Ever wonder how your income stacks up against your neighbors? Within your geographical region? Are you part of the fabled one percent? The New York Times offers an interactive chart where you can see how your income stacks up in various regions of the United States. See the chart here.
by Roberta Murphy Most of us grew up believing that education and earning power were irrevocably shackled to each other, and where one went, the other inevitably followed. These days, we’re not so sure. Especially with the number of billionaire dropouts. Below, a partial list of billionaires who dropped out of school and went on to become outrageous successes in the technology, entertainment and fashion fields. 1. Sir Richard Branson dropped out…
by Roberta Murphy Bernie Madoff is headed for several lifetimes in prison–and which leads us to wonder: Where are the cushiest prisons? And wouldn’t you know, Forbes.com provides a timely list of the top-rated federal prisons. They looked for such amenities as email, proximity to major airports, weather and internal substance-abuse programs, a sentence-reducing ploy used by non-addicted white collar criminals. Other qualifiers for the luxury prison list include pleasant guards,…
by Roberta Murphy I am still chuckling over the wit and common sense of Wanda Sykes as she rants at Jay Leno over a Government bailout plan that has most eyebrows raised: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXznKV7rw7k[/youtube]
by Roberta Murphy A pair of $53.5 million New York Plaza penthouses were sold to Russian hedge-fund manager Andrei Vavilov–which would have made it the second-highest residential sale in New York City history. Andrei Vavilov, though, is one very upset buyer. He and his wife, Russian actress Maryana Tsaregradskaya, are outraged with low 9 foot ceilings, an unexpected and massive column in the living room, and an exterior drainage grate…
by Roberta Murphy This is a market that sometimes brings out the creative forces in real estate. And more and more, real estate exchanges are making lots of sense in the luxury real estate market. Earlier this evening, I had an interesting conversation with a Sotheby’s real estate agent in Northern California. It seems he is interested in exchanging his exquisite 104 acre property just outside Carmel for a luxury…
by Roberta Murphy Forecl—– It’s a word softly whispered when luxury homeowners in luxe communities like Palm Beach (33480), Beverly Hills (90210), Greenwich (06831) and Rancho Santa Fe (92067) discuss their local real estate markets. Real estate prices have been declining in many of these markets throughout the country, and some of the heavily mortgage homes are ending up as foreclosure sales. The most prominent foreclosure victim of late is…
by Roberta Murphy The real estate predators are always there–in good times and in bad. There are whispered stories in real estate circles of certain escrow and loan officers who, in the heady days of real estate, slipped deeds into the stacks of papers homeowners were signing as they refinanced their homes. The deed, of course, moved the property into the predator’s claws. As the Discovery Channel shows, predators will…
by Roberta Murphy Deepest apologies to those of you who were unable to access Luxury Home Digest this past week. It seems we were the victim of a malevolent hacking attack last Sunday night, whereby all of our content was deleted–on not only Luxury Home Digest, but San Diego Previews as well. Thanks to the tireless work of blogging gurus at the Real Estate Tomato, we have been able to…
by Roberta Murphy Last year, I wrote a short article about the worlds most expensive mansion in Mumbai, India being built by uber-wealthy Mukesh Ambani. In addition to arguably being the most expensive private home in the world (how about $1 Billion to build?), it will also be the tallest measuring in at 42 stories. Residence Antilla, though, will only have 27 stories, due to Ambanis desire for taller ceilings….
