Latest news with #superwealthy
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
The bizarre new trend in the homes of the super rich beloved by Kim Kardashian and Jeff Bezos
When it comes to the super-wealthy, their homes can range from everything from beachfront mansions to glitzy penthouses. But while individual tastes may vary, one trend has emerged among the rich which is beloved by celebrities and elites alike. It appears that premium architecture and a coveted location are no longer enough. Celebrity home stager and interior designer Cheryl Eisen said what the wealthy really want is a fully furnished home. While their massive budgets would allow celebrities to put their own stamp on a home, Eisen says they prefer to outsource the design and often all stick to the same color palette. 'Great staging isn't just about aesthetics, it's a strategy,' she explained. 'It gives buyers clarity and delivers maximum returns for sellers.' Eisen has staged homes for celebrity clients like Kim Kardashian, Robert De Niro, Daniel Craig, and even Jeff Bezos. She staged everything from $100 million penthouses in Manhattan to mansions in Beverly Hills and waterfront palaces on Miami's billionaire's row. She offers her services with two companies Interior Marketing Group and Eisen Design House. After her decades of experience, she's noticed that her celebrity clients are drawn to quiet luxury. They want their spaces to feel calm, and tranquil and gravitate towards neutral tones. The 56-year-old said that not only do homes she stages sell 82 percent faster than the average in New York, they sell well above asking price when fully furnished. Turnkey homes - homes that are ready for living the moment they are purchased - have become the norm in the luxury real estate industry. It's no longer a desire but an expectation, Eisen said. She revealed a lot of the business she is seeing is with vacation homes in Florida, which makes perfect sense to Eisen. 'If you're going to buy a second home, why spend a year furnishing it when instead you can buy a completely furnished home and just bring a tooth brush?' she said. Staging allows clients to imagine themselves in a space, and to feel something when they enter it. 'We want them to walk in and feel really calm and at home and at peace,' she told Daily Mail. 'We stay away from things that are too taste specific that could alienate a specific population,' she said. Eisen said the best design choices for turnkey homes are simple ones. 'Layered, neutral tones and textures, what we're really showcasing is beautiful architecture in the home,' she says. 'The formula for us has always been broad appeal.' It is perhaps surprising that this muted pallet is preferred, given some of the garish taste of some celebrities. Eisen said the rise in buyers purchasing their homes fully furnished and designed has always been a no-brainer to her. 'The wealthy will buy a home and then hire an interior designer and spend a year making it gorgeous,' she said. Whether it's an investment property or a personal home, turnkey buyers can move in on day one. 'You don't have to spend the time and energy on it,' she said. That's a formula that apparently worked for celebrity buyers like Jeff Bezos and Chrissy Teigen and John Legend. Both buyers purchased one of their homes completely furnished, and Teigen and Legend even hired her to redo their Los Angeles residence. The very wealthy have properties in every city, it only makes sense to purchase them ready to go. But, they're looking for different things in different cities. As much as Eisen aims for broad appeal, a vacation home in Miami looks different than a penthouse in Manhattan. 'In New York it's a little edgier, you can put some vintage pieces in there and give it a little edge,' said Eisen. Although she likes to stick with neutrals she said occasionally she adds unique art pieces to tie in a pop of color. In Florida, homes come out a little brighter and more modern. She said luxury buyers like to feel at home and at peace as soon as they step onto a property 'In Florida, since they're vacation homes they want everything to feel very new and fresh,' she said, adding that her designs tend to gear toward, 'warm tones and organic materials'. But despite their love of neutrals, the super rich are reportedly not adverse to an unexpected pop of personality, in moderation. Eisen said luxury homeowners are steering toward eye-catching shapes and statement pieces - even if they tend to stick within the confines of a natural pallet. She's seen curved sofas, coffee tables shaped like guitar picks, and an emphasis on imperfect shapes and materials. 'Those are all in warm neutral, nature tones, it's just created a whole layered organic textured thing,' she noted. However, one of her more outrageous requests in recent memory steered away from the organic, neutral look. Eisen said former Real Housewife of New York, Bethenny Frankel asked to have a zipline installed in her yard. Eisen said she is excited by such projects, which allow her to step outside of her turnkey formula. 'We're always so reliant on a broad appeal that when a client asks us to think outside the box it's an exciting challenge for us.' One of her more recent penthouse designs at Five Park Residence in Miami features bold colors and patterns throughout the home. 'It's all very dramatic, each room has this experiential element,' she said. Still, she's happy doing turnkey designs. Eisen said she'd always hoped the real estate industry would take this turn. 'It's a no-brainer,' she said.
Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Macfarlanes partners crack £3m pay barrier to beat ‘magic circle'
Partners at an elite City law firm that caters to the super-wealthy have broken through the £3 million barrier for average pay, outstripping its larger 'magic circle' rivals. Macfarlanes revealed on Tuesday that average pay for full-equity partners at the firm had risen by 8 per cent to £3.1 million each. That took average partner pay at the renowned 'private client' practice roughly £1 million ahead of that at the four international City firms that make up the so-called magic circle. The announcement from Macfarlanes came just hours before Linklaters was the first of that group of four to publish its annual financial figures, which showed that average partner pay at the firm leapt by 15 per cent to £2.2 million. Based on last year's figures, that rise had Linklaters level pegging with average partner pay at A&O Shearman. Freshfields is standing on an average partner pay figure of £2.1 million, with Clifford Chance on £2 million. A&O and Clifford Chance are expected to report earnings and profit within the next few weeks. However, Freshfields said last year that it would no longer actively publicise its figures, although as a limited liability partnership the practice remains obliged to file an annual report with Companies House. Slaughter and May, the fifth member of the magic circle, has remained a traditional partnership and is therefore not required to reveal financial figures. But partners at the firm are still thought to be the highest earners in the Square Mile, with average pay estimated to range between £3.5 and £4 million. Tuesday's figures from Macfarlanes and Linklaters will fuel speculation that partner pay at the rest of the magic circle and across other prominent City practices will rise well above inflation, which in the UK unexpectedly jumped last week to 3.6 per cent. It could also cast a harsh light on City partner fees. In February, a senior costs lawyer lambasted the 'greed' of City lawyers for charging up to £1,600 an hour and allowing fees to spiral 'totally out of control'. Rocketing pay for junior lawyers has also fallen into clients' crosshairs in the past few years. Newly qualified solicitors at the City offices of US firms can start on as much as £180,000. Starting pay at Linklaters and Macfarlanes trails slightly behind at £150,000 and £140,000, respectively. Macfarlanes reported that its overall turnover for 2024-25 rose by more than 10 per cent to £371.4 million, which generated an operating profit of £206.5 million. Sebastian Prichard Jones, the firm's senior partner, hinted that concern over the incoming Labour government's fiscal plans had 'underpinned a standout performance from our private client and tax practices'. Meanwhile, revenue at Linklaters for that period exceeded £2.3 billion, an 11 per cent increase. The firm said that translated to a pre-tax profit of £1.08 billion, an even bigger 14 per cent increase to eclipse £1 billion for the first time in the firm's nearly two-century history. Linklaters said its best-performing international region was the US, a market that City firms have struggled to crack. Growth in the American market rose by 57 per cent, the firm said, and this year, partners in its New York office advised General Motors in a deal with TWG Motorsports to form the Cadillac Formula 1 Team, which will join the championship grid next March. Asia at 13 per cent growth was Linklaters' next highest performing region, with the UK domestic market at 8 per cent and Europe lagging at 3 per cent.
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Seaside house prices tumble as end of the WFH era lures buyers back to city suburbs
Coastal locations that were hot property during the pandemic have seen house prices fall back down to earth, as buyers going back to the office now favour affordable suburbs. Outside of the niche central London property market, the locations with the biggest price falls since the housing market peak in late 2022 are nearly all by the sea, according to data from estate agent Hamptons. This includes Hastings, where house prices grew by nearly a third between the second half of 2019 and the second half of 2022, peaking at £278,060. This was impacted by the 'race for space' trend during the pandemic, when successive lockdowns encouraged some buyers to seek homes with extra space. The three areas with the biggest price falls since the pandemic housing market peak are in central London – the City of London, Westminster, and Kensington and Chelsea, according to data from estate agent Hamptons. But these enclaves suffered due to an array of specific factors affecting the super-wealthy, including higher taxes on second homes and the abolition of non-dom tax status. The Covid pandemic saw a rush of buyers newly able to work from home seizing the opportunity to move further away from towns and cities, often prioritising country and coastal locations which were closer to nature. Now, though, many workers are being asked to attend the office more regularly - which means out-of-the-way locations are less practical. The change may also be down to additional costs for second home owners. Buyers will have to contend with higher stamp duty on second home purchases, a policy announced in the Autumn Budget, while those who already own a second home could see their council tax bill double. Prices in Hastings fell by 8 per cent to £209,760 between 2022 and 2024, according to Hamptons. Those who own homes there haven't seen all their gains wiped out, though, as prices are still up 22 per cent compared to 2019. In Thanet, home to hipster hotspot Margate as well as popular seaside resorts Ramsgate and Broadstairs, prices rocketed by nearly 27 per cent between the second half of 2019 and the second half of 2022 to reach £298,040. Since then though, they have fallen back by 7.4 per cent to £276,050 – though buyers will still have made a 20 per cent gain. Torridge in North West Devon has also seen price falls. The coastal district, which includes the towns of Bideford and Great Torrington, saw average prices peak at £297,010 at the end of 2022, having surged by 33.2 per cent during the pandemic. They have since fallen by 7.4 per cent to £275,130. Eastbourne, Hertsmere, Torbay and Worthing rounded out the top ten price fallers, with Hetfordshire's Hertsmere the only one of these locations not on by the sea. There are beach towns which have continued to grow – though they haven't maintained their pandemic momentum. Neath Port Talbot in Wales has had the largest overall price growth of any coastal 'race for space' location between 2019 and 2024. It saw growth of 36.2 per cent in 2019-22, followed by growth of 2.5 per cent between 2022 and 2024, meaning prices now sit at £154,970. Convenient commutes see city suburbs boom While they may be less aesthetically appealing than the coast, Hamptons data shows that the suburbs of big cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham are among today's biggest house price risers. Many of these areas offer quick car or train commutes in to the city centre - helpful for those who are back in the office every day. The data also revealed a focus on more affordable areas, with many of the places on the list having house prices well below the national average of around £268,000. In 2023-24, Manchester's M8 postcode saw the biggest house price rise of any city location, rising 16 per cent to £207,900. It is to the north of the city centre and includes Crumpsall and Cheetham Hill. Popular: Manchester's Crumpsall is one of the biggest house price risers of 2023-24 Liverpool's L27 postcode witnessed a 14.2 per cent jump from £131,320 to £149,920. It covers Netherley, a suburb to the south east of the city centre. Leeds' LS2 district, which covers the city centre and Woodhouse neighbourhood, saw a 13 per cent rise to £171,730 which meant properties added just shy of £20,000 of value across the year. Birmingham's B6 postcode, which takes in Aston, Birchfield and Witton and is the home of the Villa Park stadium, saw the fourth-largest price rise of any city postcode at 11.1 per cent according to Hamptons. This meant properties increased in value from £151,020 to £167,760. 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