Poor people are starving and the middle class is a dying breed. Meanwhile, the world’s wealthiest continue to live in the lap of luxury while they lap up ludicrously luxurious stuff like this.
BOTTLED WATER. “Image is everything,” says Kevin G. Boyd, the Hollywood producer who created “Bling H2O” spring water. The frosted-glass bottle comes decorated with handcrafted Swarovski crystals and filled with water “bottled at the source in Dandridge, Tennessee.” Like a fine wine, it must be uncorked to drink. Cost: $38 per bottle.
FLIP-FLOPS. Created in 2004 by Brazilian jewelry designer H. Stern, a “regular” pair of these sandals—encrusted with gems or made of crocodile skin—will run you a few thousand dollars. The top-of-the-line model comes adorned with diamonds and more than 1,500 feathers made of gold. Cost: $17,000.
SUNGLASSES. Billed as the “world’s most expensive sunglasses,” these shades are sold as a high-end luxury accessory by the Italian company Dolce & Gabbana. Features: “A sexy gold rim, and the lenses are a soothing brown in color.” (It also has adjustable nose pads.) Cost: $383,609.
JEANS. Design houses Earnest Sewn and Van Cleef & Arpels collaborated to create a limited run of Alhambra Designer Jeans featuring Van Cleef’s signature Alhambras (four-lobed cross icons based on Moorish architecture). “The stretch denim is finished with a white mother-of-pearl and yellow gold Alhambra button, miniature Alhambra rivets, and a 14-inch Alhambra chain that attaches to a hand-crafted leather wallet.” Cost: $11,300.
POOL CUE. This cue is called “The Intimidator,” but not just because of its price tag. Sold by McDermott Handcrafter Cues, the pool stick features four “bladed wings” on the handle…making it look like a Klingon Bat’leth sword. (So if you’re losing the game, you can simply disembowel your opponent.) Cost: $150,000.
In 2008 a rare red dairy cow sold at a Connecticut auction for $1 million.
NAIL POLISH: Four companies, including Allure magazine, collaborated to come up with “I Do”—a nail polish containing powdered platinum. The first batch, which came in a platinum bottle, cost $55,000. Now it’s sold in glass bottles for a mere $250.
A PAIR OF GUITAR PICKS. Sold by Australian company Starpics, these two picks are made from a piece of the four-billion-year-old Gibeon meteorite (chunks of which were discovered in 1836 strewn over a 70-mile-wide area of Namibia, Africa). For the nonmusical, there are also Gibeon meteorite rings, pocket knives, and pens. Cost: $4,764.
PIZZA. The “Louis XIII” gourmet pizza takes three days to prepare, but famed chef Renato Viola of Alerno, Italy, will travel to your house to bake it for you. Toppings include three types of caviar, two types of lobster, and hand-picked pink Australian salt. The final touch: It’s misted with cognac. Cost: $12,000.
ICE CREAM SUNDAE. Created especially for the 50th
anniversary of the Serendipity 3 Café in New York City, the Golden Opulence Sundae includes five scoops of Tahitian ice cream rolled in edible gold leaf, gold-painted truffles, marzipan cherries, and sweetened caviar, all of which is topped by a gilded sugar flower. Cost: $1,000.
TOILET. If you win the lottery, you could be reading this on your new Toto Neorest. Features: hands-free flushing, a lid that automatically opens and closes, a remote control to set the seat temperature—and for emergencies, a powerful “Cyclone® flush” setting. Cost: $5,000.
BURIAL PLOT. Even if you can’t take it with you, at least you can rest easy at the most posh spot in Southern California’s Santa Barbara Cemetery. This plot boasts a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and has room for two. Cost: $83,000.
In Mexico in 2009, there were at least 7,700 deaths linked to organized crime.