Forget the Rich List, here’s Britain’s first-ever spend list

Britain’s first ever Spend List is unveiled today, giving a fascinating look at how the financial elite spend their money, where they spend it and who spends the most.

We already know what they’re worth, now we know who actually most enjoys their hard-earned cash!

The Virgin Money Spend List, compiled by Stewart Lansley, identifies a new league of ‘Mega Spenders’ – including Roman Abramovich and Philip Green - and ‘Super Spenders’ – including Posh & Becks, Madonna, Simon Cowell and, surprisingly, Cliff Richard.

And it shows they certainly do enjoy their money! Reportedly from £85 million penthouses to £4.6m earrings and £72m yachts to £30m weddings, the last few years have seen displays of spending power that outstrip even those shown in the famously flash 1920s and late Victorian era. Often, led by a rising demand from a growing band of mega-rich British-based foreign buyers from Russian oligarchs to new Asian billionaires.

But spending is not necessarily linked to wealth even for the super rich, with billionaires living modestly and millionaires living extravagantly. Virgin Money’s Jason Wyer-Smith comments, “It’s interesting to see that, the rich don’t necessarily spend according to their means. It’s not always how much they’ve got to spend but a matter of what they want to buy!”

As for many of us, it may be a case of keeping up with the ‘Jones’ – or rather the ‘Romans’ or ‘Greens’. There’s definitely some evidence of ‘competitive consumption’ amongst the super rich.

With yachts, there’s reportedly a rivalry amongst some members of the super-rich to outdo their counterparts, with one yacht not being enough. Abramovich has four, worth in excess of £200m, and even that is apparently insufficient: he has another ‘mega-yacht’ on order, which is rumoured to be even larger than Platinum owned by the Crown Prince of Dubai, which at 525ft, was designed to be the biggest private yacht in the world. At £100m, Ambramovich’s new yacht will be worth nearly as much as he paid for Chelsea FC.

Indeed, the chase to own the biggest yacht has, to the delight of the luxury yacht trade, led to a constant process of ‘leap-frogging’ whereby mega-yachts are getting bigger and ever-more luxurious every year. Larry Ellison of Oracle, deliberately ordered his yacht – Rising Sun – to be increased in size during construction to outdo Octopus, the yacht ordered by his arch-business rival, Paul Allen of Microsoft.

Meanwhile, hiring your own rock star to celebrate weddings and birthdays is an increasingly popular way of impressing your friends – and the world’s celebrity watchers. The lucky ones in this boom – rock stars like Mick Jagger, Beyoncé, Robbie Williams and Elton John (q.v.), are able as a result to stay amongst the world’s big spenders themselves.

As well as looking at some of Britain’s top spenders – many of whom spend on charity as well as luxury items - the Virgin Money Spend List also identifies some of the least conspicuous spenders.

For example, Sir Ken Morrison, the 73-year old chairman of the supermarket chain, and a near billionaire, has neither a private jet nor a chauffeur though he does run to a ten-bedroom chateau-style home in Yorkshire. And the world’s top ten billionaires, worth an average of £25bn each, have, apparently, relatively modest tastes in cars. None of them owns a Ferrari, a Bugatti or a BMW. While Bill Gates drives a Porsche, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad is content with a Volvo and the rest prefer Mazdas, Fords or Lincolns.

Jason Wyer-Smith adds, “Not many of us have the spending power of those in the Virgin Money Spend List but there are common traits whatever your bank balance or spending habits. It’s important to make sure you’re looking after your finances, whether that’s spending in the right way, saving for a must-have purchase or protecting your money.”