Missing gold bars, tax-free giving and a global party – December wealth links

Wednesday, December 01, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Personal | Tags: links, HNWIs, China, charity, banking, divorce, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, art, investments, gold, wine

Our monthly pick of the web as it relates to high earners and HNWIs.

The penniless divorced businessman and the missing gold bars : A businessman is appealing against his ex-wife’s £2.4 million divorce settlement, but how will the court factor in three missing gold bars ‘left lying around the house’ and now apparently missing?

Next tax hike for the rich: Switzerland : Polls are showing a close vote as the Swiss vote on whether to levy a uniform tax across the country’s 26 cantons. Meanwhile, European clientele are moving assets out due to Switzerland’s new tax deals with other countries.

Offshore tax evasion crackdown expected to raise £10 billion : As opposed to the Treasury’s budgeted £1 billion across the parliament, mainly from the Liechtenstein agreement. Expect more tax treaties.

Global Party for the rich, influential and luxurious : 15 September 2011 sees a 24-hour Global Party for the wealthy elite. Inspired by Phileas Fogg, there will be 80-plus party locations for 80,000-plus VIP guests – this is fundraising on a global scale.

Giving by the rich: Altruism or just a tax write-off? : It IS about charitable giving – well, mostly, says this new survey, but tax incentives do affect donation levels.

Family foundation giving defies economic downturn : The UK’s largest 100 family foundations have given a total of £1.4 billion to charitable causes in 2008/09 – 9% of all private giving. The amount they have given has increased by 40% in the three years to 2009.

Home All-Own : On the growing market for an architect-designed DIY des res.

Most expensive bottle of wine ever sold at auction : Three bottles of Châteaux Lafite-Rothschild 1869 recently went under the hammer for £147,256 each – that’s around £18,000 a glass.

Cultural revolution – New Chinese art : Why Chinese art is becoming collectable – by dealer Michael Goedhuis.

Image: © Giorgio Monteforti/Flickr, 2007

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