.Y. 11976, Suffolk County
Median sales price: $2.72 million

6. Atherton, Calif., 94027, San Mateo County
Median home price: $2.7 million

7. Santa Barbara, Calif., 93108, Santa Barbara County
Median home price: $2.7 million

8. Wainscott, N.Y., 11975, Suffolk County
Median home price: $2.56 million

9. Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., 92067, San Diego County
Median home price: $2.47 million

10. Beverly Hills, Calif., 90210, Los Angeles County
Median home price: $2.41 million

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, 58, the richest man in Europe and the 4th richest man in the world, can now be known as the world's biggest loser after his net worth plummeted by a whopping $28 billion over the last four months due to the global financial crisis. Mittal, a London resident who paid a record $200 million for a Georgian mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens earlier this year, still has $17 billion left, the London Times reports. We don't yet know how Mittal's stunning loss - which equates to $240 million / day or nearly $10 million per hour - re-positions him on the world's rich list as several other plutocrats have also suffered reversals, but it's safe to say he'll end up much further down unless the stock market recovers soon.

The new generation of twenty-something hipsters are creative, counterculture and serious consumers. Part of their ability to support the indie brands they love (Urban Outfitters, Steven Alan) is due to parentage: these hipster-ish Millennials are baby boomer kids, and baby boomers boast annual spending power of $2 trillion, much of which goes to offspring wants and needs. And there are about 70 million Millennials -- about one and a half times the population of Gen X -- with their collective eye trained on Vice's Dos and Don'ts.

[via Forbes]

What a difference a few months make, earlier this year, I attended the Luxury Summit and heard research from American Express Publishing and Harrison Group. Now they've done a follow-up and the news is far grimmer. Their new research finds that 71 percent of America's affluent and wealthy consumers (10 percent of American families) say that real estate and banking crisis has affected their sense of financial security and the value of their assets. Now nearly 6 in 10 survey respondents are now worried about running out of money, including 48 percent of America's wealthiest families (a number up from 35 percent in April).

In a survey conducted on September 19-23, 614 affluent individuals discussed how the recent economic turmoil is affecting their financial and spending plans and revealed that 75 percent of the respondents believe the country is now in a recession. And how's this for a depressing fact, just fifty-five percent of the wealthy respondents are optimistic about their own future, down from 93 percent in 2005. Just one-quarter of respondents are now upbeat about the future of America while 60 percent were in 2005. This is big news for everyone because as Jim Taylor, vice chairman of Harrison Group points out, the top 10 percent represents over 50 percent of all retail spending. They are the ones who have kept the consumer economy afloat even as the middle class slowed spending dramatically.

One bright note is that 20 percent of American families are reducing gift giving so that they can donate to charity this holiday season. People are shopping with more thought and an eye toward saving. Many now wait for sales and are buying less. It's not great news for the retailers but it does seem a smart tactic in this economy.

The Principality of Monaco has now overtaken London as the world's most expensive luxury property market, with prices reaching approx. $7,000 per square foot. According to newly-released data, the average price of Monaco's most expensive houses and apartments rose 30% over the past year as opposed to only 1.8% in London, which has held the top spot for the last five years, Bloomberg reports. As we noted a few weeks back, Monaco is home to the world's most expensive street, Avenue Princess Grace in Monte Carlo, where apartments cost tens of millions. London meanwhile has seen a steep decline in its luxury market, which has even affected Buckingham Palace to the tune of a $100 million depreciation. The top 10 luxury property markets in the world are now ranked as follows:

1. Principality of Monaco
2. London, England
3. Cap Ferrat, French Riviera
4. Courcheval, French Alps
5. New York, USA
6. Moscow, Russia
7. Tokyo, Japan
8. Hong Kong, China
9. Sydney, Australia
10. Paris, France

Musician, producer and designer Pharrell Williams needs not one but two Rolls-Royces to get around town - when he isn't driving one of his other supercars, that is. The producer of acts including Madonna, Justin Timberlake, Kanye West and Jay-Z bemoans the fact that the Rolls has become too popular with rappers, but says it still preserves some cachet.

"In the early days, the cars were rarities," Williams tells Motor Trend. Now however, "They're kind of ubiquitous. [But] the saving grace is: It's still a Rolls. Every stitch and every tiny detail are brilliant. It's traditional and consistent quality. They spare nothing. Also, you can drive it just how you're feeling. It can be a luxury vehicle or you can really put your foot in it and it darts out like an arrow. I had a Bentley but it wasn't for me. At the end of the day, a Rolls is a Rolls."

He likes 'em so much he has two, a Phantom for being chauffered in - ""I sit in the back and recline with my gold Blackberry, like Richie Rich" - and a Phantom Drophead Coupe for driving himself, in black with a red leather interior. He also has a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and a Ferrari Enzo. As for the latter, "Man, you have to be in the mood to drive that," Williams tells the mag. "It's so fast, it's like being in a spaceship or a stealth bomber. And there's no radio, so I can't have any tunes. I love it but you really have to be in race car mode."

As an adjunct to their just-released annual list of the 400 richest Americans, Forbes has included a special report on the homes of some of the billionaires who made the cut. Capping the account is of course Bill Gates, who tops the 400 with his $57 billion fortune. It's hard to say exactly how much his high-tech 66,000-sq.-ft. house on Lake Washington near Seattle is worth. The property includes a 60-foot swimming pool with an underwater music system, a domed library with two "secret" bookcase doors and a 1,000-square-foot dining room, the mag notes.

Also featured: the historic seven-story Duke-Semans mansion (above) in Manhattan owned by cab driver-turned-mogul Tamir Sapir (net worth $1.9 billion), who bought it from Doris Duke's relatives for $40 million after a single walk-through. He's now said to be spending $10 million on renovations. And then there's Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison's (net worth $27 billion) 23-acre estate in Woodside, Calif., "reminiscent of a 16th-century imperial Japanese palace" which reportedly cost over $100 million to build. You can see a slideshow of these megamansions and more here.

Esquire magazine has just named Luxist mascot Roman Abramovich one of the 75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century. The honor comes on the heels of the lovably profligate oligarch's advancement to 8th place on Vanity Fair's list of the world's 100 most powerful people, as we reported earlier this month.

The magazine cites Abramovich's rise from hawking rubber duckies at Moscow's open-air markets to a multi-billionaire oil kingpin, art collector extraordinaire, megayacht owner, Putin confidant, and so on.

Also landing slots on Esquire's list, which appears in the October issue and is not ranked, are Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai and one of the world's richest royals; luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault, chairman of LVMH; and provocative artist Jeff Koons, whose work sells for millions.

Forbes just released its annual Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans, and billionaire Microsoft founder Bill Gates (above) is back on top after briefly ceding first place to Warren Buffett this spring. Gates has a net worth of $57 billion as opposed to Buffett's $50 billion - $12 billion less than he had several months ago before Berkshire Hathaway's stock plummeted 15%. Buffett isn't the only one to suffer a major reversal. The year's biggest loser was Sands casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, No. 15, whose fortune fell $13 billion in the past 12 months - about $1.5 million per hour, Forbes notes - to $15 billion.

Adelson's fellow casino kingpin Kirk Kerkorian, No. 27, was another underachiever, losing $6.8 billion this year. Still, they were both better off than the 33 moguls who fell off the list altogether due to declining fortunes. On the plus side, 31 new plutocrats moved up to take their places, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 24, who makes his debut on the list with an estimated net worth of $1.5 billion.

Other Forbes 400 first-timers include fertilizer tycoon Alexander Rovt, car dealer and art collector Norman Braman, and Patrón tequila founder John Paul DeJoria. Meanwhile, New York City's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg was the year's biggest gainer, as his net worth jumped $8 billion to a total of $20 billion, snagging him the No. 8 position. Also worth noting among this year's stats:

The average net worth of Forbes 400 members is $3.9 billion.
There are 42 women on the list with an average net worth of $4.2 billion.
For the 2nd year in a row, the minimum net worth needed to make the list is $1.3 billion.
The assembled net worth of the richest Americans rose by only 2%, or $30 billion, to $1.57 trillion this year.

See the complete list here.