Transcription
Let's head to California, the U.S. state with the most billionaires and tons of millionaires. And to answer an important question: How much money do the wealthy really spend in a day?
For the most part, millionaires still have to make sure they don't overspend. But as a billionaire, it's pretty hard to blow all your money. Billionaires have more houses than millionaires, more expensive boats, their own planes, and they use money and influence to buy the most expensive items in the world, like a $70 million dollar car or a $2 million dollar pair of sneakers. So, what is life like for a millionaire versus a billionaire? Let's live a day in the life of the ultra-wealthy and find out.
Let's start where the wealthy wake up every morning: their luxury mansions. For a millionaire, homes can range from a $1 million dollar city apartment to eight-figure estates. But for this video, imagine you're a millionaire who lives in this $7.9 million dollar Spanish-style mansion in Santa Fe with 8 bedrooms and 13 bathrooms, a lagoon-style pool, and a huge master suite. But the upkeep on a house like this can get pretty expensive. Annual maintenance costs are about one percent of what a home is worth. That's about $79,000 per year, or $216 per day. And if you want any service workers, it costs a minimum of $55,000 a year just for a single butler, or about $150 a day.
This seems tame compared to a billionaire. First of all, billionaires have an average of four properties and invest an average of $160 million dollars in real estate. Imagine you're a billionaire who likes to keep things luxe, so your main focus is the $195 million dollar Chartwell Estate. It has manicured gardens, a huge fountain, wine cellar, and even secret tunnels. It kind of reminds us of billionaire Jeff Bezos's $175 million dollar Warner Estate. But living in a home this expensive, you've got to think about security costs. Reasonable security costs for the ultra-rich are around $1.5 million per year, or about $4,110 per day. You also have to pay $90,000 for a full butler service, or about $247 a day. You can't forget about those property taxes of almost $1.5 million dollars per year, or another $4,110 per day.
Now it's time to get ready to start your day. If you're a millionaire, you can afford the most expensive clothing brands. Perhaps your closet is filled with Gucci, like these $2,600 Princeton loafers or this $18,650 dollar biker jacket. You can also splurge on this $250,000 Stuart Hughes belt. It's hard to pin down the average amount of money millionaires spend on clothing each month since it depends on their personal preferences, but it's estimated to be anywhere between $5,000 and $50,000. That could cost as little as $164 a day, all the way up to $1,645.
But if you're a billionaire, getting ready to start your day might mean throwing on some of the most expensive clothes and jewels ever sold. This Patek Philippe Grand Master Chime watch cost $31 million dollars and was the most expensive ever sold at auction. You could also own this $10 million Farah Gray jacket made with 460 carat diamonds. As for footwear, you're a billionaire now, so you can easily go for something over the top, like the most expensive sneakers ever: these solid gold OVO x Air Jordans that cost $2 million dollars. Even with just these expensive items taken into consideration, that's a total of $117,808 per day.
Now that you're dressed to the nines and ready to head out, let's take a look at your garage. As a millionaire, you can enjoy driving this $315,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost. But if you can spend more, if you really want to, perhaps you also own this $1.3 million dollar Aston Martin Valhalla or this $2.7 million Mercedes-AMG One. But with top-of-the-line cars, you'll also have to pay premium maintenance costs. New tires for a luxury car cost a reported $30,000, and replacing them along with rims can cost at least $120,000. This comes to about $410 per day to own just one supercar.
If you're a billionaire, these costs get higher. But if you have the ability to buy the most expensive cars in the world, this 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO cost $70 million dollars. Am I reading that right? And now it's in your garage. You also might own this $3 million Bugatti or this $13 million Rolls-Royce Swept Tail. But the price of upkeep on a one-of-a-kind $70 million dollar car is pretty crazy. We're talking an epic garage with private security and a luxury mechanic that's used to working with expensive vehicles. The price of yearly upkeep could exceed $200,000, depending on how much you actually drive the car, so we'll say the cost is about $548 per day.
It's time to finally leave your mansion for the day. So, how about we grab some lunch? Billionaires and millionaires could both technically afford California's most expensive restaurant, Orsa & Winston. It serves things like truffles and wagyu beef at a cost of $450 to $1,000 per meal. But a millionaire might not have the same reputation as a billionaire to help them skip the long lines and get a reservation. Personally, I just go to In-N-Out Burger. But whatever. Thankfully, there are plenty of other options for millionaires to spend their money, like Providence, a seafood restaurant where meals cost $165 to $325 bucks, or CUT by Wolfgang Puck with an average price of $230. Or if you prefer, you could splurge on a private chef, which costs an average of $490 per day in California.
Now that you're full, it's time to hit your real destination: your luxury yacht. As a millionaire, you probably own something like this Prestige 360 motor yacht. It costs $2 million and is about 62 feet or 19 meters long with a cozy and spacious cabin. For a small yacht, you're looking at annual fuel and maintenance to be about 10 percent of its value. In this case, it could cost $200,000 a year, or $548 per day.
As a billionaire, you're going to go big or go home with this epic yacht: this $1.5 billion dollar Eclipse superyacht, measuring 553 feet or about 168 meters long. It has three launch boats, two helipads, and even a missile defense system that you'll hopefully never need to use. Fuel for a superyacht can add up to $400,000 per year. Docking costs about $350,000, and a full-time staff can cost $1.4 million dollars annually. So, for a fully staffed Eclipse, you're looking at a daily cost of at least $7,890.
So you're soaking up the sun on your yacht when you realize you're running late for your flight. It's a good thing you own the plane. As a millionaire, you can afford to spend $10 million dollars for a used 2011 Cessna Citation X. You'll also pay about $3,000 per month for storage, and each refuel can cost $11,000. You're also looking at around $215,000 per year in staffing costs. If you only travel once a week, that's still a total of $572,000 minimum for fuel, plus storage and staff comes to $823,000 per year, or $2,254 per day.
As a billionaire, you can afford to be a little more picky. Let's say you go big on this $400 million dollar Boeing 747-8i business jet with a customized cabin. Fuel and crew and maintenance would cost about $13,450 per hour of flight time. Using it for just 10 hours a week would cost $6.99 million dollars a year, or $19,161 per day. Then, of course, there's storage, which would be at least another $5,000 a month, or $164 per day.
Now that the wheels are off the tarmac, let's see where you're heading. As a millionaire, you decide to visit a spot favored by George Clooney. North Island Resort has only 11 villas and costs $11,000 per night. A two-week vacation cost $154,000 for lodging, plus about $10,000 more for food and activities. If you take similar vacations just four times a year, you're looking at a yearly cost of $656,000, or $1,797 per day.
As a billionaire, you can definitely do better than that, like this $44,000 a night vacation on Fiji's private island. The villa is only accessible via private road, and reservations are personally approved by the island's owner. You can also take advantage of some unique trips, like a $195,000 24-hour trip to Antarctica. If you take four of these vacations a year plus two more unique trips, that's a total of $2.85 million per year, or $7,808 per day.
Drum roll, please! All the activities you did today as a millionaire cost about $5,704, while living like a billionaire cost $156,186. And that's all just to maintain your luxurious lifestyle and expensive purchases. As a billionaire, you spent about 27 times more than a millionaire, which makes sense considering that someone worth $1 billion is 50 times richer than someone worth $20 million. Plus, billionaires are known to be more frugal. How do you think they amassed such a fortune in the first place?
Below, did you know that America's billionaires have a collective net worth of more than $3 trillion dollars? Meanwhile, 84 percent of America's millionaires are only worth between $1 and $2.5 million dollars. Thanks for watching, and we'll see you next time.