French beauties guard on the beaches of the Cote d’Azur Russian oligarchs
How our tourists on the Cote d’Azur are wondering
The latest news from the life of Russian oligarchs can be found out ten minutes after landing: in a taxi taking you from Nice Airport to Monaco. Taxi drivers, as they should, know everything and willingly share this knowledge.
To drive Ferrari from Moscow to Monaco is the rule of good taste among our moneybags
Where is Abramovich on his yacht now? – I ask the mustached taxi driver.
Now at Cape Antibes, but soon going to Monte Carlo.
And who else will sail there?
Miles … Mellie … Melishenko, it’s impossible to pronounce a difficult surname without a habit. – Armadillo!
Until now, on the Cote d’Azur, they are only talking about the arrival of a new yacht of the Russian-Belarusian oligarch Melnichenko. Residents of France and Monte Carlo have already seen everything. Even the famous 115-meter “Pelorus” by Roman Abramovich does not surprise them anymore, since almost all the time he hangs out in the local water area. But Melnichenko’s yacht, simply named “A” in honor of the first letters of the name of the oligarch and his wife – Andrei and Alexander, made the same impression.
Created by the famous designer Philippe Starck, it is a cross between the Aurora cruiser and the floating castle. With a length of 117 meters and a cost of 300 million euros, it was lowered from the slipway at the beginning of this year, passed the tests and finally appeared before the public. According to experts, “A” has nothing to do with the very idea of sailing on a yacht: gliding along the waters, enjoying the company of friends and the sea. In addition, it is completely unlike yachts, abundantly crowded at the quays of Monaco and the many small towns of the French Riviera. This “ugliness” was discussed in every way by the local media and their readers.
However, soon they will have new entertainment. Roman Abramovich, who was not injured that one of his compatriots had a ship longer than his own, had already ordered a new toy for himself – the Eclipse will stretch 160 meters from bow to stern and will share the first place in size with the Golden Star yacht of the emir Dubai It will cost at least 100 million euros more expensive than “A”. What kind of luxury will be on board, one can only guess. Shipbuilders refuse to comment: the project is classified.
Can I buy a yacht?
The yacht of the Russians in Monaco Bay can be identified only when they themselves want it: they will hang the flag of Russia or turn on a concert cord
To walk from edge to edge of the port of Monaco, you need at least half an hour. And all the way along the pier, side by side, are gorgeous white boats. There are under British flags, there are under Italian, but here under Russian – not to be seen. How so? The casket opens simply. Due to the specifics of the legislation and the tax code, it is much more profitable to keep a yacht under the flags of “banana” states. For example, the Bahamas. But when you see a yacht under the flag of the Bahamas, you can be fifty percent sure that it belongs to a Russian.
Some, presumably, especially patriotic citizens spread the Russian tricolor on the stern. Here on the deck of one of the yachts people are sitting, watching TV. Judging by the sounds, the concert of the Leningrad band. “Dodgers, a weekly fume. Everything to pass … is a gift! ” The voice of Cord is carried far along the bay of Monaco.
Looking just so bored soon, maybe asking the price?
How much is such a beauty? – I ask the next giant of the Italian sailor on duty at the gangway. Ours would, at best, swear to such an immodest question (I know what I’m saying – I came up to them five times), but the Italian flashed his teeth with a smile:
Measure the length in steps! And then count: every meter is about a million. It turned out that the average boat cost the owner 30 to 40 million euros.
The beach in Monaco, despite the bright sun and the gentle sea, is by no means a place to relax. While Russians prey on oligarchs for clubs and business forums, French women take them naked right by the water. Every Russian-speaking person here sees, if not a billionaire, then a modest millionaire. Two chubby young ladies in a bikini, noticing in my hands a book in Russian, immediately entered into dialogue in broken English:
Hi! Russian? What kind of buisness do you have?
And they were disappointed to learn that I was just a journalist. Although in fairness it should be noted that they thought in the right direction: poor Russians come to Monaco extremely rarely.
Ferrari from Ostozhenka
23,000 euros per month. And this is not the most expensive apartment in Monaco.
I saw such automobile unanimity of the population only once in my life – in the city of Tolyatti, where nine out of ten car owners drove around the Zhiguli. There is no “Lada” in Monaco, but the traffic jam from “Ferrari”, “Lamborghini” and all kinds of “Bentley” there is an ordinary phenomenon. Practicalities in such cars on narrow Monak streets are zero. But who said that they are generally made for reasons of practicality?
In the famous square in front of the casino there is an eternal jam from roaring squat monsters. There is nothing to dream about parking. In extreme cases, you will be allowed to stand here if you come to the Porsche or Rolls-Royce. Parking on the main square of the principality in size – as in front of the Pyaterochka store. Therefore, everyone who is in the Mercedes, BMW, is driven down to the underground parking lot, out of sight with accustomed to luxury.
But in this red Ferrari, something hurts the eye. Oh, there’s a Moscow number on it! Colleagues from the incident department then quickly found out: it belongs to the son of a Russian businessman and a deputy from Moscow’s Ostozhenka. A trip in such a car is, of course, a pleasant thing, but it is unlikely that the owner drove it through Russia, Belarus, Poland and France. The situation was clarified by a familiar football agent, a man grated in this world:
It’s simple! Our moneybags in advance send their sophisticated cars with a ferry driver through Germany. They arrive, and their native car meets them here. Expensive, of course, but who is counting the money here.
By the way, if anything, the car corresponding to the status in Monaco can be bought without problems. This is a bread shop, I have not noticed a single one. And on the promenade next to the Grimaldi Forum, there are one after another salons: Mercedes, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, Maseratti, Bentley. A little further – “BMW”, “Jaguar”, “Porsche”. It is strictly forbidden to take photographs of salons and clients, at the entrance a steel plate made for centuries informs about this. And, by the way, not for such exorbitant prices. It is a budget option: Porsche for 80 thousand euros.
And how much is real estate here? Realtor agency in the neighborhood. Ads are hanging on a glass display case. Apartments with sea views, 166 square meters, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms – 8.7 million euros! However! Maybe something simpler? Here is odnushka, 30 square meters, sea view, balcony, good condition – 1,100,000 euros! And someone else says that Moscow real estate has nowhere to grow in price? Yes, we are up to Monaco as the moon!
Maybe, according to the Moscow principle, it’s better to shoot, since such a high cost of square meters? Here is the announcement. Four-room apartment, 199 – footage, two bedrooms – 27,000 euros per month. Brute force! Treshka, 99 meters, without bells and whistles – 6000 euros per month! Perhaps it’s worth pitying our rich people, they have to tight here. And buy prices bite, and take off expensive!
5000 Euro per minute
At night, Monaco, of course, is not Moscow … Still, we will have a nightlife (in terms of sleeping people per square meter) more bustling. But in the principality there is also where to go. Though in a cabaret, even in a night club, but most importantly, of course, a casino. The same, famous throughout the world, where princes, kings and movie legends played. Gilded and inlaid inside, it looks more like an old palace. Taking pictures is also forbidden at all.
True rich people prefer to spin roulette in private rooms behind closed doors. In the general room, the audience is simpler, but there are a lot of Russians among them: tourists who came to take a look, dispel the longing of the wife of businessmen, and the young people are short of time before the night club opens. Well, the rates are appropriate: from 5 to 500 euros.
Although sometimes something unusual happens here too. Here, from a restaurant where she was sitting with an elderly bald gentleman, a pretty girl came out in an evening dress and earrings with large diamonds. In each hand – a game card for five thousand euros. Put on a chip, closing two “thirds”. A minute of waiting, guessed! I won at one of the bets in the ratio of 1 to 3, took fifteen thousand euros and left, saying thank you to the dealer in Russian.
Lucky! I shake my head after her.
I heard, looked around, smiled like a native:
This is a gift from my friend!
And she ducked back into the restaurant, under the arm of the patron.
My bets are more modest, less and gain. I exchanged 20 euros plus 10 euros for admission, I won 35 euros in half an hour. You can’t buy a yacht or an apartment with a car. I’ll go choose a souvenir magnet. In memory of Monaco, the land of Russian rich.
“We will move the railway!”
What do French newspapers write about the latest tricks of Russian tyrants
The Russian, who bought a villa in Bellevue-sur-Mer (a resort near Monaco), was terribly dissatisfied with the fact that there is a railway line next to his house. Right along the coast. To get rid of the noise that interferes with rest, he wanted for 100 million euros to become the majority shareholder of the railway company and break the decision to move the rails to hell. While the railway workers are fighting off. But our rich is ready to increase the amount.
The Russian oligarch, who bought a villa on the small peninsula of Saint-Jean, wanted to build another floor to expand his holding by 500 square meters. But the city hall referred to the law, according to which no building can be higher than the local lighthouse built during the time of Napoleon III. The Russian citizen immediately offered 15 million euros to make the lighthouse higher.
A domestic banker equipped his villa in Monaco with a video surveillance system more suitable for a military base than a peaceful home. This triggered a series of rumors of impending military conflicts in the Mediterranean. But, as it turned out later, the banker simply wanted to watch flowers from his Moscow office in his overseas garden.
Last records
The Western press does not get tired of trumpeting new and new expensive purchases of luxury goods made by our rich. The press services of the oligarchs themselves immediately refute everything, but reputable newspapers stand their ground: “The Russians are buying up the most expensive!” So, according to the foreign press.
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov bought near Monaco the most expensive villa in the world. Villa “La Leopolda”, named after the Belgian King Leopold II, was sold for $ 730 million. 10 acres of land are adjacent to the house, and a team of 50 gardeners takes care of the plot.
Billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev, rich in fertilizer production, bought the Donald Trump mansion on Palm Beach in Florida for $ 100 million. This is a record amount in the history of single-family home sales in the United States.
Billionaire Alisher Usmanov purchased a $ 96 million home in North London. An 11-acre plot adjoins an English Empire style house on Beachwood Estate.
This, however, is no longer a record. Because another Russian oligarch (who wished to remain anonymous) immediately bought the most expensive private house in England for $ 100 million.
Paradise for seekers of grooms
Now I know what paradise looks for seekers of wealthy grooms. I got into it at a white party at the Royal Regatta in Mallorca. In a hall decorated with white flowers, hundreds of white-clad richest people in the world hung out – oil, gas, and chocolate kings. Including simply the King of Spain, Juan Carlos I. The waiters (also in white) were delivering elite wines and snacks to the languid singing of a jazz star. And – no adventurers. Ladies were in a negligible minority – someone respectable wives or laughter-daughters. “But the girls don’t know!” – I thought, unsuccessfully trying to find compatriots …
The cream of society abroad has long been gathered under sails. Yacht racing is not even skiing for you, hobby will cost you not millions, but millions of dollars: the yacht itself, the team wearing T-shirts from Gucci and Cavalli … Our rich people have not been here for a long time at this elite holiday. They bought yachts, but more like floating palaces. But now they seem to have come to their senses. In our current royal regatta, two of our teams started right away. The owner and captain of Rus7, Valars holding CEO Kirill Podolsky, told me about the brilliant prospects this sport opens up for businessmen, whose company immediately becomes world-famous and the level of acquaintances reaches the royal level. But for the audience, the fun begins on the beach. After the race, more than a hundred of the richest people in the world scurry along the pier. They go to shops (the cheapest T-shirt – 650 euros after a 50 percent discount), drink coffee in restaurants (one of them was chosen by Juan Carlos, where he dines without any protection). And they are clearly bored without female society, while party girls are combing nightclubs. Majorca itself has been chosen by Russian oligarchs a long time ago. On excursions, they will tell you about the villas of Hollywood stars and our rich people, separated by commas. They say that Melnichenko recently asked the old castle, but didn’t get involved in the little things – the castle turned out to be cheaper than his yacht. But true world kings look modest. They can not be distinguished in the crowd. You just need to know that this crowd gathers near sports yachts after racing.
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