Penny-pinching in the penthouse for world’s rich
Once it was a city penthouse, with a villa somewhere hot and a chalet somewhere cold. The Mercedes 4×4 was for the school run, while the £200,000 convertible was for weekends with friends in the country. A cook and two nannies took care of the children, leaving plenty of time for lunches with ladies for her and the best wine and cigars for him. Ah, the sweet smell of excess.
But - whisper it as softly as the purr of the limousine waiting at the end of the gravel drive - times are changing. The world’s super-rich are having a tough time. Plunging stock markets, the impact of 11 September and accounting scandals, and now fear of war and a prolonged recession have left the world’s millionaires watching their fortunes shrink. Down to their last few hundred thousands, the richest people on the planet are being forced to do the unthinkable - tighten their belts.
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