Planes Passé in Gift Guides for the Rich
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Billionaires and multimillionaires are browsing for holiday gifts just like the rest of us, but the unbelievably rich are opening bulging wallets for dream presents that challenge the imagination.
A $90 million 17th century English estate and village, a $21.5 million, a seven-gem diamonds-du-jour collection for $21.5 million, a $12.5 million Fabergé (search) chess set and a natural gas-powered sea-air-land hydrofoil, priced at $4.5 million, are among the chestnuts on this year's ultimate gift guides.
The duPont Registry (search) and Robb Report (search) magazines and the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce all have gift-giving suggestions for their cost-is-no-object audience.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Previously loaded with aircraft offerings, the 2004 lists don't feature personal jets.
"Planes are passé as gifts. Everybody's got one," duPont Registry publisher Tom duPont said, noting the average net worth of a duPont Registry reader is $3.5 million with an average annual income of $250,000 plus.
A V-12 Lamborghini Murcielago Roadster (search) ($320,000), a 600-horsepower Gemballa Porsche 996 GTR Gullwing ($350,000) and an armored Humvee with a hot tub ($250,000) top the duPont Registry's double holiday gift issue.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"It is awesome," duPont said of the Hummer. "You can drive it out to a cliff and watch TV [it's got nine televisions] and soak in the tub. It's the only way to spend an evening."
Practicality is in the mix, too. The duPont list features an executive canine protection gift: German shepherd or Belgian Malinois dogs delivered, acclimated to home and family and trained for specific needs and lifestyle for up to $100,000.
There are also custom golf carts with a 70-mile range: California Roadster hot rod golf carts seat four, reach 25 mph and cost up to $15,000.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce has a more affordable list of highbrow stocking stuffers.
"Folks from all over the world are coming to Beverly Hills and they are looking for something unique, over-the-top gifts," chamber spokesman Michael Robinson said. "Holidays allow us to wrap up some of those items in a big bow and feature Beverly Hills."
The chamber list ranges from a $37 Baskin-Robbins Beverly Hills signature ice cream cake to a Carroll & Co. Mongolian cashmere ski sweater ($1,250), a $35,000 chinchilla blanket from Dicker and Dicker and a $5,000 Ferrari Challenge Stradale surfboard, available only at Decret of Beverly Hills.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The chamber's big-ticket item is a $310,000 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Beverly Hills Edition, offered by Ferrari of Beverly Hills.
The Robb Report's 21 ultimate gift list includes a $2 million Pebble Beach golf package, with each member of the 24-member gold party driving home in a Lexus automobile. There's also a weeklong, $338,700 fly fishing excursion for five in Wyoming and Alaska.
The hydrofoil may be one of the most outlandish items. The two-passenger Splash by Rinspeed travels 2 feet above the surface of the water at 49 mph, it cruises at 31 mph in the water and it has been clocked on land at 124 mph.