Latest news with #extravagance
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Shaquille O'Neal Says He Bought Three Rolls-Royces After Salesman Questioned His Means
Shaquille O'Neal says he once bought three Rolls-Royces on the spot — a purchase he put at roughly $1.3 million — after a luxury-car salesperson asked whether he could afford one. Recounting the episode in a recent retelling, the Basketball Hall of Famer said he walked into a showroom, inquired about pricing and was met with skepticism from a staffer. O'Neal said he responded by purchasing three cars in a single transaction to 'make a point,' adding that the vehicles now sit mostly unused. The anecdote slots easily into O'Neal's public persona as an outsized collector and serial customizer of automobiles. Over the years, he has described commissioning tailored fits and one-off builds to accommodate his 7-foot-1 frame, a hobby that has ranged from luxury sedans to high-horsepower SUVs. The three Rolls-Royces, he said, were acquired less for driving than for the message they sent about assumptions made at the point of sale. Daily Driven Collectibles: The Best Upgrades That Don't Hurt Resale Rolls-Royce models routinely command six-figure base prices before options, and heavily optioned examples can approach seven figures. O'Neal did not identify the specific models he bought in the incident or the dealership involved, and the story could not be independently verified. But the account has resonated on social media as a parable about customer service in the ultra-luxury segment, where personal treatment and discretion are often as important as performance and craftsmanship. Industry consultants say the moment highlights a persistent vulnerability for high-end retailers: a single slight can instantly undo the aura of hospitality and exclusivity brands spend decades building. 'The client's first few seconds in the showroom define whether you have a lifetime relationship or a lost sale,' said one luxury retail advisor, speaking generally about best practices. 'Assumptions cost money.' For O'Neal, the cars have reportedly become more trophy than transportation. He said he rarely drives them, an outcome that tracks with broader buying patterns among celebrity collectors, who frequently rotate through vehicles as cultural artifacts as much as daily drivers. 10 Must-Have Tools and Gear for the Modern Car Collector (Amazon Edition) The story arrives at a time when premium automakers are leaning harder on personalized experiences — private previews, concierge delivery and VIP service teams — to differentiate themselves in a crowded market. If nothing else, O'Neal's tale underscores how quickly a single interaction can ricochet beyond the showroom and shape public perception. Whether the three Rolls-Royces ever leave his garage, the point O'Neal intended to make has already traveled far: in the luxury world, a greeting can be as consequential as a price tag. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Daily Mail
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The man who discovered Elvis... and then destroyed him: How the King spiralled into addiction and death at the hands of his high-rolling manager - revealed in bombshell biography by a writer who saw it happen
Addiction was the glue that held Elvis Presley and his manager 'Colonel' Tom Parker together during the last few years of the singer's life. Twenty years of lonely fame and wild extravagance had meant that by 1977 Elvis was struggling to make ends meet. To pay for his entourage and the compliant doctors who fed him the drugs on which he was hooked, he just had to keep touring.
Daily Mail
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Newlyweds Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez invite Leonardo DiCaprio and Vittoria onto their $485m superyacht for a double date on the high seas
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez enjoyed an A-list double date on Sunday as they welcomed Leonardo DiCaprio and Vittoria aboard their $485m superyacht, Koru. Hollywood actor Leo, 50, and his modal girlfriend Vittoria, 27, know their way around the ship, having previously joined the couple and bevy of stars for a trip last summer. The double date comes just weeks after Jeff, 61, and Lauren, 55, tied the knot in Venice — with the ceremony attracting criticism for its extravagance. Leonardo and Vittoria were among the A-list guests in attendance, which also included Sydney Sweeney, Oprah Winfrey and Orlando Bloom. Now Lauren wears a $5 million diamond wedding ring that has fans as well as jewelers in an uproar. One of their A-list wedding guests recently revealed what their lavish nuptials were really like as they disclosed that none of the Bezos couple's 200 guests were told to sign non-disclosure agreements. Sara Foster, the daughter of David Foster, shared details about the glamorous Venetian wedding on Thursday's episode of her The World's First Podcast. While talking to her sister Erin Foster, she surprisingly revealed: 'No one signed NDAs. No NDAs.' She also said that the ceremony was 'very intimate' when asked to dish on the 'wedding of the century.' 'There's nothing. It's so interesting how the optics were this over-the-top, you know, protestors ... It's just not, it's not what it was. It actually felt very intimate.' She also revealed that there were 'definitely a lot of people that were not photographed' but chose to keep mum on the identities of the low-key attendees. 'I can't. I mean, that's, like, so lame. I'm not gonna do that. But it's very interesting how many people went un-photographed. It was definitely a very interesting setup.' Bezos' superyacht is named the Koru, which translates to 'new beginnings' in Maori, according to The Independent. The Amazon founder initially commissioned the construction of the vessel for $485 million in 2018, and it took almost five years to build. The Koru has three decks and is 250-feet tall, marking the world's tallest sailing yacht. Boat International reported in April 2023 that it has a trio of masts that measure at a distance eclipsing 230 feet. It measures at a width of 416 feet, only one of four yachts globally that eclipses the length of 328 feet. The vessel was made by the Dutch company Oceano. The boat was the topic of controversy in February 2022 when Oceano asked Rotterdam to take apart a bridge that is more than 100 years old, the Koningshaven Bridge, to accommodate the masts of the Koru. Amid local protests, Oceanco made alternate plans to install the masts.
Times
12-07-2025
- Lifestyle
- Times
I rinse out and reuse my bin bags. I can't be the only one
T wenty years ago I spent £180 on a kitchen bin. Then, quite soon after but unrelated, we had three children. The kitchen bin is still with us and you would hope so too because — I'm not sure if I've mentioned this — it cost £180. I wasn't to know it at the time but the bin was to become the high watermark of our extravagant double-income-no-kids lives. Imelda Marcos had a last pair of Louboutins. Caligula had a last roast crocodile. We have that bin. Every time I use it I have a flash of nostalgia for that life before nappies, buggies, uniforms and driving lessons. Those, after all, were the days — the late nights and late mornings, the relaxed conversations, the avocado on toast, the enormous bin budget. The problem is that the £180 bin requires very particular bin bags and those very particular bin bags are expensive, which is probably where I should have begun this cautionary tale. On bin day last week I had an argument with Harriet. She began it by saying, 'I've put a chicken carcass in the bin, so make sure you chuck it out.' I said, 'But I just washed the bin bag.' She said, 'It's hot, though, so it will smell.' I offered to wash it again with washing-up liquid and everything but she crossed her elbows and said no. Very quickly the argument became heated and then it spiralled across wider budgetary red lines — the cost of my beers, the cost of her massage treatments, the lottery ticket I once bought, that time she parked in the multistorey rather than on the street a mile away but free. Then, for a moment, the guns fell silent. She made an angry cup of (expensive) coffee. I made a defensive cup of (cheap) tea. Then, caffeinated, she took a deep breath and said, 'Why are you washing bin bags anyway?' and started laughing. • Matt Rudd: Apply more suntan lotion and other top tips to survive global warming Irritatingly, I started laughing too because it was a good question. Why was I washing bin bags anyway? I think this curious behaviour took root in the winter, probably at about the same time we got a telephone-number electricity bill. For a long time before that I'd been tipping kitchen waste from the fancy 45p kitchen bag into a less fancy 15p black bag. I'd been relatively covert about it and each successful decanting felt like a heist — if I could get three goes out of one bag I'd have saved… 90p. One bag a week instead of three is, over time, millions. Then, after no one finished their spaghetti bolognese, Harriet noticed what I was up to. She said she didn't think it was very nice using a kitchen bin bag twice let alone three times. I suggested any unpleasant detritus could go straight outside in the black bag. If we only used the kitchen bin for pleasant detritus then it was fine. She suggested, quite forcefully, that this wouldn't be happening. I started washing bin bags. At first I did it in the dead of night. Then I became more brazen — I'd slip out to water the garden and take the bin bag with me. There were some mutterings from my beloved. She knew what I was up to but decided, I suspect, to let me get on with it. Then came chicken-carcass-gate, the crossed elbows and the laughter. • Matt Rudd: Now, in which idiot-proof place did I put my passport? Where do we go from here, you'll be wondering. For the sake of holy matrimony we could replace the £180 bin and its expensive taste in bags for a humbler cousin, but that would require upfront capital investment. We could invite a financial adviser to review our incomings and outgoings to identify better ways to make ends meet, but they'll only make us shop at Aldi. We could even move to a cheaper home in a cheaper neck of the woods and use as many fancy bin bags as we liked. We won't do any of those things. The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. The definition of household finance is doing the same thing over and over and expecting the kids to move out at some point. 'We need to have an abundance mentality,' Harriet says after listening to a podcast. Miserliness leads to misery. Generosity leads to a sense of wealth. A sense of wealth leads to… wealth? Something like that. • Matt Rudd: Does the world really need coconut-scented toilet paper? Fine then. I did a bit of stretching, I jogged on the spot and I channelled my inner Imelda. Then I grabbed the perfectly reusable bin bag with its only slightly turning chicken carcass and I threw it straight out. And, only for a brief moment, I felt like a millionaire.
Irish Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Author Eimear McBride: ‘My pension plan is to die before I'm no longer able to earn'
Eimear McBride 's latest novel is The City Changes its Face . Are you a saver or a spender? Spender by nature, alas, but I do try ... What was the first job you received money for, and how much were you paid? Babysitting for my neighbour as a teenager. I think it was about £2.50 an hour. These were the pre-euro days, and it was cash-in-hand, of course. Naughty. Do you shop around for better value? It depends. I do for things like a mattress topper or a toasted sandwich maker. The rest of the time I usually know what I want so I either have to suck it up or do without. READ MORE What has been your most extravagant purchase and how much did it cost? A Vivienne Westwood dress for a very grand party. I don't even like parties or expensive dresses, but I couldn't get out of it. It was about £600. Never before, or since, have I spent so much on a single item of clothing, and it took ages to pay off. But the joke was on me because the party was outdoors and it tipped down the whole evening. I spent the entire time wearing a manky old anorak, and now I'll be wearing it for every occasion until it falls into rags. It is a nice dress, though. What purchase have you made that you consider the best value for money? Probably the toasted sandwich maker. What barbarians humankind must have been before it was invented. Is there anything you regret spending money on? There are a few novels I'd like the cash and time back on. [ 'My view on investing: time and compounding do the real work. Patience beats cleverness' Opens in new window ] Do you haggle over prices? I'm good in a souk, but the shop assistants at Tesco are safe. Do you invest in shares and/or cryptocurrency? No to both because ... who can be bothered? Also, crypto bros ... Jesus wept. Do you have a retirement or pension plan? In a very general way, yes. It works along the lines of 'Die before I'm no longer able to earn'. I didn't say it was a good plan. What was the last thing you bought, and was it good value for money? A bottle of Bushmills for my husband at Belfast airport because I was away at a book festival and missed his birthday. I can safely say no £40 has ever been so well spent. Have you ever successfully saved up for a relatively big purchase? No, but I have certainly gone into debt for one. I think I see a theme evolving here. [ 'Behavioural economists would have a field day with me' Opens in new window ] Have you ever lost money? Well, if time is money, I've definitely lost plenty of it answering questionnaires like this. Conversely, I did once find a fiver just after I'd spent my last penny. Happy days. Are you a gambler and, if so, have you ever had a big win? I'm not. When I was about 10, I lost all of my hard-saved holiday money in one glorious orgy of spending on the teddy bear machines at a games arcade in Portstewart. After that, my lesson was learned. But I did go home with a LOT of teddies. What is your best habit when it comes to money? And your worst? My best habit is enjoying it when I have it. My worst is feeling guilty about having enjoyed it once it's gone. How much money do you have on you now? There's a tenner in my purse with nothing's name on it, and for a lot of my life, that would not have been the case. All in all, I'd say I'm winning. In conversation with Tony Clayton-Lea
