Presenting Club Life at Liv. September 1st

 



 

Warren Buffett is celebrating his 82nd birthday by giving each of his three children a big present: about $600 million worth of his company's stock for their charitable foundations.

Buffett announced the gifts in a letter made public Thursday, saying he is rewarding his children for the way they've run their foundations.

The new contributions, added to previous gifts, mean they'll each receive about $2.1 billion in stock over time. In 2006, Buffett promised to give roughly $1.5 billion of Class B Berkshire Hathaway stock to each of the foundations his children run as part of a plan give the bulk of his fortune to charity.

The biggest share of Buffett's $44.7 billion fortune will go to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Another sizable gift will go to the Susan Thompson Buffett foundation that Buffett created with his first wife. He did not change those pledges on Thursday.

Buffett said he decided to increase the amount his children will receive because of the progress they've made.

"I'm very pleased about how all three of them have handled the contributions in the last six years," Buffett told The Associated Press.

Buffett said he is feeling fine and this decision was not prompted by any concern about his health. Berkshire Hathaway's chairman and CEO has been undergoing radiation treatment for prostate cancer this summer, but he has said his doctors do not believe the disease is life-threatening.

Each of Buffett's three children all chose a different focus for their foundations, based on their own interests.

Howard Buffett, 57, is helping farmers in impoverished nations produce more to help end world hunger. Susie Buffett, 59, is strengthening early childhood education and looking for ways to reduce teen pregnancy. Peter Buffett, 54, wants to empower women and girls worldwide through education, collaboration and economic development to end violence against women.

"They've done everything I've hoped for and more with the original gifts," Buffett said.

Peter Buffett said it's nice to hear his father praise the charitable work he has been doing. This latest gift should enable him and his wife to accomplish more with their foundation, he said.

"It means we get to go deeper essentially," Peter Buffett said.

Susie Buffett said her dad's latest gift is exciting because she'll able to do more to help improve early childhood education.

"I'm glad we're not getting it until next July because there are a lot of things to think about," Susie Buffett said.

Howard Buffett is traveling in Africa with limited access to phone or email and could not immediately be reached on Thursday.

As part of his giving plan, Warren Buffett has always said that all of his Berkshire stock – which today includes 350,000 Class A shares and 3,770,934 Class B shares – will eventually go to charity.

The pledges to the five foundations that Buffett outlined in 2006 accounted for about 85 percent of his stock. Buffett said that increasing the amount each of his three children will receive now means that about 90 percent of his stock is spoken for.

Buffett has also been making smaller gifts of Berkshire stock to mostly unnamed charitable foundations. He said those would continue.

"As the years go by, I will commit more and more to get to that 100 percent," Buffett said.

In his will, Buffett has specified that any shares he hasn't already pledged to charity at the time of his death will go to his Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. And he has requested that all proceeds from his giving be spent within 10 years after his estate is closed.

Buffett has been giving each of the five foundations 5 percent of his total pledge annually since 2006.

The gradual manner Buffett is giving his stock away makes it more difficult to say how much the gifts are worth because Berkshire's stock price changes. The $2.1 billion estimate is based on current stock prices.

Buffett said he estimates that his kids will wind up with roughly double the amount to give away because the change he made. Each of Buffett's children has been receiving stock worth about $50 million to $65 million for several years. Starting next year, they will receive stock worth roughly $100 million to $125 million.

Buffett said he's still never been tempted to give up his day job and become a full-time philanthropist. Instead, he's trusting others to distribute his wealth.

"They're doing a better job than I could, and I've got plenty to do running Berkshire," he said.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is an Omaha-based conglomerate with more than 80 subsidiaries, including insurance, manufacturing, railroad, utility, furniture and restaurant firms. It also holds major investments in companies such as Wells Fargo & Co., Coca-Cola Co., Washington Post Co. and IBM.

Lane Joaillier has just unveiled a 36.03-carat rectangular cushion cut fancy yellow diamond ring

Serious gem collectors are in for a treat, as Hong Kong-based Lane Joaillier has just unveiled a 36.03-carat rectangular cushion cut fancy yellow diamond ring.
The news follows the opening of the jeweler's third store in Causeway Bay, Hong Kong last week. At an interview with our sister publication BACCARAT magazine, graduate gemologist Philip Lane divulged "It's part of the strategy to expand our client base. Whereas our Central stores serve mostly travellers or westerners, we expect our branch in Causeway Bay to cater to local Chinese customers."
While few will have the ability to fork out the dough for the brilliant ring, it is now on view at the newly-opened store.

Touring Monaco with Lewis Hamilton & Jenson Button

In 2000, Riva joined the Ferretti Group, one of the world’s leaders in luxury boats, working to integrate their style with Ferretti's knowledge. With the partnership came new research and ideas, ultimately leading to Riva's collaboration with Australian-born industrial designer Marc Newson in 2010. While the luxury speed boat isn't exactly breaking news, it's still really cool. Newson created the limited edition boat by reinterpreting Riva's classic ‘Aquariva.’ With such a broad range of design experience under his belt (including aircraft, furniture, jewelry, and clothing design), his transition into nautical design was probably an easy one.

“My own career has undoubtedly been influenced by the Italians’ ability to impact so many areas of design,” explains mega-designer Marc Newson, “That influence is fully evident in ‘Aquariva by Marc Newson’, my first nautical design project for the iconic Italian brand.” Choosing to create a unique vessel, Newson used phenolic composite (a wood-like laminate that is textile-based) for the deck and instrument panel. According to Riva, the material "was developed in the first half of the 20th century, and was a precursor to fibreglass." It supposedly maintains the organic feel and aesthetic of wood, while being significantly more durable. Another neat feature is that instead of the standard stainless steel and chrome brass generally associated with small boats, Newson decided to use the more modern and lightweight choice of anodized aluminum.

Newson is known to incorporate biomorphism into his designs, which is a style that uses organic lines and patterns, and his preference shows in the way he chose to design the boat using flowing lines in lieu of sharp edges. The decision also helps to give the speed boat a more retro look. When discussing the creative process involved with developing his glamorous new boat for Riva, Marc Newson explains, “So much of my work is about simplification and elimination. Once you’ve done that the design starts to emerge. I wanted to hark back to the time before boats became such complex pieces of machinery.” Only 22 of these sleek vessels were manufactured and sold though Riva dealers, along with the New York-based Gagosian Gallery.

After Winning The Gold Dr. Dre Presents The Olympic Gold Team With A Gift

After taking down Spain to win gold at the 2012 London Games, the US

men’s basketball team was gifted custom Beats by Dre to match the players

 new medals.

The headphones, finished in an attractive metallic gold and equipped with

black leather ear cups, are a studio model that will never be sold in store.

 

Vision

Visionary designer and award-winning architect Zaha Hadid has created a futuristic motorboat with a very innovative monicker, the Z-Boat. The eight-meter vessel is fabricated from fiberglass and carbon fiber, with interiors crafted from new vinyl materials, and will be offered in a limited edition of 12.
In a press statement released by French firm Shoreteam, which is charged with building the Z-Boat, the team explains the raison d'etre behind the cutting-edge yacht: “The idea is to think of vessels or vehicles as highly individualistic expressions of art, architecture and design, reflecting the edge of what is possible using the most advanced means, including materials, software systems, and methods of fabrication.”
Current plans are to produce the boat in a range of colors, including white, slate gray and blue, as well as the prototype in black.

Veteran Services of America

Project Azzam

The Saudi Royal Family has set out to build the world’s largest private yacht. The $600 million mega yacht is known as Project Azzam, and measuring at 590ft long, it will be longer than some cruise ships.
Currently, the world’s largest yacht record is owned by Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich. His yacht, The Eclipse, is about 540ft long and features two swimming pools, two helipads, a gym, a hair salon, and a submarine.

The Eclipse: The Current Largest Yacht in The World

Details of what Project Azzam will feature are limited, but we know that the fuel tank will hold over 1 million liters of fuel and there are only a handful of areas in the world that can accommodate a boat of such size, including Monaco and Antibes.

Project Azzam: The World’s New Largest Yacht

Boca Raton Launch Event

In a move that confirms the renewed vitality of real estate and construction in Florida’s Palm Beach County, Capponi Construction Group & Douglas Elliman, Florida Brokerage, marked the grand opening of a shared office at 444 E. Palmetto Park Road in Boca Raton, Florida.

The event honored Rita Johnson, founder of the non-profit Shuzz Fund, a Boca Raton-based charity that provides footwear for poverty-stricken children. The event was hosted by Capponi Construction Group and Douglas Elliman, Florida Brokerage and co- sponsored by Moet Hennessy and GR Restaurant Management Group.

Chairman Michael Capponi was joined by principals of Capponi Construction Group (CCG), including Kenneth J. Gross, President and CEO; Executive Vice President Robert Wrieden; and Todd Pennington, Director of Strategic Operations. Vanessa Grout, CEO of Douglas Elliman, Florida Brokerage was accompanied by company principals including Managing Broker Marisela Cotilla; Executive Vice President, Douglas Elliman Carlo Gambino; Pamela Gottfried and Senada Adzem.

The evening was followed by an after party at Boca hotspot, Racks, where over 800 people came to show Capponi and Elliman their support for joining the palm beach county community.

 

The United States Dominates The 2012 London Olympics

The United States took 46 Gold Metals.China took 38 metals. The fact's speak for themselves. 104 for the US. in total medals.  87 for England. 65 for Korea 28. France took 24.Hungary took 17 overall.

Prizes are considered taxable income; based on the value of the precious metals in each gold, silver and bronze medal. Using Tuesday’s commodity prices, the value of a gold medal (14 oz., 1% gold, 92% silver, 7% copper) was about $675. The silver (14 oz.; 92% silver, 8% copper) was $385 while a bronze medal (13 oz.; 97 % copper, 2% zinc, and a trace of tin) is worth about $5.

Based on these numbers, American athletes will owe approximately $236 for each gold medal, $135 for each silver, and $2 for a bronze, assuming at maximum tax rate of 35 percent. The tax ratio is effectively $7,000 a gold metal.

Meet Azature: The World's most expensive nail polish

Los Angeles-based luxury jeweler Azature has revealed the most expensive nail polish in the world.

Containing 267-carats of black diamonds, the tiny bottle of varnish has been priced at 250,000 dollars.

Only one bottle will be produced, however, budget 0.5oz versions of the ritzy design, that each contain a single black diamond, will go on sale later this month.

Priced at more reasonable 25 dollars per diamond-shaped bottle, It will be stocked in Fred Segal stores throughout Los Angeles.

Never Throw Stones At A Glass House

US$600,000 for this three-bedroom house, designed by Italian architect Carlo Santambrogio. Just about everything is wrought from glass, from the furniture to the stairs. Available for viewing from Santambrogio’s showroom at London Portland Street, the house boasts 7mm thick walls, which the designer says can be specially heated to buffer you from the elements.

Your glasshouse can be rigged with Santambrogio's accompanying all-glass furniture range, for the ultimate in exhibitionistic living.



Brad Pitt purchase's Angelina a Patek Phillipe

Brad Pitt is quite the sophisticated horologist: the suave Hollywood A-lister has splashed out US$390,000 on a Patek Philippe as a wedding gift for fiancée Angelina Jolie.

The watch in question is a Minute Repeater from the premium Swiss manufacture, which usually comes with a two-year waitlist. Each exquisite piece is reportedly hand-examined at the Genevan headquarters by a member of the Stern dynasty, the family who owns the manufacture.

“Brad decided to buy one of the watches after meeting the Stern family at a watch fair in Basel. He wanted to buy Angelina a unique gift that very few people own, which is like a piece of art,” a source said.

“Its chimes are based on the Big Ben and the piece is constructed by hand. He went to Geneva to pick it up and it’s believed he’ll present it to Angelina as a pre-wedding gift.”

The custom-made timepiece is said to boast a yellow gold and mother-of-pearl dial, and took two months to assemble.

Jay-z and Beyonce top Forbes again

Beyoncé and her hip-hop mogul hubby Jay-Z have had a good year: they're nursing an adorable baby girl and also own bragging rights for being the highest paid celeb couple for 2012.

Clinching top spot on Forbes' just-released rankings for the Highest-Paid Celebrity Couples list, the power pop pair, who introduced the world to their too-precious-for-words daughter Blue Ivy Carterlast year, amassed a combined total of $78 million between May 1, 2011 and May 1, 2012.
According to the financial news rag, Jay-Z and Beyoncé inched out last year's winners, Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, thanks in part to a platinum album from the bootylicious singer, as well as Jay-Z's sell-out Watch The Throne tour collaboration with fellow rap artist Kanye West.

Light in Motion

Israeli-French designer Arik Levy never ceases to amaze us with his poetic juxtaposition of nature and technology. His latest feat? The modular, minimalist Rhythm designed for Vibia.
No doubt a beautiful object to fixate your eyes on, Rhythm draws a thin line between harmony and disruption. Composed of 10 modules of horizontal sticks, the lamp is capable of adopting infinite horizontal and vertical configurations. Each stick can rotate on an axis and be positioned at the desired angle, allowing a sublime multitude of looks - ranging from “soft waves to chaotic shapes” - to be created.


Rhythm is available in two different colours and finishes: beige lacquer and matt dark brown.