Buying bridges, space tourism and the return of the private chef – December links roundup

Wednesday, December 30, 2009 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Protecting your wealth | Tags: entrepreneurs, links, investment, infrastructure, charity, retirement, Richard Branson, wills, philanthropy, space tourism, chefs

What are the most popular financial and business stories on the web this month? Find out what the Bespoke team have been reading…

A stock exchange for charities : How do wealthy benefactors find the right non-profit to donate to, and how do charities find the perfect philanthropist? A new online marketplace, called the Social Impact Exchange, aims to provide easy connectivity.

Why wealthy investors are buying bridges : The Wall Street Journal reports on the trend for buying infrastructure – everything from windmills to bridges. Thanks to the Pre-Budget Report, the same may end up happening in the UK with the establishing of Infrastructure UK, the new planning body that aims to secure funds for the next 50 years of major infrastructure (see our PBR 2009 roundup for more details).

Dear Economist… : Recently Grant Thornton interviewed Financial Times economics agony uncle Tim Harford for our My Big Decision series. Harford uses economics to answer your daily dilemmas – here a grandparent is wondering whether to be fair to his children or his grandchildren children in his will.

Private chefs make a comeback – and get a TV show : Why private chefs are set to be in vogue again.

How one kid made 170 million in two years : Remember Alex Tew, the 21-year-old UK student who sold pixels for advertising on his One Million Dollar Homepage and made a million within just a few months? Last month, a young US entrepreneur, Aaron Patzer, sold the personal finance website he started aged 25 for $170 million (£105 million). Here he explains how…

Nine places where you can retire and live like a king : From classic Calitri in Italy to Cuenca, Ecuador, recently named the best place in the world to retire.

Branson wants to fly customers to the moon : Space tourism is back on the agenda as Richard Branson unveiled his space capsule (9 December) at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California. The ticket price is $200,000 (£120,400) and the first batch of 100 tickets is massively oversubscribed. Here, FT columnist John Gapper sees it as a risky business.

Image: © Ross 2085

Read more links from the Bespoke team.