Nouveau riche the second time

Oil's at 145, and Bernanke and Trichet's dovish speak means it's going to stay there for a while. Now, while that is driving the kangaroo harvesters to alcoholism (roo harvesters struggle with rising fuel costs), and the wives of squid fishermen back into prostitution (Japanese squid boats strike over rising fuel costs), I am told the Bedouin tribesmen, these days, are using Porsche Cayennes to haul their caravans across the Sinai. The Siberians, not to be out done, are parading their trophy wives all over London. 

So, we have a new wave of Nouveau riche hitting Cote d'Azur this summer. Which, isn't at all surprising, since you only ever get nouveau riche people there. What is interesting though is that for this year's crop, its the second time. The Arabs had been there in the 80s and the Russians took over from them after the wall came down. So, you would expect them to have developed some taste by now, expect them to have gotten used to their endless petrochemical dollars. And while some of them have (remember, the sheikh doubled down on Citi, a bet that has gone horribly wrong), most of them have not. 

Take, Monsieur Saeed Khouri for example. He has just bought himself number plate for 14mm dollars (the infidels can see the auction here). And his brother bought another for 9mm. Apparently the entire Khouri clan is bonkers for the number plates if the journal is to be believed. And if the journal is to be believed even more, the brothers couldn't be interviewed because they don't like to be the center of attraction. Who bids 14 million for license plate in a public auction, and then says he doesn't like to be the center of attraction. 

And its not just number plates, this has had an impact on the art scene as well. "Islamic Art" as it is called has made a billionaire of David Khalili, nine times over. His art collection which was worth 850mm last year, is worth 9bn today (take this with a grain of salt though, or maybe a generous helping). The Arabs are gobbling up any piece of their culture they can lay their hands on, and no price is too high. And what about the Russians? The Christie's has started listing prices in Roubles, and that says it all. To borrow a phrase from the Times, the Russian billionaire these days bestrides the world of art the same way as the American tycoon did a century ago, with limitless resources and limited taste. 

The Americans were the new rich a century ago and their relentless appetite for art was then derided as comparable to "a tipsy dowager with unlimited credit moving down the Fifth Avenue on a riotous shopping trip". And now we look at Peggy Guggenheim's collection's with awe and admiration. Looks like 50 years later we'll be visiting the Daria Zhukova gallery in Moscow.