Some really wealthy people like to spend the holidays in a second home, like a fancy cabin in Gstaad, a yacht near St. Barts, or a super expensive hotel in the Caribbean that costs $3,000 per night.
According to several experts on wealth, some of the richest folks do celebrate Christmas at their main homes, but many times, they prefer a different place for the actual day of Christmas.
Whether it’s a large ranch in Wyoming or a grand beach mansion in Martha’s Vineyard, rich individuals aim to gather in their most spacious homes, according to Nicole Pollard Bayme, the founder of the luxury styling and shopping company LaLaLuxe.
“A bunch of people construct large homes in Aspen precisely for this purpose, to have the entire family gather and spend time together,” she explained. “They have every possible gift delivered and placed under the tree before they arrive.”
Luxury Destinations
As per Wealth-X, the Colorado ski resort has the highest concentration of people worth $30 million or more in the US, with one such individual for every 67 residents. Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Michael Dell have been seen there.
Winston Chesterfield, the founder of Barton, a consulting firm that specializes in luxury and wealthy clientele, mentioned that other well-liked ski resorts in the US include Lake Tahoe in California and Nevada, as well as Vail, Colorado.
In Europe, Gstaad and Verbier in Switzerland, Kitzbühel in Austria (famous for its annual alpine-skiing race), and Courchevel 1850 in the French Alps are highly popular. Courchevel 1850 has even hosted VIPs like David and Victoria Beckham, Elton John, Prince William, and Kate Middleton.
According to Chesterfield, the ultra-wealthy prefer places with established towns that offer high-end options. For example, Kitzbühel has a branch of the Japanese restaurant Zuma, and Courchevel has a luxury hotel called Cheval Blanc.
For those who enjoy warmth or want to add a beach week to thaw out after skiing, the Caribbean continues to be a popular destination, whether traveling by land or sea.
Billionaire Getaways
St. Barts, especially favored for New Year’s Eve celebrations, has welcomed Bezos and his fiancée Lauren Sánchez. Yachts owned by billionaires like David Geffen, Sergey Brin, Bernard Arnault, and Barry Diller with his wife Diane Von Furstenberg have been seen off its coast.
Some individuals pick a particular resort and return to it consistently.
“They prefer not doing anything,” Chesterfield explained. “They want to be taken care of, waited on.”
Jumby Bay, a resort in Antigua where Oprah Winfrey and Richard Branson are said to own homes, is quite renowned. The rooms there begin at $2,700 per night, but billionaires are likely to opt for the $13,300-a-night villa. Another well-liked choice is The Aman in the Dominican Republic, where rooms range from $2,900 to $4,200 per night.
On the opposite end of the warm-weather spectrum is Africa, a favored destination for both couples and families, as mentioned by Elisabeth Brown, a client manager based in New York at the travel-and-lifestyle-concierge company Knightsbridge.
Affluent individuals choose to lease exclusive villas in conservancies like Ol Jogi in Kenya and Saanane Island National Park in Tanzania, with costs reaching up to $40,000 per night.
If that doesn’t satisfy their desire for distance, there’s the option of outer space. As Pollard Bayme noted, venturing into orbit is “the ultimate demonstration of wealth for the billionaire class.”
Conclusion
The rich spend holidays in fancy places like chalets, yachts, or expensive Caribbean hotels. Some prefer big homes in Aspen or spacious places like ranches and beach mansions. Wealthy families gather for special occasions, ensuring every luxury. Top ski resorts attract billionaires, and European spots like Gstaad and Courchevel are favorites. St. Barts is popular for New Year’s, and exotic places like Jumby Bay cater to billionaires.
