Playthings of the super-rich

While the global economy is on a downward slide, the number of billionaires is growing significantly. And as the gap between rich and poor widens, we take a look at the rise of the new super-rich.

In November 2011, the High Pay Commission announced the gap between rich and poor was bigger than ever, with executive pay skyrocketing - the pay of the head of Barclays is up nearly 5,000% in 30 years - and average wages increasing just threefold.

Forbes magazine currently lists more than 1,200 billionaires across the globe, compared to just over 900 in 2007. A total of 400 of them live in the US, 100 each in Russia and China and 73 in the UK.

Combined, these 1,210 billionaires have a net worth of £2.82 trillion - a figure that in 2007, before the recession, stood at £2.19 trillion. They're obviously doing something right.

Similarly, the number of individuals with a net worth of over £1 million is increasing. Not only that, but they're even getting richer. Experts say many of them made fortunes by moving their money around before the crash and then successfully betting on the outcome of the recession.

Plus, 90% of what the wealthy make is reinvested to earn even more money. But, as our feature shows, the 10% that's left is being spent extravagantly...

'A' yacht
There's nothing a billionaire likes more than his own form of extravagant transport and usually this means a private yacht. Russian banking and fertiliser king Andrey Melinichenko spent £200 million on 'A', a Philippe Starck-designed yacht that looks like a nuclear warhead and includes a bath with £25,000 taps and an annual maintenance bill of £12.5 million.

Sheikh Hamad's island
Take Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan, multibillionaire, member of the Abu Dhabi royal family and owner of Al Futaisi island in the Arabian Gulf. Worried he might misplace his island, the sheikh spent £13.75 million having the word 'Hamad' carved into it so he could see it from the sky.

Out of this world
With their extreme wealth, it seems the next step for the world's super-rich is to segregate themselves from us mere mortals.

The first step in their exodus to a better place will come in 2016 with the opening of the Commercial Space Station, otherwise known as The Space Hotel. For £100,000 per person for a five-night stay, the global elite will be able to stay in their own space cabin, far away from prying eyes. And the cost of a return two-day space flight on the Soyuz rocket? Just £500,000.

The flying palace
Saudi prince Al Waleed bin Talal is more of a plane man. His private fleet of aircraft includes the world's only privately owned 747-400 as well as a custom-built double-decker Airbus A-380 that cost £154 million and boasts a Jacuzzi, 15-seat boardroom and a missile defence system.

Home comforts
When they're not travelling, the super-rich like to relax at home in style. Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani owns a 27-storey home in Mumbai that, at a cost of £630 million, is thought to be the world's most expensive house. Inside, the house - named Antilia after a mythical island - has a 50-seat cinema, parking for 160 cars, three helipads and, incredibly, a room with a snow machine.

Roman's Eclipse
The king of the seas, however, is none other than oligarch and Chelsea boss Roman Abramovich, who spent a reported £1 billion on his private yacht, Eclipse. With its own disco, missile defence system and mini submarine, the 163.5-metre machine literally makes you weak at the knees on sight.

Island life
Huang Yimin became the first person in China to own a private island when he splashed out just £340,000 on Danshanmen island (pictured above). His purchase may be tiny in comparison to some, but Yimin wants to turn his island into a game reserve stocked with pheasant, wild boar and deer, where Chinese tourists can go to hunt.

A world of his own
Some super-rich want more than a private island or a chunk of Iceland. Step forward Peter Thiel, billionaire co-founder of PayPal, who has invested in an uninhabited floating country in international waters off the coast of San Francisco. Thiel plans to live in his own private country, free from any laws and taxes, from 2018.

More in the know on MSN Him:

History's most famous informants
The greatest moustaches in football
Bad predictions made by famous men

Share this story, join MSN Him on Facebook or drop us a (short) line on Twitter