This billionaire co-founded one of Russia’s largest private banks, MDM Bank, in 1993, and has interests in companies producing mineral fertilisers and extracting coal. His £300 million yacht, “A,” named after his Serbian model wife Aleksandra, is 400ft long and designed by Philippe Starck. With 42 staff to look after the whims of just 14 guests, it is no wonder that Melnichenko decided to sail on it to Norway to collect three paintings by Claude Monet that he’d purchased. By collecting them there he also cleverly avoided the EU’s import taxes.
Tag: wealth
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Andrey Melnichenko
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Nicky Haslam (Nicholas Haslam)
“Britain’s ultimate interior designer” is a man of many talents and guises. Haslam flits from party to party by night, but by day writes, edits and designs. He’s performed cabaret at The Savoy and Bellamy’s and interior watercolour renderings by him are held by the Victoria & Albert Museum. This trendsetter’s life is indeed summed up by the title of one of his books: Sheer Opulence. -
Owen Oyston
This flamboyant fedora wearing tycoon made his fortune selling an estate agency empire just before the 1987 stock market crash. He’s now worth in excess of £100 million. Married twice to a former Miss Blackpool, his 13th century Lancashire home, Claughton Hall, was moved from the bottom of a hill to the top. He served three years in prison for raping a woman who strangely couldn’t remember in which year the crime occurred. Oyston continues to protest his innocence but with his majority stake in the prospering Blackpool F.C. and other interests, he’s got plenty else to keep himself busy. -
Terry Venables
“El Tel” is best known as a footballer manager but he’s a man of many talents. Few know that this national team manager of England (1994 to 1996) also co-authored four novels with Gordon Williams and was the co-creator of the ITV detective series Hazell. A Chelsea resident, he’s often to be found at Motcomb’s, the Rib Room Bar & Restaurant and Sette in Sydney Street. -
Sam Higginson
Like his entrepreneurial father before him, Sam Higginson is making waves in the world of online marketing. A proud Lancastrian, Higginson’s latest venture digitalbox is changing the way we buy online. -
Anthony Brown
Former restaurateur whose family are city legends. His pride and joy is a classic Mercedes-Benz Grosser and he’s often to be found propping up the bar at La Brasserie teaching Cockney rhyming slang. A maestro in the kitchen, feasts by him are hugely sought after. -
A chic serpent
A review of Roberto Cavalli Vodka
The Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli is best known for using exotic wild animal prints in his creations and for giving jeans a “sand-blasted look” that has become the standard style for the majority of brands.
Roberto Cavalli Born in 1940 in Florence, Cavalli sells his main lines in over 50 countries and owns various clothing brands as well as producing watches, perfumes and eyewear. Married to Eva Düringer, who he met when he was a judge at the Miss Universe 1977 pageant, Cavalli’s success is often attributed to his success at maximising returns from “celebrity endorsement.” Victoria Beckham, Halle Berry, Brigitte Bardot, Mary J Blige, Elton John, Sean “P Diddy” Coombs, Kate Moss and Shakira all number amongst his muses and customers.
The father of five children from two marriages, Cavalli chose the symbol of the snake as the mascot for his fashion house and most of his inspiration is said to come from nature itself. His brands especially prospered in the United States after the plot of an entire episode of Sex and the City centred upon a Roberto Cavalli dress but it is his wife who is credited with transforming his business fortunes. “I was thinking maybe to stop,” Cavalli told Time International, “… but then Eva became interested so I started—for her—to involve myself again.” Today, his net worth is estimated at $500 million.
Roberto Cavalli Vodka After being told about Roberto Cavalli Vodka, I got in touch with Tommaso Cavalli, the eldest son of Roberto Cavalli, who has built himself a successful career breeding horses and developing the family’s wine and spirit range. Based in Chianti, where the family also produce their Tenuta Degli Dei range of wines, Tommaso Cavalli, in a 2010 interview for DNA India, suggested:
“When people hear about Cavalli Vodka or Wine, they want to try [it] out because of the name.”
This indeed tallies as there have been various attempts at cashing in on fashion and celebrity in the vodka market in recent years. Most, though, have floundered or been trounced as shoddy attempts to take on Grey Goose and Belvedere. I haven’t heard, for example, much of Donald Trump’s vodka since 2006 and critics described it as one that “will produce a not-so luxurious hangover.” Roberto Cavalli Vodka, launched in 2005, however, has deservedly proved itself truly to be an exception to this trend.
Tommaso Cavalli pictured with his family’s vodka Packaged in a stylish frosted bottle, this is one that has been designed to look elegantly sophisticated. Tall and slender, with an appropriately snake like climbing up it, this is a bottle that suitably reflects the “ultra premium status” of Cavalli’s brands.
The vodka itself is 40% ABV and uniquely is made entirely in Italy. The purest water is taken from the Monta Rosa slopes and the finest of grains come from the valleys where the South-Western Alps meet the River Po, Italy’s longest river. Filtration through flakes of Italian Carrara marble results in a taste that I found subtly peppery with a slight hint of citrus. Roberto Cavalli Vodka, as a result, makes a perfect martini but also works well in long drinks.
Of the vodka that bares his name, Roberto Cavalli concludes:
“I love the pureness of vodka, especially of my vodka: it is like water and fire coming together in a single element.”
If you’re looking to add an element of style to your drinks cabinet, make sure you add a bottle of Roberto Cavalli Vodka. It can only add to your status as one who’ll be considered both super cool and super chic.
For more information on Roberto Cavalli Vodka, go to: http://www.robertocavallivodka.com
Purchase Roberto Cavalli Vodka through TheDrinkshop.com for £48.95 for a 70cl bottle at: http://www.thedrinkshop.com/products/nlpdetail.php?prodid=3682
Follow Roberto Cavalli on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/roberto_cavalli