Well, you can’t take it with you, and given the way Gordon Brown is plugging loopholes to prevent people from doing anything to mitigate their inheritance tax, it seems you may just as well spend it while you can. That, it appears, is just what the super wealthy are doing, and in a style that makes the extravagances of the 1920s and the Victorian era pale into insignificance. Posh and Becks, Simon Cowell, Madonna and – believe it or not – Sir Cliff Richard are among those emptying their sizeable piggy banks to buy everything from £85m penthouses and £72 million yachts to £30 million weddings and £4.6 million earrings, according to a survey from Virgin Money. Interestingly, it is a case of keeping up with the Joneses – “or rather the ‘Romans’ or the ‘Greens’”, according to Jason Wyer-Smith of Virgin Money, as competitive consumption is evident even among the super rich. For example, Roman Abramovich has four yachts worth more than £200 million, and has another “mega-yacht” on order for £100 million, which is rumoured to be even larger than the Platinum – a 525ft palace designed to be the largest private yacht in the world – owned by the Crown Prince of Dubai. Owning the biggest yacht is a big draw for some of the world’s richest – for example Larry Ellison of Oracle ordered his yacht – Rising Sun – to be expanded during construction to outdo arch business rival Paul Allen of Microsoft’s yacht Octopus. If you have the money, A-list rock stars are also for hire to entertain at the most lavish weddings, with the likes of Mick Jagger, Beyonce, Robbie Williams and Sir Elton John becoming unlikely wedding singers – of a much higher quality than most obviously. Interestingly, when you get to the billionaire status, many people live more “frugal” lifestyles than the multimillionaires, said Mr Wyer-Smith. The world’s top 10 billionaires, averaging £25 billion each – generally drive Mazdas, Fords or Lincolns, and shun the Ferraris and Bugattis. Microsoft founder Bill Gates has a Porsche, while Ingvar Kamprad (correct), the founder of Ikea, is content with a Volvo. But it isn’t easy to keep up with the super rich even if you have the cash to spend – private jet manufacturers are apparently turning away business because their order books are full for the coming year. Art and property prices are being driven through the roof thanks to the spending power of the world’s wealthy, and waiting lists for luxuries such as an exclusive £500,000 watch and the Aston Martin AMV8 is three years. Even places on the waiting list for the Bugatti Veyron, the world’s most expensive and fastest road car, are reportedly changing hands for tens of thousands of pounds, said Mr Wyer-Smith. Britain has six of the 10 most expensive properties on sale in Europe at present, something that will not surprise first-time buyers struggling to get on the property ladder. But for those where money is no object, the financial fight to have the best and enjoy the status it affords is worth the wait. I just wonder if by the time you have waited three years for a watch, it suddenly looks out of date when you get it?