According to its Arab billionaires rankings, the total wealth of the region’s billionaires rose to $121.3bn from last year’s figure of $117.6bn.

Topping the ranking was Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud with an estimated fortune of $18bn, although figures verified by his private office to Arabian Business said Alwaleed’s fortune was estimated at $21.3bn.

Prince Alwaleed was followed in second place by Lebanese-Brazilian billionaire Joseph Safra with $13.8bn to his name.

Both Saudi Arabia and Lebanon led the way on the list with eight billionaires each.

Despite recent political turmoil, Egypt was runner up with seven billionaires, followed by the UAE with a total of four.

However, this year’s major headline was newcomer to the billionaires club, Morocco, which entered the ranking with three billionaires – Miloud Chaabi, Othman Benjelloun and Anas Sefrioui.

Kuwait ranked sixth with two billionaires, Bassam and Kutayba Alghanim, although the wealthy Al-Kharafi family was removed from the ranking following a formal request from the Kharafi Group.

Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Sudan also featured in the ranking with one billionaire each.

One of the success stories this year was Sulaiman Al-Rajhi & family, ranked in fifth place with a family net worth of $5.9bn.

The Saudi banking tycoon-turned-philanthropist made headlines last year with an unprecedented decision to relinquish much of his fortune; distributing his wealth among family and donating a significant proportion to charity.

Also highlighted was Moroccan frontrunner Miloud Chaabi, ranked 10th with a fortune of $2.9bn.

Following a religious education, he started working at the age of 15 as a shepherd, then as a farmer, before moving into the construction industry. Today, he leads the Moroccan billionaires as head of Ynna Holding, a company specialising in real estate development, hotels, retail and industry.

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Lifestyle Fixers

World’s most expensive car number plates

Abu Dhabi dominates a global list of the most expensive car number plates ever sold.

Buyers from the UAE capital account for 37 of the top 50 most expensive plates ever sold. The 37 Abu Dhabi buyers listed in the rankings collectively spent AED222.9m ($60.6m), or an average of AED6 ($1.6m) for their car plates.

Here is the countdown to the top 20 plates ever sold.

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED3.2m ($871,174m)

Plate: 33

Buyer: Hong Kong

Cost: HKD7m ($900,977)

Plate: 19

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED3.35m ($912,010)

Bought: September 2010

Plate: 66

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED3.35m ($912,010)

Plate: 42

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED2.4m ($925,622)

Bought: June 2009

Plate: 88

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED4.2m ($1,143,416)

Plate: 2

Buyer: Hong Kong

Cost: HKD9.5m ($1,222,754)

Plate: 10

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED4.5m ($1,225,089)

Plate: 45

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED5m ($1,361,210)

Plate: 16

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED6m ($1,633,452)

Plate: 9

Buyer: Hong Kong

Cost: HKD13m ($1,673,243)

Bought: June 1994

Plate: 99

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED6.5m ($1,769,573)

Plate: 55

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED6.5m ($1,769,573)

Plate: 18

Buyer: Hong Kong

Cost: HKD16m ($2,059,376)

Bought: February 2008

Plate: 11

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED8m ($2,177,936)

Plate: 12

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED8.9m ($2,422,953)

Plate: 9

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED10m ($2,722,420)

Bought: September 2010

Plate: 7

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED16.5m ($4,491,993)

Bought: February 2010

Plate: 5

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED25.2m ($6,860,498)

Plate: 1

Buyer: Abu Dhabi

Cost: AED52.2m ($14,211,032)

Bought: February 2008

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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The world’s most expensive row of terraced houses has gone on sale for a staggering collective price of £400million. Cornwall Terrace, in London’s Regent’s Park, consists of eight double-fronted mansions, each with a value of between £29 and £60million. Estate agents have described the street as: ‘A rare convergence of provenance, history and grandeur.’

Street value: One of the vast mansions on Cornwall Terrace in London’s Regent’s Park, where every property is for sale with a collective value of £400m. The row of properties was designed by architect Sir John Nash as part of the Prince Regent’s – later King George IV – plans for the 19th century masterpiece Regent’s Park. Overlooking the park’s rowing lake, the mansions belonged to the British nobility for 150 years before becoming the headquarters for British Land. The whole terrace was then purchased by developers Oakmayne two-and-a-half years ago.

The company employed a group of renowned interior designers, supervised by English Heritage and The Crown Estate, to give the properties a tasteful makeover. Each Grade 1-listed mansion took 83,000 man-hours to renovate, with a whole year spent digging beneath the original basement to create two extra floors. The properties have 8,000 to 14,000 square feet each, and five to seven bedrooms. The interiors make the most of the buildings’ rich architectural heritage, while boasting state-of-the-art technology.

Tasteful makeover: A group of renowned interior designers, supervised by English Heritage and The Crown Estate, renovated the properties. Each master bedroom alone is the size of the average London apartment, while entrance halls are described by agents as being of ‘embassy proportions.’ All properties boast a silent hydraulic elevator and multi-room iPad-controllable audiovisual and lighting systems.

Each even comes with an accompanying two-bedroom mews house for staff, and a ‘Bentley-sized garage’, as well as a spa and gym. The largest property, to be sold next year, also has its own ballroom and swimming pool complex. The first two properties have been put on the market for £29 and £39million. The remaining six properties will be marketed next year with one unidentified mansion expected to cost £60 million.

Prospective buyers have already made enquiries into the possibility of purchasing two properties and converting them into a single home.

Source: Daily Mail

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1. Carlos Slim Helu and family. Mexico. Telecoms. 53.5 billion dollars.

2. Bill Gates. US. Microsoft. 53 billion dollars.

3. Warren Buffett. US. Berkshire Hathaway. 47 billion dollars.

4. Mukesh Ambani. India. Oil, gas. 29 billion dollars.

5. Lakshmi Mittal. India. Steel. 28.7 billion dollars.

6. Lawrence Ellison. US. Oracle. 28 billion dollars.

7. Bernard Arnault. France. LVMH luxury goods. 27.5 billion dollars.

8. Eike Batista. Brazil. Mining, oil. 27 billion dollars.

9. Amancio Ortega. Spain. Clothing retail. 25 billion dollars.

10. Karl Albrecht. Germany. Supermarkets. 23.5 billion dollars.

11. Ingvar Kamprad and family. Sweden. Ikea. 23 billion dollars.

12. Christy Walton and family. US. Walmart. 22.5 billion dollars.

13. Stefan Persson. Sweden. Hennes and Mauritz. 22.4 billion dollars.

14. Li Ka-shing. Hong Kong. Diversified. 21 billion dollars.

15. Jim Walton. US. Walmart. 20.7 billion dollars.

16. Alice Walton. US. Walmart. 20.6 billion dollars.

17. Liliane Bettencourt. France. L’Oreal. 20 billion dollars.

18. S. Robson Walton. Walmart. 19.8 billion dollars.

19. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud. Saudi Arabia. Investments. 19.4 billion dollars.

20. David Thomson and family. Canada. Inheritance. 19 billion dollars.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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For the super-rich, those for whom the financial industry has coined the acronym UHNWI (ultra-high-net-worth individuals). the goalposts in the world of Luxury are forever moving. Where once you could rest assured that access to the finest goods was the prerogative of the privileged few, thanks to rising wealth and fractional ownership schemes, even private jets and super yachts have been placed within the affordability bracket of many a healthy bank balance.

For the wealthy elite it has meant that the pursuit of exclusivity has become the kingpin of luxury and obtaining the unattainable has become the ultimate prize. Thankfully, a plethora of modern-day miracle workers are on hand and teams of advisers and private fixers for whom catering to the whims and desires of the ubber rich has become a full—time role.

THE PRIVATE FIXER

The hotel concierge has, and always will he, the keeper of an infinite number of contacts able to secure a table in London’s most difficult to book restaurants or deliver money-can’t-buy experiences. But this style of personal service is extending well beyond the confines of the concierge desk, spawning a generation of lifestyle managers keen to facilitate the seemingly impossible for those with money to burn.

Ifzaal Khan is one such entrepreneur a private fixer who caters to the demands of international high society, working either privately or publicly on their behalf. “We represent an elite range of clients, including foreign rulers, billionaires, royalty, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, trusts and private families,” reveals Khan. ‘We are fully committed to protecting the privacy of our clients and their families at all times and our services are based on complete trust and discretion,” he adds. Indeed, such is the confidential nature of Khan’s role, that even those working for his company, Perfect Knowledge, only know the highest profile clients by a pin code.

Khan can act as a client’s agent or broker in any situation, and with contacts in establishments and companies around the world, he is able to facilitate whatever a client’s brief demands — be that finding a £20 million property or selling a Picasso. Our services include representing a family’s private interests, the growth and confidentiality of their personal life, seeking solutions to problems, as well as obtaining expert guidance and acting as a private third party.” Perhaps one of the most interesting services available at Perfect Knowledge is the personal courtier and private family office.

As a private courtier, Khan’s private fixers act as trusted advisors, Royal Family Management, guardians and chaperones on a short or long-term basis to international clients visiting the UK. The personal courier service meanwhile ensures the safe transit and hand-delivery of sensitive documents or very expensive pieces of jewellery, wherever the client is in the world. For the privileged, total peace of mind is guaranteed.

“I once had a request from a Qatari prince who wanted me to take two antiques clocks he had just bought from Harrods to his palace in Qatar The two clocks cost £350,000 each and money was no object in ensuring I could take them to Qatar for him that day, (Tel: ++44 (0) 207 471 4885) www.perfect-knowledge.com or info@perfect-knowledge.com.

For press inquires please  email James Marsh on pr@perfectknowledgepr.com

Rupert married Anna in the 1960s, with the pair remaining together for 32 years, having three children. They split amicably in 1998. The divorce was finalised in June 1999 when he agreed to let her leave with $1.7 billion. 17 days later he married Wendi Deng.

2. Adnan and Soraya Khashoggi – $874 million

Saudi businessman Adnan made his money as an international arms dealer. He then launched his company Triad, based in Switzerland, owning banks hotels and real estate across the world. He married Soraya in 1961. Their 1982 divorce resulted in an estimated $874 million settlement.

3. Craig and Wendy McCaw - $460 million

Craig made his money turning a failing TV cable service into a successful business, eventually selling for $755 million. In 1981 he then acquired cellular phone licenses, eventually selling to phone company AT&T for approximately $12 billion, becoming its largest single shareholder.

The pair met at Stanford University when she tutored him, with them marrying in 1974. In 1995 divorce proceedings were initiated with Wendy wanting her share to support a $200,000 a month lifestyle.

4. Roman and Irina Abramovich - $300 million

It had been speculated that the settlement could have left her the world’s richest ever divorcee. But according to Russian news sources, Mrs Abramovich settled for $300m (£155m).

The figure included the value of homes in Britain and Moscow, as well as a yacht and private plane. At one point it was thought he would have to pay a settlement of at least $1 billion.

5. Michael and Maya Polsky - $184 million

According to court records, the couple married in the Ukraine in 1975, coming to the US in 1976 with “only four suitcases and $500 in cash.

After sighting irreconcilable difference in 2003, Maya Polsky filed for divorce from energy magnate Michael Polsky. In October 2006 a Chicago judge said Mrs Polsky was entitled to at least half of the couple’s assets.

6. John ‘Jack’ Welch and Jane Beasley - $180 million

Welch is the former Chairman and CEO of General Electric, the technology and service conglomerate in New York, now ranked as the world’s largest company.

The couple married in April 1989, divorcing in 2003. While Welch had reportedly written a prenuptial agreement, there was a 10-year time limit. Beasley reportedly left with amount to be in the range of $180 million.

7. Michael and Juanita Jordan - $168million

The most expensive celebrity divorce in history. The former Chicago Bulls basketball superstar married Juanita Vanoy in 1989. They divorced in 2007. It is thought negotiations between the couple added £20 million to the final deal from an initial settlement.

The marriage had shown signs of trouble in the past with Juanita filing for divorce in 2002, although they announced a reconciliation.

8. Neil Diamond and Marcia Murphey - $150 million

When Diamond met Marcia Murphey, he was already married to his first wife. In 1994, they separated, she citing “irreconcilable difference”. The singer claims he willingly gave her the money.

9. Steven Spielberg and Amy Irving – $100 million

Amy Irving shot to fame in 1976 when she played the lone teen survivor in Carrie. Spielberg began to make a name for himself in Hollywood, following Jaws. The pair married in 1985, but the pair broke up four years later. He gave Irving, the mother of their son Max $100 million.

10. John and Beverly Charman - $95 million

The pair met in 1969 at school. When they married in 1976 neither had significant resources. In November 2003, Mr Charman, nicknamed “King of the London Insurance Market”, told his wife he was setting up residence in Bermuda and their marriage was over.

He initially offered her £6 million cash, but she argued that the sum was not enough. The judge decreed a fair settlement would involve him giving 37 per cent of his assets. Mr Charman had a subsequent appeal dismissed. It is thought to be Britain’s highest divorce settlement.

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Luxury hotel chain Raffles - one of the Singapore’s top hotel and resort chain – has opened its seventh property in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The 213-room hotel is Raffles’ second property in the Middle East, following the opening of its Dubai property in 2007. Looking over the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba, the Raffles Makkah Palace offers round-the-clock butler service for guests, along with a “coffee sommelier,” a four-storey mall in the basement, and four restaurants.

Dining options include the Creamery ice cream parlor, the Narjes tea salon, Middle Eastern restaurant Al Majilis and a fusion restaurant named Al Qasr. However, Raffles’ hotel will soon be overshadowed — literally — by the Makkah Clock Royal Tower hotel from Fairmont right next door. Situated in a 76-storey building and set to be opened within months, the 858-room hotel has been built inside the new Makkah Clock Tower, the centerpiece of the enormous Abraj Al Bait Complex which will eventually house the Raffles, the Fairmont and a Swissotel.

The clock tower features four faces that are 43 meters in diameter, visible from 17 kilometers away, to announce daily prayers to the Muslim world and establish “Makkah Time” as an alternative to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as the global time standard. According to hotel analysts STR Global, Saudi Arabia was the second fastest-growing market in the Middle East after the United Arab Emirates in June, with 16,680 rooms in the pipeline, compared to 54,814 in the UAE. Last week, Hilton announced that it had signed a deal to open two properties in Riyadh in 2012, describing the country as its “number one development market in the Middle East.”

Source: Luxxo

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Avenue Princesse Grace is the most expensive street in the world to buy property, where $120,000 (€84,985) will purchase just one square metre of prime real estate, according to a survey by Wealth Bulletin. Prime residential property on the top 10 most expensive streets in the world saw their overall value fall by 12% in the last year, the survey found, with European streets faring better than their US and emerging markets counterparts. That compares with price falls of between 20% to 30% in mainstream property prices in London and New York over the same period.

Avenue Princesse Grace might have been the most expensive street on the list, but prices for prime property there have fallen from a staggeringly high $190,000 per sq/m a year ago. Via Suvretta in the Swiss ski resort of St Moritz was the only street on the list that saw prices rise for top properties in the last year. The street ranked sixth on the list, where property costs at least $45,000 per sq/m, an 18% rise on the 2008 price.

The second most expensive street was Chemin de Saint-Hospice on Cap Ferrat in the south of France, where prime property sells for $100,000 per sq/m. Ostozhenka in Moscow, at $35,000 per sq/m, was the only street from an emerging market on this year’s list.

The addresses that are streets ahead

• Avenue Princesse Grace, Monaco, $120,000 per sq/m

Still the most expensive street in the world, expect to pay at least $120,000 per sq/m on the iconic Avenue Princesse Grace for a modest apartment with one of the most spectacular views in the world. But that looks like a bargain from a year ago, when top end residential properties on the street were $190,000 per sq/m.

A 334 sq/m four-bedroom penthouse on Avenue Princesse Grace is on the market at $50m around $149,000 per sq/m – not including a 220 sq/m terrace. Local agents reckon asking prices are being discounted by as much as 20% and the above property will probably sell for closer to $40m. Monaco-based independent agent Pieter van Naeltwijck said transactions had fallen 25% since last year. But he said super-rich Russians were beginning to come back into the market, fuelling renewed demand.

• Chemin de Saint-Hospice, Cap Ferrat, South of France, $100,000 per sq/m

Less than 30 miles down the road from Avenue Princesse Grace, Chemin de Saint-Hospice is the second most expensive street in the world, where the top properties sell for $100,000 per sq/m. Chemin de Saint-Hospice snakes through Cap Ferrat with its 15 houses commanding beautiful Mediterranean views. Local estate agents say there is one property for sale on Chemin de Saint Hospice, but it is being sold privately and its price a closely guarded secret.

• Fifth Avenue, New York, $72,000 per sq/m

Fifth Avenue, New York City, has the most iconic status of all the streets on the list and retains third place this year. But prices on the best parts of Fifth Avenue have come off the boil in the past 12 months. A 400 sq/m apartment with terraces overlooking Central Park on the Upper East Side of Fifth Avenue sold for $29m in June. Local estate agents say the market has been affected by the lack of supply, with residents reluctant to sell because of perceived price discounts.

• Kensington Palace Gardens, London, $65,000 per sq/m

Kensington Palace Gardens, the private road that abuts Kensington Palace and houses several embassies, including the Russian delegation, is still the fourth most expensive street in the world. Prices on KPG, as estate agents call it, have come off no more than 15% to 20%. Two properties have been sold privately on KPG this year, according to estate agent Savills, which indicates demand is still strong for London’s most exclusive address.

• Avenue Montaigne, Paris, $54,000 per sq/m

Avenue Montaigne in the 8th arrondisement – which includes the Élysée Palace, official residence of President Nicolas Sarkozy, maintains its fifth place on Wealth Bulletin’s list, proving the eternal allure of Paris among the world’s wealthiest. Estate agents say there have been little changes in the prices paid for top properties on the street in the last year. The strong euro also makes the dollar prices for residential property in the city higher than they have been for some time. Avenue Montaigne is part of the city’s Golden Triangle, which includes the Avenue Champs-Elysees and Avenue Georges V.

• Via Suvretta, St Moritz, Switzerland, $45,000 per sq/m

The winding Via Suvretta in the exclusive ski resort of St Mortiz gets promoted to sixth place in this year’s survey and is the only street that saw prices rise by 18%. Expect to pay at least $45,000 per sq/m for a top-end property on Via Suvretta. Local agents reckon the rising prices are due to buoyant demand from the super wealthy looking to relocate to Switzerland, especially from countries, like the UK, where governments are increasing tax rates for the wealthy. Residential prices in the top neighbourhoods of Geneva and Zurich are also experiencing a mini price boom. The strong Swiss franc is also inflating dollar prices for property in Switzerland.

• Via Romazzino, Porto Cervo, Sardinia,$42,000 per sq/m

Via Romazzino makes this year’s list for the first time. Top prices on Italy’s most expensive street, in the exclusive resort of Porto Cervo, are at least $42,000 per sq/m. Holiday homes of many of Italy’s wealthiest individuals are located on the Via Romazzino, which is also popular with Russian billionaires. Alisher Usmanov, the Russian oligarch and owner of Arsenal football club, likes the street so much that he’s allegedly bought eight houses located on it, or near to it.

• Severn Road, The Peak, Hong Kong, $40,000 per sq/m

The Hong Kong residential property market is among the most volatile in the world – just how volatile was illustrated by the big falls in top-end property prices in the past year. Number two on last year’s list, with prices of $121,000 per sq/m, Severn Road has plummeted to $40,000 per sq/m. Local estate agents say the global recession has hit Hong Kong property hard and demand to top properties has fallen sharply since October last year.

• Ostozhenka Street, Moscow, $35,000 per sq/m

Ostozhenka Street falls to ninth position in this year’s survey, down from sixth place last year. Local estate agents say top properties on the street will achieve at least $35,000 a sq/m, but that’s down by around $5,000 from last year. Many of Russia’s wealthiest people have apartments on Ostozhenka, which makes up part of the city’s so-called Golden Mile.

• Wolseley Road, Point Piper, Australia, $28,000 per sq/m

Properties on Wolseley Road have maintained their value, due to the robustness of the Australian economy and the strength of the local currency. Local agents believe prices for the best properties remain high, but say the market has been affected by the lack of supply. Apart from last year’s sale of Craig-y-Mor, a non-waterfront house, for $32.4m, making it Australia’s most expensive residential property at the time, there have few sales of note on the street.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

A new report has revealed that Beijing has the maximum number of rich people in China. The latest Hurun Report on China’s wealthiest people said that there are 143,000 (yuan-)multimillionaires and 8,800 billionaires in Beijing. In Shanghai, there are 116,000 multimillionaires and 7,000 billionaires, reports the China Daily. The report also sheds light on how  the super-rich in Beijing want to live their lives. A wealthy Beijing resident for example would have to spend at least RMB87 million on property, cars and other luxury goods to get into the report’s good books.

They have at least three dwellings of their own, including a villa, like the 400-sq-m Ziyu Shanzhuang villa costing 24 million yuan, a luxury apartment in the downtown area for work purposes, and a Siheyuan courtyard house probably in Houhai. In terms of brands, the Hurun Report notes that Beijing’s rich prefer Cartier to Louis Vuitton.

“During the past several years, the complexion of the rich in China has changed in many aspects. Many of them say they want to be a sort of upper class, rather than only being rich,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and publisher of the Hurun Report. The Hurun Report also defined the upper class in five other cities: Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Shenyang. China has 825,000 individuals worth more than 10 million yuan and 51,000 individuals with more than 100 million yuan, according to the report. 1 Chinese yuan (RMB) = 0.146 U.S. dollars

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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The host of this champagne-fuelled bacchanal was Trevor Abrahmsohn, 55, managing director of Glentree Estates, a smooth-talking networker renowned as the billionaires’ estate agent, who brokered the sale. His guest of honour was Mikhail Gorbachev (they both support 31 leukaemia charities and have lost family to the disease). Speaking through an interpreter, Gorbachev delivered a moving speech but concluded: ‘Many Russians bring their money to your country. Be careful, they might buy everything!’ This was January 2008, when financial markets were showing signs of instability and house prices started to tumble. Yet the party-goers were still buying. Many super-rich foreigners pay in cash and they use offshore companies and anonymous agents to nail property deals. Royal Mansion was a case in point. Its new owner was ‘property mogul’ Hourieh Peramam who bought through a company registered in the British Virgin Islands. When she was 17, Peramam, now 77, fled Kazakhstan on foot for Iran, where she married a doctor and started her property empire. Two years ago she threw open her new home for the party accompanied by her son, an Iranian investor named Hossein Ghandehari, who owns several houses on the same street as the 28,000sq ft Royal Mansion (formerly Toprak Mansion but rather grandly renamed), and his 6ft wife Yassmin.

Foreign rulers and the international moneyed set have not been immune to the recession but recently they have returned to buy up London’s grandest properties at startling prices. ‘We’ve presided over the sale of £150 million worth of trophy properties over the past six months,’ Abrahmsohn says. ‘The oligarchs are back with a vengeance, because international markets have stabilised and the pound-dollar exchange rate is more favourable. The rate of sales is unheard of, even back in 2007, and for the first time we have a shortage of stock.’

New clients come through a network of lawyers, accountants and intermediaries. ‘I am really in the information business,’ says Abrahmsohn. ‘Before we buy and sell any property I gather intelligence. We work like an investment bank.’ Agents like him operate in what he calls ‘a nocturnal world’ where houses are not publicly advertised. ‘Sellers and buyers at the top end crave privacy and secrecy,’ he says, ‘so these properties are offmarket. We operate on a covert basis, nothing is in writing and there are no brochures. It is also known as the “grey market”.’ ‘London is a safe haven for them,’ says Jazmin Atkins, an expert on foreign buyers, who will join Prime Purchase, the property acquisition arm of Savills plc shortly, explaining the huge sums that change hands so readily. The tax laws are friendly, the government is stable, the banks compliant, the judiciary is fair and the city unobtrusive. They like the schools and security is paramount. They are prepared to pay a serious premium for a slice of the London lifestyle. It’s not just about the house.’

On the ‘grey market’ last month, a Middle Eastern buyer paid over £50 million for a house, and other London properties have recently been sold for £20 million each to a Nigerian, Russian and Ukrainian, while a home in Belgrave Square went for £68 million. In 2008, Lakshmi Mittal, the steel billionaire, bought a house on Kensington Palace Gardens for £117 million. And now the Chinese have arrived. A Chinese company, Fong Fun Investments, now owns a historic property in Belgrave Square and earlier this year Hong Kong businessman Joseph Lau paid £33 million for a six storey house on Eaton Square. Three months ago Abrahmsohn received a phone call from a different Chinese billionaire who wants a house in London for his family. Negotiations are ongoing.

The prices these buyers are prepared to pay are startling. In 2008 Brett Palos, stepson of Sir Philip Green and a former private equity boss, sold a house on Avenue Road in St John’s Wood which he had bought in 2006for £7 million. After renovation he expected to then double his money. But he received an offer of £36.2 million from Rinat Akhmetov, a Ukrainian metals billionaire. The deal was completed in September 2008 – at the height of the crunch. Another Ukrainian, metals magnate Andrey Doroshenko, followed suit just two months ago by purchasing the property developer Anthony Lyons’ townhouse on Lyndhurst Road, Hampstead, for an estimated £43 million. And Timur Kulibayev, Prince Andrew’s billionaire friend, and the son-in-law of Kazakhstan’s President Nazarbayev, spent more than £70 million on houses on Upper Grosvenor Street and Green Street, in Mayfair and Holland Park, as well as being linked to paying £15 million for Prince Andrew’s Sunninghill folly, notoriously £3 million more than the asking price.

The estate agent who has prospered most from this super-rich spree is Abrahmsohn. He was one of the agents who brokered the sale of Bernie Ecclestone’s home to Lakshmi Mittal on Kensington Palace Gardens for a record £57.1 million in 2004. His clients include the Saudi royal family, Gerald Ronson, Lebanese businessman Ely Calil, Sir Martin Sorrell, Brunei’s ruling family, Kazakhs and now Chinese billionaires. He also works for Richard Caring, who owns a house in Hampstead Garden Suburb, in the area where Abrahmsohn lives with I his wife Lisa, who runs the contemporary jewellery firm Trellis Jewellery, and his two daughters Lauren, 26, and Olivia, 22.

But when Abrahmsohn collects me for a tour of his North London fiefdom, he arrives in a Smart car. ‘I don’t like to be predictable,’ he shrugs. ‘I like to keep people offguard.’ Abrahmsohn is a classic salesman, charming and attentive but he’s also a cunning, tenacious and unconventional operator. He specialises in assessing potential clients psychologically as well as financially. ‘Death is not the end of the game,’he jokes about his approach to negotiations as we sweep through his terrain, from Kensington to The Bishops Avenue, some of whose houses he has sold several times. ‘This area is a honey pot to which the rich bees fly.’ In northwest London, Glentree International has a virtual monopoly, but in Kensington, Chelsea and Belgravia the market leader is Aylesford, which is in intense competition with Knight Frank and Savills. In Mayfair, Beauchamp Estates dominates the field.

A former dentist, Abrahmsohn was brought up in South Africa and started dealing in property deep in the recession of 1974. He set up shop in a bedroom of a hotel in Golders Green, without even a telephone. But he was bold, brash and his brochures were cheeky and colourful, full of extravagant promises. The tactic worked. He was retained by Greek tycoons who fled after the monarchy was overthrown by a military junta in 1974. He lost some clients – one, Aristos Constantinou, was shot dead by his wife while praying in the chapel of his house (the silver bullet remained embedded in the wall). But Abrahmsohn found the Greeks lucrative.Then came the oil-rich Saudi royals who paid vast amounts for houses such as Beechwood on Hampstead Heath, but preferred to allow their agent, or even their secretary or chauffeur, to conduct negotiations. After the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, exiled Iranians moved to London and Abrahmsohn was waiting for them (a very prominent Iranian property investor is Ghandehari, who paid £39.5 million for a house in September 2008).

In the early 1980s one Nigerian chief arrived in Abrahmsohn’s office announcing that he wanted to buy the whole of Winnington Road, Hampstead. After being told that not all the houses on the street were available, he settled for four, because his mistress needed looking after. By 1986, Glentree was making serious money and Abrahmsohn celebrated floating the company by driving to the Stock Exchange in a £150,000 Rolls-Royce Corniche convertible decorated with tinsel and balloons. The agency had increased 30 times in value in six months, and was valued at £65 million. It had become ‘a parable of Thatcherite enterprise’, said one commentator, and duly Lady Thatcher was a guest at Abrahmsohn’s house. The crash and consequent recession of the late 1980s that forced Glentree back into private ownership also brought dollar rich Far Eastern businessmen to town. One Bangladeshi wanted a house on The Bishops Avenue but Abrahmsohn told him: ‘You can’t stop at one. It’s like having one stamp in a collection.’ So he bought seven, over a traditional bowl of Bangladeshi rice pudding. In recent years it has been the Eastern Europeans. Russians choose his area because, says Abrahmsohn, ‘Northwest London properties remind them of their dachas just outside Moscow.

You can buy properties with three acres of land, 15 minutes from the centre of town. And owning a London home is a statement of their wealth and a way of parking their money.’ Many properties are rarely lived in. For 35 years Abrahmsohn has been acting for foreign billionaires and he has become wary of chancers and rogues. He used to represent Asil Nadir, former CEO of Polly Peck, who absconded to the Turkish republic of Cyprus after facing 66 charges of fraud amounting to £34 million in the early 1990s. His forensic vetting system now weeds out the conmen: ‘The key question is whether they have a UK solicitor and a UK bank. If they bank on some obscure island and protest about banking covenants, I become suspicious. My clients crave security and confidentiality and appreciate the need for vetting.’ Abrahmsohn’s negotiating technique is also legendary. ‘It’s a unique style,’ says Richan Caring. ‘He sort of creeps up on you. It’s about relationships. He knows the marketplace well. ‘He is pathologically tenacious,’ one rival told ES. ‘Yes,’ Abrahmsohn confirms. ‘The ninth “No” is a precursor to a “Yes”.’ Today, Abrahmsohn is busy researching the foibles of the newest super rich influx – the Chinese. He is informing himself of the idiosyncrasies, prejudices, eccentricities and negotiating styles. Because now that stock in short supply, prices for trophy houses will increase and it may be that soon only the Chinese will be able to afford them.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Welcome to Knightsbridge — or, as it is better known to locals, ‘Little Kuwait’. For British residents, the summer is all about anescape to the sun; a fortnight in the South of France, the Italian Riviera or Spain. We Brits want sand, sangria, heat and a swimming pool. Anywhere but the sticky, filthy city. For the mega-wealthy billionaire families of the Gulf states over here this summer will tell you that they come to London because, unlike in the U.S. or France, they are made to feel welcome,’ says Hussam Baramo, the Syria-born features editor at Al Quds newspaper, a daily paper widely-read by Middle Eastern people in London. ‘They like London because they think it’s safe and friendly.’

And here, they can bring their cars with them. Around the corner from Harrods, I saw one Veyron with every inch of its bodywork coated in gold; another, chromed all over. Behind it, I watched a Veyron in pearlised white with shiny chromium wings making a noise like a scalded Rottweiler. The Saudi number plate on this car was ‘999’. I watched the driver get out. He was around 25 and dressed like an off-duty Lewis Hamilton. I complimented him on his car and asked how he got it over to London. ‘In my plane,’ he said, grinning. The car was parked in a pay-and-display’ bay, but its driver did neither. The auto show continued with a Rolls-Royce Phantom customised with a stainless steel bonnet. The number plate on this car is simply ‘1’. Later that day I Googled this vehicle and discovered that a couple of years ago its Dubai-based owner paid £9 million for the registration number alone.

‘How do you go about writing tickets to these guys?’ I asked a traffic warden in Basil Street. ‘It’s impossible,’ he shrugs, showing me the computerised ticket machine he wears around his neck. ‘My machine only has numbers and letters on it. Their number plates are just . . .’ He tailed off, struggling for the right word. ‘Squiggles?’ I suggested. ‘Yes. There are no keys on my machine for those.’ Last week, the wardens seemed to arrive at a solution to the problem of ticketing cars with squiggles for number plates; they started clamping them instead. Early victims were a£1.2 million Koenigsegg CCXR (one of only six ever made) and a £350,000 Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce which were illegally parked outside Harrods. But the traffic wardens aren’t the only ones ruffled by the fleet of supercars flooding the area.

Residents living near the Knightsbridge store say their night-time peace is being shattered by the owners racing their sports cars through the streets, describing it as being ‘like the starting grid at Le Mans’. They have now forged a campaign group and aired their grievances to Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, claiming that police and council have failed to act. Some of the Middle Eastern visitors keep summer-houses in London — there are said to be more than 100 billionaire Saudi families with second homes in the Knightsbridge area alone— while others prefer out-of-town locations such as Bishops Avenue in North London (also known as ‘Millionaires Row’), Coombe Hill in Kingston and St George’s Hill in Weybridge, Surrey.

Next summer, many of them will take up residence at the new Knightsbridge development One Hyde Park that occupies a plum position opposite Harvey Nichols and next to the Mandarin Oriental hotel, where appartments cost up to £100 million. Here, Arab summertime residents will be able to enjoy the super-luxe environment of heated floors and chilled ceilings, personalised entry systems that can include six levels of access, and a secure underground car park for their Rolls-Royces and Ferraris.

Eyecatching: The £1.2m Koenigsegg and £350,000 Lamborghini clamped outside Harrods

‘Our Middle Eastern customers are usually looking for flats with between three to five bedrooms and a 24-hour porter service, usually with a view of Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens,’ says Paul Hyman, sales manager at Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward’s Bayswater branch. ‘Properties of this type are hard to come by, but wealthy Arab businessmen can generally pay over the asking price.’ During August, whole floors of hotels around Hyde Park are block-booked for Middle Eastern oligarchs, while staff up their game by flying in topnotch Arabic entertainers for private shows in the biggest suites, adapting restaurant menus and parking the guests’ flashest cars out in front.

During the days, the men sleep in, while the women have their drivers drop them in Hyde Park where they walk in giggly groups, stopping to soak up the coolness and cloudy skies on the benches or lying on the grass in large circles with their friends. To them, London is a welcome vacation from the restrictive, repetitive, stultifyingly predictable drudge of blandly luxurious life back home. Many of the younger, more frustrated Saudi girls strip themselves free of the restrictive burka altogether, whooping and shrieking with delight as they change into tight jeans and vertiginous heels on the plane, as soon as Gulf state airspace is cleared.

Once in London, the girls go round either in large groups or chaperoned by Mum, who is normally clad in a headscarf and big shades — think Joan Collins does Jumierah Beach (one of the most exclusive resorts in Dubai). The boys like to sit outside Knightsbridge cafes all gussied up in Arabpreppy finery, two or three mobile phones each, keys to Ferraris and Lamborghinis chucked down next to their napkins. The young females from the more liberated countries, such as Bahrain and Dubai, are dolled up like big-eyed, honey-skinned Jennifer Lopez lookalikes. The girls who choose to keep wearing their burkas — mostly Saudi Arabians — I am told often sport the kind of make-up that hasn’t been in fashion in the West since the end of the silent movie era. Bright red lipstick, generous helpings of cranberry rouge, eyes kohl-lined in the style of Dusty Springfield.

A spokesperson for luxury concierge service Quintessentially says: ‘About 20 per cent of our clients are from the Middle East. ‘One member requested Quintessentially Travel arrange a weekend break to Ibiza on a private jet, with a fully chartered yacht waiting for their use. Another wanted a personal shopping experience requesting that two designer stores be closed for their private viewing.’ Many others prefer to shop at home. ‘During August, we will often be asked to take a selection of our most expensive diamond necklaces, rings and bracelets to a suite at a hotel in Knightsbridge,’ says jeweller Stephen Webster, whose shop is on Mount Street, in nearby Mayfair.

‘Arab customers like to shop late, but our store isn’t permitted to have late-night opening . . . so we are happy to take the store to them.’ Another famous London jeweller, who would not be named, said: ‘They like big pieces and coloured stones. The sums they are prepared to pay for them are incredible. It is not unusual for Middle Eastern customers to spend £20 million in a single visit.’ When they are not shopping or tearing around in their cars, the Arab billionaires go to the Derby, Royal Ascot and the Berkshire Festival of Falconry, sponsored by the Abu Dhabi based Emirates Falconers’ Club and attended by His Highness Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.

Of course, London — especially during these credit-crunched times — falls over itself to court Arab business. Middle-Eastern shoppers are expected to spend £250 million in London this summer, an increase of 11 per cent on last year. When the people at Harvey Nichols discovered that the amount of money Middle Eastern people in London were spending was rising so dramatically, the department store decided to start using Arabic advertisements in-store. Summer opening hours were extended to 9pm all week, and all cafe menus were modified to include Arabic translations and a Halal food offering.

Harvey Nichols’ Fifth Floor food hall now even offers a smoking terrace for customers that comes with the shisha pipes so beloved of Middle Eastern people. One Harvey Nichols advert showed a picture of a single Lanvin shoe. The words, written in Arabic, read, ‘The English are known for having bad teeth, that is why they need beautiful shoes’. It doesn’t matter. Very few Londoners can read Arabic, and very few Middle Eastern people fraternise with British people anyway. They’re just here for August, then they disappear, like ghosts.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Source: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/

Trevor Abrahamson, of estate agent Glentree Estates, said: “This is a huge price but it’s not surprising. In the last six months we have sold more trophy properties than we have in the last two years. One minute there was an over supply and then there was a shortage. Prices are high. “London has recovered much better than other prime markets around the world. It draws buyers from the most eclectic range of destinations and it will always be seen as the capital of capitals financially and culturally.” One Hyde Park, next door to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, features more than 80 flats in four linked towers designed by architect Lord Rogers.

The complex includes spas, squash courts and a private wine-tasting facility. Everyone on site will have access to a private underground passage to the hotel and 24-hour room service from the hotel, where Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal is opening his first London restaurant. It is understood that SAS-trained guards and iris scanners provide extra security to the apartments, which are due to be completed in October. Surrey-born property tycoons, brothers Christian and Nick Candy, manage the development through their company Candy & Candy. Christian Candy’s CPC Group bought the One Hyde Park site for £150 million in 2004. It used to be occupied by a rundown Fifties office block called Bowater House.

The highest proportion of buyers of the flats so far are from Europe, making up a third of all buyers. A quarter of buyers are Middle Eastern. The average price of a flat is £20 million. Once One Hyde Park is completed and all the buyers have paid up, the whole block will be one of the most expensive residential locations in the world. Houses rather than flats tend to achieve the highest prices in London. Lakshmi Mittal bought his first property in Kensington Park Gardens in 2004 for around £60 million but is now worth over £150 million. Next to London, the most expensive flats are to be found in New York, where before the 2007 crash a triplex penthouse in The Pierre hotel, overlooking Fifth Avenue and Central Park, was on the market for $70 million.

Asia’s most expensive apartment was sold in June 2008 for $28.8 million, an 80th floor penthouse minutes from Hong Kong’s central business district. In Sydney a penthouse with views of the harbour and Opera House sold for 20 million US dollars.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Mark Skipp, a former SAS officer, oversees Abramovich’s protection and recently hired a new City security firm, Fusion. Like many of the super-rich, Abramovich, who split from his wife Irina this year, is said to enjoy the cachet of being protected by former SAS soldiers. “He loves having them around and does not mind that they charge a premium,” said a source close to the Chelsea owner.

Russian exiles have always feared that the Kremlin would try to silence them, wherever they were living and the fears are growing. The tycoon is said to have 10 bodyguards based at his home in Belgravia, London, and his country estate in Sussex. Another three are based at his Knightsbridge apartment. Outside the UK, the billionaire’s security is even tighter. In the south of France, he has a team of four armed operatives who carry 9mm Glock pistols while guarding his vast villa. Another six protect his three yachts. One of his yachts, the Pelorus, is fitted with bullet-proof glass and a missile detection system. If there is a threat, Abramovich can choose between a helicopter and private submarine in which to escape. It is in Russia that Abramovich probably feels most threatened. During his business trips, he uses Russian-trained troops, including serving soldiers, for protection. Boris Berezovsky, another Russian businessman living in London, survived an assassination attempt in Moscow in 1994. His car was blown up and his driver killed in the attempt on his life.

Abramovich has always been one of the best-guarded businessmen in the country. Soon after buying Chelsea in 2003, his UK company Millhouse Capital, which manages his assets, hired Kroll Security International to provide bodyguards and close protection for himself and his family. A threat assessment stated the Russian billionaire was most vulnerable after Chelsea’s matches, when his car could get caught in traffic. Although his convoy of cars is armour-plated and his drivers specially trained to deal with assassination attacks, it was recommended that he travelled by air instead. Kroll commissioned Skipp to manage the security contract and in 2004 he joined Abramovich’s private asset management company on a £200,000-a-year salary. David Beckham has three bodyguards and a martial arts specialist, while the American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez has hired former CIA and FBI agents.

The annual security budget of Eric Schmidt, the Google chief executive, is £266,000. However, Larry Ellison, the billionaire head of Oracle, the American software giant, almost matches Abramovich’s spending on security – with an annual outlay of £900,000 on gates, guns and guards. Some celebrities are seen out with a significantly bigger number of bodyguards than Abramovich, but they are often untrained. One security expert said: “50 Cent [the American rapper] has lots of really big guys with him, sometimes more than 30, but often they’re just his friends.” A spokesman for Abramovich said: “Mr Abramovich’s personal security is not something we would comment about.”

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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McLaren has confirmed its flagship London dealership will be based at One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge. Strategically located between Harvey Nichols and Harrods, the landmark development is due to be completed at the end of the year. Jardine Motors Group, McLaren Automotive’s London dealer, has secured the largest ground floor retail unit for a high-profile showroom.

It is planned to open in early 2011, prior to the spring launch of the MP4-12C, the first in McLaren Automotive’s new range of high-performance sports cars. Since the launch of McLaren Automotive in March 2010, more than 2700 potential customers have shown interest in the company’s first sport car, which will cost upwards of £125,000. McLaren London is anticipated to be McLaren Automotive’s leading European retailer and, potentially, the busiest in the global network

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

This Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe is reported to be owned by the Sultan of Brunei’s family.

The Sultan has a sizable private fortune derived from his total control over the national economy’s finances and the appropriation of the state’s sizeable oil revenues to bankroll his extravagant lifestyle.

The Sultan’s fortunes, in line with oil prices, have fluctuated since an estimated high of $55.63 billion in 1997, which made him the richest man in the world at the time.

Sultan of Brunei’s family is reported to own around 5000 vehicles that are all logged into a central computer system. If not driven by immediate members of the family, then they are used by government officials and members of the royal household.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Hassanal Bolkiah

The Sultan of Brunei’s collection of over 7,000 cars includes some of the fastest, most expensive and rarest motors on the planet.

According to the Daily Mirror, he owns 604 Rolls Royces, 574 Mercedes-Benzes, 452 Ferraris, 382 Bentleys, 209 BMWs, 179 Jaguars, 134 Koenigseggs, 21 Lamborghinis, 11 Aston Martins, and 1 SSC.

The complete collection is stored and serviced in five secret aircraft hangars, where specialist teams from the various manufacturers maintain it.

Total price of the collection containing 7,000 high performance cars is $ 5,000,000,000.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a bespoke service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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List of Swiss Banks

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.  www.perfect-knowledge.com

1. AAM Privatbank AG
2. Aareal Bank AG, Wiesbaden, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
3. Aargauische Kantonalbank
4. ABN Amro Bank (Schweiz)
5. ABN AMRO Bank N.V., Amsterdam, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
6. Adler & Co. Privatbank AG
7. AEK BANK
8. AIG Privat Bank AG
9. AKB Privatbank Zürich AG
10. Alpha RHEINTAL Bank AG
11. Alternative Bank ABS
12. AP ANLAGE & PRIVATBANK AG
13. Appenzeller Kantonalbank
14. Arab Bank (Switzerland) Ltd.
15. ARVEST Privatbank AG
16. ASTON BANK SA
17. Atlantic Vermögensverwaltungsbank
18. AXA Bank Europe, Brüssel, Zweigniederlassung Winterthur
19. Baloise Bank SoBa
20. Banca Aletti & C. (Suisse) SA
21. BANCA ARNER SA
22. Banca Commerciale Lugano
23. BANCA CREDINVEST SA
24. Banca del Ceresio SA
25. Banca del Sempione
26. Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino
27. Banca Euromobiliare (Suisse) SA
28. BANCA GESFID
29. Banca Intermobiliare di Investimenti e Gestioni (Suisse) SA
30. Banca Popolare di Sondrio (Suisse) SA
31. Banca Privata Edmond de Rothschild Lugano SA
32. BANCA ZARATTINI & CO. SA
33. Banco Santander (Suisse) SA
34. Bank aek Genossenschaft
35. Bank am Bellevue
36. Bank CA St. Gallen AG
37. Bank CIC (Schweiz) AG
38. Bank Coop AG
39. Bank EEK AG
40. Bank EKI Genossenschaft
41. Bank Frey & Co. AG
42. Bank für Tirol und Vorarlberg Aktiengesellschaft, Innsbruck, Zweigniederlassung Staad
43. Bank Hapoalim (Switzerland) Ltd
44. Bank Hugo Kahn & Co. AG
45. Bank in Zuzwil
46. Julius Bär & Co. AG
47. Bank Leumi (Schweiz) AG
48. Bank Linth LLB AG
49. Bank Morgan Stanley AG
50. Bank of China (Suisse) SA
51. Bank Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. (Schweiz) AG
52. Bank Sarasin & Cie AG
53. Bank Sparhafen Zürich AG
54. Bank Thalwil
55. Bank Thur
56. Bank Vontobel AG
57. bank zweiplus ag
58. Bank-now AG
59. Bankhaus Jungholz
60. BankMed (Suisse) SA
61. Banque Algérienne du Commerce Extérieur SA
62. Banque Amas (Suisse) SA
63. Banque Audi (Suisse) SA
64. Banque Baring Brothers Sturdza SA
65. Banque Bauer (Suisse) SA
66. Banque Bénédict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA
67. Banque Bonhôte & Cie SA
68. Banque Cantonale de Fribourg
69. Banque Cantonale de Genève
70. Banque Cantonale du Jura
71. Banque Cantonale du Valais
72. Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise
73. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise
74. Banque Cramer & Cie SA
75. Banque de Commerce et de Placements SA
76. Banque de Crédit et de Dépôts SA, Bankred
77. Banque de Dépôts et de Gestion
78. Banque de Patrimoines Privés Genève BPG SA
79. Banque Du Bois AG
80. Banque Franck, Galland & Cie SA
81. BANQUE HERITAGE
82. Banque Internationale de Commerce – BRED, Paris, succursale de Genève
83. Banque Jacob Safra (Suisse) SA
84. Banque Jura Laufon
85. BANQUE MORVAL
86. Banque Pasche SA
87. Banque Piguet & Cie SA
88. Banque Privée BCP (Suisse) SA
89. Privée Edmond de Rothschild SA
90. Banque Privée Espirito Santo SA
91. Banque Safdié SA
92. Banque SCS Alliance SA
93. Banque Syz & Co SA
94. Banque Thaler SA
95. Banque Vontobel Genève SA
96. Bantleon Bank AG
97. Barclays Bank (Suisse) SA
98. Barclays Bank PLC, Londres, Succursale de Genève
99. Barclays Capital, Zurich Branch of Barclays Bank PLC, London
100. Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank
101. Basler Kantonalbank
102. Baumann & Cie
103. Bayerische Hypo- und Vereinsbank Aktiengesellschaft, München, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
104. BBO Bank Brienz Oberhasli AG
105. BBVA (Suiza) SA
106. Bearbull Degroof Banque Privée SA
107. BERENBERG BANK (SCHWEIZ) AG
108. Berner Kantonalbank AG
109. Bernerland Bank AG
110. Bezirks-Sparkasse Dielsdorf
111. Bezirkssparkasse Uster
112. BGG, Banque Genevoise de Gestion
113. BHF-BANK (Schweiz) AG
114. Biene – Bank im Rheintal Genossenschaft
115. BIPIELLE Bank (Suisse)
116. BLOM BANK (Switzerland) SA
117. BNP Paribas (Suisse) SA
118. BNP PARIBAS SECURITIES SERVICES, Paris, Succursale de Zurich
119. Bordier & Cie
120. BS Bank Schaffhausen
121. BSI SA
122. Burgergemeinde Bern, DC Bank, Deposito-Cassa der Stadt Bern
123. Burgerliche Ersparniskasse Bern
124. BZ Bank Aktiengesellschaft
125. C.I.M. Banque
126. Caisse d’Epargne d’Aubonne
127. Caisse d’Epargne de Cossonay société coopérative
128. Caisse d’Epargne de la Ville de Fribourg
129. Caisse d’Epargne de Nyon société coopérative
130. Caisse d’Epargne de Siviriez
131. Caisse d’épargne de Vuisternens-devant- Romont
132. Caisse d’Epargne du district de Courtelary
133. Caisse d’Epargne et de Crédit Mutuel de Chermignon
134. Caisse d’Epargne Riviera, société coopérative
135. Caja de Ahorros de Galicia, La Corogne, succursale de Genève
136. Citibank (Switzerland)
137. [Citibank], N.A., Las Vegas, Zurich Branch
138. Citibank, NA, Las Vegas, Succursale de Genève
139. Clariden Leu AG
140. Clientis AG
141. Clientis Bank Huttwil AG
142. Clientis Bank im Thal AG
143. Clientis Bank Küttigen-Erlinsbach AG
144. Clientis Bank Leerau Genossenschaft
145. Clientis Bank Oberuzwil AG
146. Clientis Bank Toggenburg AG
147. Clientis EB Entlebucher Bank AG
148. Clientis Triba Partner Bank AG
149. Commerzbank (Schweiz) AG
150. Cornèr Banca SA
151. Crédit Agricole (Suisse) SA
152. Crédit Agricole Financements (Suisse) SA
153. Credit Europe Bank (Suisse) SA
154. CREDIT MUTUEL DE LA VALLEE SA
155. Credit Suisse
156. Credito Privato Commerciale SA
157. Deka(Swiss) Privatbank AG
158. Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA
159. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt a.M., Zweigniederlassung Zürich
160. Dexia Privatbank (Schweiz) AG
161. Dominick Company AG
162. Dresdner Bank (Schweiz) AG
163. Dresdner Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
164. Dreyfus Söhne & Cie. Aktiengesellschaft, Banquiers
165. Dynagest SA
166. DZ PRIVATBANK (Schweiz) AG
167. E. Gutzwiller & Cie. Banquiers
168. EFG Bank
169. EFG Bank European Financial Group SA
170. Entris Banking AG
171. Ersparniskasse Affoltern i.E. AG
172. Ersparniskasse Rüeggisberg
173. Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen AG
174. Ersparniskasse Speicher
175. F. van Lanschot Bankiers (Schweiz) AG
176. FAISAL PRIVATE BANK (Switzerland) SA
177. FCE Bank plc, Brentwood, Zweigniederlassung Schweiz
178. FIBI Bank (Schweiz) AG
179. FIDEURAM Bank (Suisse) SA
180. Finter Bank Zürich
181. FMCC Finance, Zweigniederlassung Wallisellen der VOLVO Auto Bank Deutschland GmbH, Köln
182. Fortis Banque (Suisse) SA
183. Fortis Banque, SA/NV, Bruxelles, Succursale de Zurich
184. Freie Gemeinschaftsbank
185. GE Money Bank AG
186. Glarner Kantonalbank
187. Goldman Sachs Bank AG
188. Gonet & Cie
189. Graubündner Kantonalbank
190. GRB Glarner Regionalbank
191. Habib Bank AG Zurich
192. Habibsons Bank Limited, London, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
193. Hottinger & Compagnie
194. HSBC Guyerzeller Bank AG
195. HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA
196. HYPOSWISS Privatbank AG
197. Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève SA
198. Hypothekarbank Lenzburg
199. IDB (Swiss) Bank Ltd
200. InCore Bank AG
201. ING Bank (Suisse) SA
202. ING Bank N.V., Amsterdam, Zurich Branch
203. ING Belgique, Bruxelles, succursale de Genève
204. Investec Bank (Switzerland) AG
205. Isbank GmbH, Frankfurt am Main (D), Zweigniederlassung Zürich
206. J&T Bank Schweiz AG
207. J.P. Morgan (Suisse) SA
208. JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association, Columbus, Succursale de Zurich
209. Jyske Bank (Schweiz)
210. Kaupthing Bank Luxembourg S.A., Luxembourg, succursale de Genève
211. KBL (SWITZERLAND) LTD
212. La Roche & Co.
213. Landolt & Cie, banquiers
214. LB (Swiss) Privatbank AG
215. LBBW (Schweiz) AG
216. Leihkasse Stammheim
217. LGT Bank (Schweiz) AG
218. Liechtensteinische Landesbank (Schweiz) AG
219. Lienhardt & Partner Privatbank Zürich AG
220. Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, London, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
221. Lloyds TSB Bank Plc, Londres, succursale de Genève
222. Lombard, Odier, Darier, Hentsch & Cie
223. Luzerner Kantonalbank AG
224. M. M. Warburg Bank (Schweiz) AG
225. Maerki Baumann & Co AG
226. MediBank
227. Mercantil Bank (Schweiz) AG
228. Merrill Lynch Bank (Suisse) SA
229. Merrill Lynch Capital Markets AG
230. Migros Bank
231. Mirabaud & Cie
232. Mitsubishi UFJ Wealth Management Bank (Switzerland), Ltd.
233. Mizuho Bank (Schweiz) AG
234. Mizuho International plc, London, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
235. Mourgue d’Algue & Cie
236. NBAD Private Bank (Suisse) SA
237. NBK Banque Privée (Suisse) SA
238. Neue Aargauer Bank
239. Nidwaldner Kantonalbank
240. Nomura Bank (Schweiz) AG
241. Nordea Bank S.A., Luxemburg, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
242. Nordkap Bank AG
243. NPB Neue Privat Bank AG
244. Neue Zürcher Bank AG
245. Obersimmentalische Volksbank
246. Obwaldner Kantonalbank
247. P&P Private Bank AG
248. Petercam Private Bank (Switzerland) SA
249. Pictet et Cie
250. PKB PRIVATBANK SA
251. Privatbank Bellerive AG
252. Privatbank IHAG Zürich AG
253. Privatbank Von Graffenried AG
254. Private Client Bank
255. Private Client Partners
256. Rahn & Bodmer
257. Raiffeisen Schweiz Genossenschaft
258. RAS Private Bank (Suisse) SA
259. RBC Dexia Investor Services Bank S.A., Esch-sur-Alzette, succursale de Zurich
260. RBS Coutts Bank AG
261. Regiobank Männedorf AG
262. Regiobank Solothurn AG
263. Reichmuth & Co
264. Rosbank (Switzerland) SA
265. Rothschild Bank AG
266. Royal Bank of Canada (Suisse)
267. Rüd, Blass & Cie AG Bankgeschäft
268. Russische Kommerzial Bank AG
269. SANPAOLO BANK (SUISSE) SA
270. Saxo Bank (Switzerland) SA
271. SB Saanen Bank AG
272. Schaffhauser Kantonalbank
273. Schroder & Co Bank AG
274. Schwyzer Kantonalbank
275. Privatbank AG
276. Sella Bank AG
277. SG Private Banking (Lugano-Svizzera) SA
278. SG Private Banking (Suisse) SA
279. SIX SIS AG
280. SIX x-clear AG
281. Skandifinanz Bank AG
282. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken SA, Luxembourg, Geneva Branch
283. SLB Commercial Bank
284. Società Bancaria Ticinese
285. SOCIETE BANCAIRE PRIVEE SA
286. Société Générale, Paris, Succursale de Zurich
287. Spar + Leihkasse Gürbetal
288. Spar + Leihkasse Münsingen AG
289. Spar + Leihkasse Steffisburg
290. Spar- und Leihkasse Bucheggberg AG
291. Spar- und Leihkasse Frutigen
292. Spar- und Leihkasse Leuk und Umgebung
293. Spar- und Leihkasse Riggisberg
294. Spar- und Leihkasse Thayngen AG
295. Spar- und Leihkasse Wynigen
296. Sparcassa 1816 Gen.
297. Sparkasse Engelberg
298. Sparkasse Horgen AG
299. Sparkasse Küsnacht ZH
300. Sparkasse Oftringen
301. Sparkasse Schwyz AG
302. Sparkasse Sense
303. Sparkasse Trogen
304. Sparkasse Wiesendangen
305. Zürcher Oberland
306. St. Galler Kantonalbank
307. Standard Chartered Bank (Switzerland) SA
308. State Street Bank GmbH, München, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
309. Svenska Handelsbanken SA, Luxemburg, Zweigniederlassung Zürich
310. [Swissquote Bank Swissquote Bank]
311. swissregiobank AG
312. Sydbank (Schweiz) AG
313. Thurgauer Kantonalbank
314. Trafina Privatbank AG
315. UBS AG
316. UBS Limited, London, Zweigniederlassung Schweiz, Opfikon
317. UniCredit (Suisse) Bank SA
318. Union Bancaire Privée, UBP
319. United Bank AG (Zürich)
320. UNITED MIZRAHI BANK (Schweiz) AG]
321. Urner Kantonalbank
322. Vadian Bank AG
323. Valartis Bank AG
324. Valiant Bank AG
325. Valiant Privatbank AG
326. Volksbank Bodensee AG
327. Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank Aktiengesellschaft, Bregenz, Zweigniederlassung St. Gallen
328. VP Bank (Schweiz) AG
329. Depotbank AG
330. Wegelin & Co. Privatbankiers Gesellschafter Bruderer, Hummler, Tolle & Co.
331. WIR Bank
332. ZLB Zürcher Landbank
333. Zuger Kantonalbank
334. Zürcher Kantonalbank

Zhen Low – the younger brother of big-spending Malaysian billionaire Jho Low – squared off against Winston Fisher of the prominent New York real-estate family Thursday night at Les Caves du Roy nightclub in St. Tropez.

The bill? A staggering 2 million euros, or $2.6 million, according to an announcement made at the club.

Guests included Paris Hilton, the socialite, who helped the cherubic Jho celebrate his 28th birthday with a four-day party in Las Vegas last year.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a bespoke service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

The Hurun Report released the names of the Top Two Richest Individuals from the 2009 Hurun Rich List, a ranking of the 1000 richest individuals in China.

Wang Chuanfu of BYD is the richest man in China with wealth of US$5.1 billion, followed by Zhang Yin of Nine Dragons Paper with wealth of US$4.9 billion. The number of known US Dollar billionaires in China has grown to 130, up from 101 in 2008. The full list is to be released later in October.

“It seems ironic to me that China’s richest person could come from the car industry, especially considering the crisis this industry is facing across the world,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and compiler of the Hurun Rich List.

“Wang Chuanfu is leading the foray into the next generation of cars using clean technology.”

43-year old Wang Chuanfu saw his wealth shoot up five-fold to take top spot on the 2009 Hurun Rich List with wealth of US$ 5.1 billion.

Last year Wang was ranked 103 with wealth of US$880 million. Wang’s 27.8% of HK-listed BYD hit the big-time shortly after Warren Buffett bought 10% of the company one year ago.

BYD is highly regarded for its technology and innovation, and is considered a leader of the new generation of “green cars”.

Zhang Yin, the first woman to take top spot on the 2006 Hurun Rich List, has seen her stock double over the past year.

The ‘Paper Queen’ owns 72.25% of HK-listed Nine Dragons Paper together with husband Liu Mingzhong and brother Zhang Chengfei.

Nine Dragons Paper imports recycled paper and processes it into packaging and paper materials primarily targeted at China’s export industry.

“I estimate there to be the same number again of US Dollar billionaires that we have not yet found,” says Rupert Hoogewerf, founder and compiler of the Hurun Rich List.

The cut-off date for valuation of listed companies was 15 September 2009. The exchange rate used for US$ was RMB 6.8. The Hurun Rich List relates to Mainland Chinese only, defined as someone born and brought up in Mainland China, no matter what passport they might hold today.

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a private fixer service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

www.perfect-knowledge.com

Perfect Knowledge Ltd

Of all the services available to the super-rich, that which is uttered by a Private Fixer of www.perfect-knowledge.com is perhaps the most intriguing. Even the job title carries an aura of mystery. I am reminded of the John Travolta character in the movie Pulp Fiction, or a Philip Marlowe-like figure skulking about in the shadows in classic film noir. But there is no cigar or bowler hat in sight as Ifzaal Khan, an articulate and charismatic thirty-something, settles in front of me in a luxury hotel in Chelsea.

“My clients are high net worth individuals,” explains Khan, from Perfect Knowledge Ltd “Mostly CEOs. MDs, titles and aristocracy. Yes, I look after a few celebrities too, but they tend to be too high profile, so normally I deal with people from the international high society. Most are English, but some are American, Arab, Russian, and a few are Asian. Many are not even listed in the Sunday Times Rich lists because they might have most of their money held in trusts or assets. They come to me because I’m not part of their staff, I’m on the outside, and they may not want their staff to know everything. They could just be visiting for three or four weeks, and there are often financial incentives in asking an outsider to do things.”

Khan explains that his job is part of a long tradition of private secretaries, PAs and courtiers, but it is not a concierge service. So what does a Private Fixer actually do? “It depends on what a client wants, really,” says Khan. “For example, I might help somebody source and buy a properties off market. One person asked me to find him an off-market property for £20 million, and I knew somebody who wanted to sell, so I liaised between the two. Another asked me to find a £4 million house in Chelsea for his daughter. Somebody has also asked me to set up a property company, so I’m currently in the process of doing that, Commercial property is where the money is, so I’ve been trying to get more involved in that and it’s really taken off in the last few months.”

Private Billion Execution

The job isn’t only to do with property though; it also involves providing a personal courier service. Khan relays this wonderful anecdote: “A client left his rare 1930s £200,000 Rolex in the penthouse of a five star hotel in London, It had been in his wife’s family for generations and she had given it to him, so it had sentimental value. He asked me to pick it up and take it to Luton Airport. When I got there, I was directed to Harrods Aviation, which is a private aviation service for businesses. As! arrived, I was told to board a plane and was flown to Geneva, where a chauffer-drivcn car ‘vas wailing to take me to the client’s house. There I had dinner with him and handed over the watch personally.” So, not just a typical day in the office then.

Other jobs have involved picking up several expensive pieces of jewellery and watches to be repaired at Harrods; establishing a finance company; setting up a warehouse from scratch for a client who wanted to store high value goods; negotiating with yacht brokers, and chaperoning an extremely rich hut ill client to see her sister. “One gentleman has asked me to sell three Picassos. which he doesn’t want to do through the auction houses. I don’t know anything about art,” smiles Khan, “but I’m a fast learner.”

Khan offers these services through his Chelsea-based company, www.perfect-knowledge.com which he set up over a year and a half ago. Asked how long he has been a fixer for, he says mischievously, “Since I was 16 and growing up in Oxford. I was always fixing things for people — whether fellow students or visiting aunties.” Before setting up his company, he researched the job for two years and built up an enormous contacts book. Having a clear vision of what you want to achieve is imperative, he says, as preparation met with opportunity is the key to success.

Khan works with six colleagues, who between them are based in London. Oxford, Geneva and Dubai. They are all childhood friends whom he trusts implicitly. “I would never reveal my clients’ names, not even to family or friends, and as each person is given a unique code even my colleagues don’t find out who they are. Privacy, confidentiality and discretion are key to this job. Many of my clients came to me via word of mouth recommendations, a few I approached myself when circumstances were right. It takes a long time to build up trust. We don’t want people selling stories to the papers.”

Other qualities needed for a job like this are diplomacy, the ability to get on with a wide range of people and, as Khan puts it, “Knowing when to listen and when to talk, These are highly successful individuals who know the industry they’re working in inside out. They don’t want unsolicited advice.” Indeed so important is the client-fixer relationship that Khan. who combines a deep knowledge of the super-rich lifestyle with street savvy and common sense, says he’s turned down projects from those who he believes would be demanding and make his job difficult in the long run.

So whether accompanying multi-millionaires to top venues like Cipriani’s, Scott’s, Mark’s Club, or Harry’s Bar — or indeed ‘summer season’ events like Ascot or Wimbledon – there is plenty of variety. “I juggle many things, sometimes working up to 20 hours a day, and I admit the job encroaches on my private life,” says Khan, who previously worked at the Home Office for seven years, “but I could never work nine to five again. This is a unique job in a small. niche market. It brings me lots of opportunities. .~ and I’m always learning something new. No two days are ever the same.”

AWMAGAZINE 2010
Email: Pr@perfect-knowledge.com

www.perfect-knowledge.com

The new tribe of Indian billionaires has its capital in London. Clive Aslet profiles 20 of these Bollygarchs who love nothing more than prime Kensington property and weekends in the country

1. LAKSHMI MITTAL   $28.7bn
Lakshmi Mittal does not court publicity, but neither – being among the handful of richest people on the planet – can he escape it. Born into a business family from the Indian state of Rajasthan in 1950, he founded the Mittal Steel Company in 1976, and it’s now the largest steelmaker in the world. Mittal’s $28.7bn fortune makes him not only the richest man in the UK but in Europe. His London house in Kensington Palace Gardens is nothing short of a palace, setting a property record when it was bought for £70m in 2003.

2. SRICHAND AND GOPICHAND HINDUJA   $12.4bn
There are four Hinduja brothers, two of them, Srichand and Gopichand, based in London. They moved here in 1979, to develop their father’s trading business. They are now the second richest Asians in Britain, after Lakshmi Mittal, with 25,000 people employed by the Hinduja Group round the world. Extremely retiring, they have given little away about their personal lives, beyond the contribution that they have made to the building of two Hindu temples in the south-east, not to mention the £1.5m that they contributed to the Millennium Dome. Their home is in Carlton House Terrace.

3. SUNIL MITTAL   $12bn
The son of a politician, 52-year-old Sunil Mittal began his business life, after Punjab University, as a bicycle parts dealer in New Delhi. His Bharti Group is now the largest mobile phone operator in India, with over 121m subscribers. He is also reorganising the way India shops through a joint venture with WalMart. The Times of India puts his net worth at $12bn.

Born on 23 October, Mittal was also married on the 23rd of the month and has made 23 his lucky number. His wife is an Indian from Scotland. Five years ago, he said he might retire at 50 but this has not happened. Instead he travels constantly, coming to London, like many of the Indian community, in late Spring and early summer.

3. SHASHI AND RAVI RUIA   $12bn
Later this year, JP Morgan Cazenove are said to be floating the shipping, steel, oil and gas, and telecoms group, Essar Holdings, on the London stock market for over £5bn. With that in mind, Shashi and Ravi Ruia, recently bought a home in Mayfair. As Essar Chairman Shashi Ruia recently joked: “I am not just an MBA, but also an MBB (Marwari by birth).” Many successful Indians in business are either Marwaris, who originate from around Jodphur, or Parsis, a Zoroastrian community distantly descended from Persians. In 2007, the Ruias were listed for the first time as one of India’s ten richest families, with a net worth of $12bn.

5. SAVITRI JINDAL   $12.2bn
Savitri Jindal is the richest woman in India, with a net worth of $12.2bn. A widow with nine children, she became non-executive chair of the Jindal Organisation on her late husband’s death in a helicopter crash in 2005. Om Prakash Jindal (known as O.P), the son of a farmer, started his career making buckets and pipes in an Indian village in the 1950s.

The Jindal Organisation is now a multi-billion dollars business involved in all aspects of steel production, from mining iron ore to manufacturing in 20 factories. It recently acquired iron ore mines in Chile and Bolivia, as well as rights of oil exploration in Peru. In London, Mrs Jindal lives in Kensington. She is joined by her four sons, all them involved in the business, including Naveen Jindal, an ‘irrepressible polo enthusiast’.

=6. KUSHAL PAL (KP) SINGH   $9bn
The call centre capital of the world is Gurgaon, with its earthquake-proof office buildings. That this should be so is due to K.P.Singh, whose DLF Universal Ltd is the largest real estate company on the planet. Born in 1931, Singh studied science, including aeronautical engineering in the UK, before being commissioned as an officer in Indian Army’s famous Deccan Horse and transforming DLF (Delhi Land and Finance) it into the colossus that it is today, building houses, apartments, offices towers, shopping malls, airports, hotels and cinemas across India.

His fortune is estimated at $9bn. A keen golfer, he now leaves his son Rajiv and daughter Pia to run the business, allowing him to spend more time in his Grosvenor Square house.

=6. CYRUS VANDREVALA   $9bn
This visionary private equity investor Cyrus Vandrevala started investing in technology businesses his 20s and now has global investments in a multiple of public and private companies ranging from Telecom, infrastructure, energy, real estate, food and cement. He has made his mark as a man of style in London having lived at Claridge’s for six months before buying a house in Holland Park with his heiress wife Priya Hiranandani-Vandrevala for £20m. He has achieved billionaire status while maintaining a discreet social presence. Look out for him in Annabel’s.

8. ANIL AGARWAL   $6.4bn
Born in 1954, Anil Agarwal has a house in Mayfair. Like other of India’s billionaires, he likes the best and can afford it: “I have to have a Bentley, the best of chauffeurs and butlers,” he says. The son of a small businessman from Bihar, in eastern India, he founded the mining group Vendanta Resources in the 1980s; it is now active on four continents, with offices in London and operations in Zambia, Australia and India.

Criticized by environmentalists including Bianca Jagger, it was nevertheless floated on the London stock exchange in 2003. In 2007, Mr Agarwal’s fortune stood at over $12bn; with the decline in the demand for minerals because of the global recession, it is now nearer $6.4bn. He is developing a ‘world class Vendata University at Orissa in India to ‘nurture generations of global leaders’.

9. SHAPOOR MISTRY   $6bn (family wealth)
Like many of the Bollygarchs, Shapoor Mistry shuns any suggestion of limelight; however, an exception is made when this keen racing man leads home a winning horse that has been bred by him. It is one of the few occasions that he can unwind from his business duties. Shapoor’s London house is in Mayfair: Cyrus also, pursues his many business interests from a London base.

The foundation of the Mistry family’s wealth is an 18.5% stake in Tata Sons, the motor manufacturer, acquired by Shapoor and Cyrus’s father, Pallonji Mistry. Some surprise was caused when the Mistrys recently became Irish citizens: Pallonji’s wife Patsy is said to have been born in Ireland, although from a well-known Parsi business family in India. The family’s net worth is put at $6bn.

10. ANURAG DIKSHIT   $854mn
Online gambling has a mixed reputation, particularly in the United States where, in 2008, Anurag Dikshit caused a sensation by pleading guilty to charges of breaking the laws governing it; this cost him a £185m fine. Not one to revel in the trappings of wealth, he devotes most of his time to a Trust which funds projects to further medicine, education and the community in India, Gibraltar and the UK.

Born in Jharkhand, India, 37 years ago, Mr Dikshit’s first break came in the dotcom boom, when he was working in the US as a software developer. In his mid twenties, Dikshit wrote the new companies betting software.

11. VIJAY MALLYA   $1.6bn
Kingfishers are usually seen in a flash of iridescent colour, and so it is with Vijay Mallya, whose property portfolio includes – as well as residences in California, New York, Monaco and all the main cities in India – a castle in Scotland, a country house in Berkshire and a London house. Catch him when you can.

The boss of Kingfisher Beer and Kingfisher Airlines spends most of his time in one of his four planes, amid a décor of luxurious sofas, granite-topped bars and Impressionist paintings, the wardrobe in his bedroom at the back allowing him to emerge immaculately dressed for whichever of the many roles he is about to play. This astonishingly energetic man likes yachting, racehorses and African game lodges, as well as classic cars.

A former racing driver, Dr Mallya speaks eight languages, is a qualified scuba diver and pilot, loves music and collects art. A member of the upper house of the Indian parliament, he has championed the plight of street sweepers and the need for better drinking water, rather than business and industry. Happy to be known as the King of the Good Times, he exhausts his entourage with his zest for all aspects of life. The money keeps piling up. He is a modern Maharajah whose dynamism personifies the entrepreneurship of the subcontinent.

12. NARESH GOYAL   $1.55bn
As a boy growing up in India, Naresh Goyal, now in his early 60s, had to walk to school every day, because his parents could not afford a bicycle. Now he has triumphed in another area of transportation, as the owner of Jet Airways, India’s largest domestic airline. He established it in 1992, after an aviation career which began as public relations manager of Iraqui Airlines.

A naturally hospitable man, he is said to like London so much that he more or less commutes to India from his town house overlooking Regent’s Park, where his family are based. In his spare time he enjoys watching Bollywood movies, saying, on one occasion, that you don’t have to remember what you saw last time.

13. SIR ANWAR PERVEZ   $1.1bn
Convenience stores are stereotypically associated with businessmen from the subcontinent: beginning with one in Earl’s Court, Sir Anwar Pervez built up the cash-and-carry empire of Bestway, with 50 warehouses across the country. It now employs 4,500 people and is worth £230m.

14. MIKE JATANIA AND BROTHERS   $1bn
Mike Jatania and his three brothers were among the Asians expelled from Uganda by Idi Amin in 1969. Their cosmetics company Lornamead acquires underperforming companies and product lines and revitalizes them; this, together with a property portfolio in London, has created a family fortune of £1bn.

15. SWRAJ PAUL   $760m
Lord Paul, born in 1931, grew up in the Punjab, where his father had a small foundry making steel buckets, tubs, trunks and farm equipment. The family lived frugally, following the Hindu ideal of ‘simple living and high thinking’. He and his brother transformed the modest enterprise at home into an industrial group with interests in steel, engineering, pharmaceuticals, hotels, shipping and tea.

Lord Paul (he became a peer in 1996) moved to Britain in 1966, needing medical care for his daughter Ambika, who had leukemia. Sadly Ambika died two years later, but Paul remained in the UK, dedicating his development of the Caparo Group to her memory. In 1994, he rebuilt the London Children’s Zoo in her name: when under treatment the Zoo had been a favourite outing.

16. FELIX GROVIT   $660m
Felix Grovit is the man behind Chequepoint, the bureaux de change empire, founded in 1974. From London it spread out to other tourist hotspots in 70 countries across the world. Aged 65, he also has interesting in Berkeley Credit and biotechnology. Like others in the world of the Indian super rich, Mr Grovit is generally described as shy and elusive. The industry was astounded when he launched his own website www.felixgrovit.com, although at present there is nothing on it.

17. JASMINDER SINGH   $500m
In 1979 Jasminder Singh is a hotelier, who formed the Edwardian Group with an uncle in 1979, which now has a dozen luxury hotels in the UK and runs Radisson Hotels (as Radisson Edwardian) under franchise. Of Punjabi descent, Mr Singh was born in Dar es Salaam in 1951. He came to the UK, qualifying as an accountant before entering the hotel business in 1975. He insists that his top people have studied at Oxford or Harvard. His holidays are of the busman type, sizing up the competition’s hotels. The rest of the time he lives quietly at Ascot with his wife and four children.

18. VIKRANT BHARGAVA   $350m
Vikrant Bhargava was the former marketing director of PartyGaming, having been a classmate of Anurag Dikshit (see above) when studying electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi. From Delhi he obtained a Postgraduate Diploma in Management from the Indian Institute of Management. At the gaming group he helped attract attention to the site by staging online poker tournament with a $1 million prize. He said that 70,000 people were playping Party Poker simultaneously at peak hours. However, Bhargava left PartyGaming in 2006 to devote himself to media and real estate businesses, as well as philanthropy.

19. VIJAY AND BIKHU PATEL   ?$300m
Vijay and Bikhu Patel, who founded Waymade Healthcare, came, like many British Asians, via Kenya: from a poor background in the western highlands, they arrived in Britain with just £5 in the early 1970s. From a single chemist’s shop, they have built a business turning over £300m each year. They say that the desire to escape poverty gave a keen edge appetite for business.

20. TOM SINGH   $230m
Tom Singh, graduate of the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, founded the fashion chain New Look in Weymouth 1969, borrowing £5000 with his wife Kuljit to open the first shop. Mr Singh still lives in Weymouth, even though the company now has over 1000 stores in different countries, including 543 in the UK.

Clive Aslet is editor-at-large of Country Life and a contributing editor to Spear’s

http://www.spearswms.com/family-business/18842/britains-bollygarchs.thtml

Perfect Knowledge is a private company that offers a bespoke service to VIP’s, senior executives and ultra high net worth individuals (UHNWI). We provide a discreet service that manages private and personal affairs on behalf of our clients. Our focus is to ensure total privacy for the individual or organisation at all times. Our services are aimed at private banks, offshore trusts, celebrities, royal family management, private families and discerning individuals where money is no object and discretion is paramount.

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A Qatari prince’s plan to restore a 17th-century mansion in Paris was blocked last week by a French court, after a campaign by residents who fear the plans would destroy an architectural gem.

Locals obtained a court order to stop the work by Prince Abdullah Bin Abdullah Al-Thani, brother of Qatar’s emir, who bought the Hotel Lambert on Ile Saint Louis, an island on the River Seine and a UNESCO heritage site, in 2007. However, the Prince – who paid a rumored 60 million Euros for the property two years ago – insists his proposed plans will restore the building to its former glory.

It also involves digging an underground car park and machinery room under the central courtyard and part of the gardens, raising an external wall facing onto the banks of the Seine and an overhaul of the entire west wing.

Built in the 1640s at the eastern tip of Ile Saint Louis, the Hotel Lambert was designed for a rich financier, Nicolas Lambert, by the architect Louis Vau, who went on to oversee an expansion of the Chateau de Versailles for Louis XIV. The building, which is where Chopin composed some of his music and author Voltaire lived with his mistress, is severely dilapidated, with parts of the timber structure rotting away, paint cracked and discolored and staircases sagging.

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Now Westminster council is threatening to take ownership of six of his central London homes, some valued at up to £20 million, that have lain empty for up to eight years. This is part of a drive by the council to use compulsory purchase powers to gain control of 20 luxury properties that have lain uninhabited for a decade or more to protect them from a band of rampant squatters.

Mr Halabi, a Syrian-born tycoon who formerly invested in the Shard of Glass tower planned for London Bridge, lost an estimated £120 million when the Esporta sports clubs went into administration. He owns 68 Mount Street and 14 Park Street, both valued at £20 million and empty for eight years, as well as four other central London properties worth between £6 and £12 million. Two years ago Mr Halabi was the 14th richest person in Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. But he does not feature on the 2009 list.

Most of the other properties on the council’s hit list are owned by offshore companies and a few by companies and private owners in the UK. It is prepared to acquire them over the next six months unless their owners begin restoration work. Paul Palmer, Westminster’s empty homes officer, said: “We have been trying to encourage the owners of these lovely buildings to face up to their responsibilities and bring them back into use. “As we have met with a less than positive response, we are now considering using our powers of compulsory purchase in the near future. “Ideally we want the owners to take the initiative to refurbish and occupy these properties, but if they are not prepared to – then the City council will step in.”

Mr Halabi’s property empire includes the former Naval & Military Club in Piccadilly – known as the “In and Out” club – has been wound up by HM Revenue & Customs and is now managed by receivers. The council is already in talks with Mr Halabi’s receivers, who have recently installed security cameras on some of the empty properties. The first at risk of being taken into council ownership include two in Park Lane, four in Upper Grosvenor Street, three in Park Street, three in Queen Street, three in Charles Street and one each in Mount Street and Waverton Street.

The problem has become more pressing after bands of squatters began moving from one empty top-end house to another, highlighting the number of luxury homes standing empty. Earlier this week, squatters moved into a three-storey house on the same road in Belgravia as Baroness Thatcher’s home. The group had previously been evicted from an 80-room former Sudanese Embassy in Knightsbridge and a £4.5million house near Harrods.

Another squat group, known as the Oubliette, took over the former Mexican embassy in Mayfair and the neighbouring former Tanzanian High Commission this month. By standing empty, the properties have lost their owners a total of £1 billion in unpaid rent. They have also slashed £64 million from the value of neighbouring property. Mr Palmer said: “We have no intention of hanging on to these buildings.

“As soon as we acquire them we will sell them on. That makes us effectively estate agents, but we will insist that any buyers are required by contract to do them up within a limited period of time, so that this situation will not be repeated.” Westminster has calculated that each of the empty buildings could be converted into up to 12 much-needed flats

Source: Evening Standard

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Shaikh Khalifa greeted Shaikh Mohammed and King Hamad on the happy 
occasion. 
   The President also greeted the bridegroom and wished him a happy and blessed marriage.

Shaikh Mohammed and King Hamad receive greetings from other Shaikhs, statesmen, ministers and distinguished guests from the UAE and Bahrain. Present at the ceremony and the luncheon were Their Highnesses and Members of the Supreme Council Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi of Fujairah, Shaikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla of Umm Al Quwain,  Shaikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi of Ajman, Shaikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Dubai Crown Prince Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler and UAE Finance Minister Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Deputy Ruler Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sharjah Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Ras Al Khaimah Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Umm Al Quwain Crown Prince Shaikh Rashid bin Saud bin 
Rashid Al Mualla and Bahraini Prime Minister, Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman 
Al Khalifa.

Others attending were Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Lt- General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al 
Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Affairs Minister Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, other shaikhs from the Al Maktoum and Al Khalifa royal families, Speaker of  the Federal National Council Abdul Aziz Abdullah Al Ghurair, Abu Dhabi 
Ruler’s Representative in the Eastern Region Shaikh Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, ministers and senior officials.

]]> http://www.perfectknowledgepr.com/2009/10/his-majesty-king-hamad-bin-isa-al-khalifa-of-bahrain-to-celebrate-the-wedding-of-his-son-shaikh-nasir-bin-hamad-al-khalifa-to-the-daughter-of-the-dubai-ruler/feed/ 0 wedding2-280909 wedding-280909 http://www.perfectknowledgepr.com/2009/09/best-articles-on-the-rich-and-famous-from-perfect-knowledge-pr/ http://www.perfectknowledgepr.com/2009/09/best-articles-on-the-rich-and-famous-from-perfect-knowledge-pr/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:39:51 +0000 admin http://www.perfectknowledgepr.com/?p=750 Abramovich’s New $350 Million Megayacht Will Have Missile Defense System http://bit.ly/DFdiO