Antarctic Cruises

Freezing wind, icebergs, penguins and a dearth of hotel rooms—these are the things you’ll find in the most expensive cruise destination in the world. Antarctica may not be the most hospitable region in the world, but it’s popular enough to guarantee that cruises destined for the southernmost continent will have passengers aplenty.

The tourist season in the Antarctic region is relatively short. The four months from November to February are the only time the temperatures are high enough to make the trip. The tourist season is also the time when the region gets the most sunlight. In December and January, days can last up to 20 hours.

The wildlife you’ll see also depends on when you go. Hatching penguins can be seen in December and November while slightly more mature young can be seen in February. February also brings more whale sightings than any other time of year.

The operational cost of an Antarctic voyage, as well as a lack of tourist infrastructure on the mainland, ensures that ticket prices won’t be going down anytime soon.

Antarctic cruises most often start in South America. The largest ships only offer sail-by tours of the continent—no disembarkation from the ship. A cruise to the world’s most expensive destination may cost as little as $5,000 and could climb as high as $26,000 or higher!

Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000

The Enzo Ferrari, sometimes referred to as the the Ferrari Enzo and also F60 is a 12-cylinder Ferrari supercar named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fiber body, F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a maximum downforce of 1709 pounds (775 kg) is reached at 186 mph (301 km/h) the rear spoiler is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce.

Bugatti Veyron

The Bugatti brand is one of the automotive industry’s oldest marque’s, and it has plans to make a public and very loud comeback with what could well be the fastest production car to ever hit the blacktop.
After what seems like years of teasing us with prototypes, mock sketches and the odd mention of a 1001 brake horsepower engine, the Bugatti Veyron is finally finished and will be sold to European markets late in 2003, and America and Asia Pacific territories after that.
While the Bugatti name is essentially Italian, Carlo Bugatti (father of Ettore Buggati) left Milan for France in 1904, and the marque has since built its cars in Molsheim, France.
Today, the Bugatti name is owned by Volkswagen, and the new Veyron supercar has also been styled by the Germans, yet despite this many of the die-hard Bugatti fans are still pleased with the car’s appearance.
The Bugatti Veyron was formally announced as ready-to-go by Volkswagen in Monte Carlo recently.
The new all-wheel drive Veyron has more power than the current crop of Formula One cars, and with its massive 8.0-litre, quad turbo engine, carbon fibre-reinforced chassis and aluminium body panels, there are few cars out there today that combine such technical sophistication with a look that’s quite unorthodox, yet strangely appealing.
Price: $1,300,000

La Modernista Diamonds, a jewel in your hand

Caran d’Ache created in 1999 La Modernista Diamonds fountain pen, in homage to Antoni Gaude (1852-1926), the most famous of Modernist architects. The pen, made of rhodium-coated solid silver components, has an 18-carat gold nib, also rhodium-coated. It is covered with 5072 full-cut Top Wesselton VS diamonds totalling 20 carats. 96 half-cut rubies (0.32 carats) are arranged on top of the cap, forming the monogram. Swiss company Caran d’Ache made ‘La Modernista Diamonds‘ a pen that was sold in Harrods, London, for $265,000. Created in memory of architect Antonio Gaudi, the rhodium-coated solid silver pen has an 18-karat gold pen point and is pave-set with 5,072 diamonds and 96 half-cut rubies.
In 2001 GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS certified La Modernista Diamonds fountain pen for holding the world record of The most expensive pen.

Pioneer digital sound projector

Most surround sound speaker systems have five to seven speakers scattered throughout the room. There are a few cheap single-speaker options out there, but for people willing to pay, surely there's some way to get home theater sound from a single spot without compromising on performance — or appearance? Mr. Rockefeller, Pioneer's got your number: 254, which is the number of speaker drivers in its PDSP-1 Digital Sound Projector, a 500-watt panel that can fill your entire living room with crisp, clear surround sound. The PDSP-1 is the shape and size of a flat-panel TV, so you just hang the it underneath your (presumably 71-inch) plasma screen, and the speakers will bounce sound off the walls and ceiling, creating a surround sound environment without cluttering up your Greco-Roman décor with a bunch of speakers and wires. The price of paneled convenience? $40,000 — but the satisfaction of knowing that you have 50 times the number of speakers hooked up to your TV as anyone else is totally worth it.

LG 71-inch plasma TV

Sure, you could get a 50-inch TV. That'd be nice, I guess… but any rube can waltz into Circuit City and pick one up, which makes it lose its charm. Plus, only 50 inches? You're loaded; you can do better than that. The 71-inch LG MW-71PY10 plasma TV should satisfy your big-screen desires nicely. This thing is a behemoth, so you'll need a gigantic wall and a couple of hired goons to install it, but once it's up on your wall you'll feel like you're sitting in a movie theater. Come to think of it, you'll need a room about as big as a movie theater to put it in, but if you can afford a $70,000 TV, that's likely not a problem.

World's Most Expensive Homes

Along Australia's Gold Coast and across the French Riviera, they sit above the beach offering extraordinary views of the sea. In the U.K. they are palaces that humble the Queen's Belgravia mansions.

Others range from landed estates throughout continental Europe to nature preserves in Zambia.

These are some of the world's most expensive properties, and the prices are as unique as the homes. Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan's Aspen ski lodge lists for $135 million, while 6,000 miles away, a 64-room Istanbul waterfront mansion asks $100 million.