Even Queens run into money trouble. The Queen of England with a yearly revenue of £7.9 million pounds is having some difficulty making ends meet. After basic living expenses, including staff upkeep, private jet travel, and a new Sikorsky helicopter, there doesn’t leave much left for the estimated £4 million a year in needed palace repairs. Even with the extra cushion stashed away in her savings, by 2012 her reserve will be empty if the cost of living remains the same. With an estate as grand as hers its no wonder the expense for maintenance is breaking the bank.  The queen is planning to ask for a funding increase in the next year, while others argue for a more practical solution, open the doors to Buckingham Palace all year long for increased revenue from tour tickets. Currently open from the end of July until the end of September, take a look for yourself at the needed upkeep of the Palace while supporting the queen’s financial state.

Via Luxist

It seems that Madonna’s newest addition to her brood required a new residence for the entire family. The Material Girl was granted adoption of little Chifundo “Mercy” James from Malawi in early June and, in the same month, closed on a four story Georgian townhouse in New York City’s Upper East Side. The new pad’s price reflects the deflated housing market with a 28 percent discount at $32.5 million, the New York Times reports. The original ask was $45 million. With 26 rooms, 11-foot ceilings, a two-car garage, and 3,000 sq ft in backyard green space, Madonna and all four of her children will have more than enough room to express themselves. When she was seen house shopping the far East 81st Street location, scoffs were plentiful because the address was out of the bounds of more elite locales on the Eastside. Now an Upper Eastsidian, Madonna’s newest digs will most likely attract other big name personalities further east.

Via New York Times

East Hampton locals and visitors alike can rejoice: The Blue Parrot is back in business. The restaurant closed since 2006, but Ron Perelman resurected the establishment, which opened its doors last week. Best described as funky and cool, the small space only holds seating for 55 and does not accept reservations. Quite the opposite of an upscale dining establishment, dishes range from $6 to $27, and the $9 Dirty Bird Margarita served in a salt-lined mason jar. As an Orthodox Jew, Perelman has plenty of offerings for those with dietary restrictions, though most items feature a Mexican flair. The opening weekend brought a diverse crowd, including Martha Stewart, fashion icon Rachel Zoe, and a crowd of college goers and teens thriving in the bustling atmosphere. Before you enter the lively restaurant, shut those cell phones off. Quoting the menu, “No texting por favor.”

Via New York Magazine

Few can afford a $2.1 million lunch this year. That was last year’s winning bid for lunch with billionaire Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway’s chairman and chief executive, famed for his investing success. This year’s auction for lunch with Buffett started Sunday at $25,000 and is already well over $80,000. However with the economy in its current state, it is unlikely the auction, open until 10 p.m. Friday, will reach numbers as high as last year’s record-breaking bid.

The proceeds from the lunch will benefit the Glide Foundation, providing social services to the poor and homeless of San Francisco. Glide’s founder, Reverend Cecil Williams has felt the pressure of the economic state with rising figures in the foundation’s programs and hopes for a large number from this year’s auction.
The lunch is hosted by the owner’s of Smith and Wollensky restaurant in New York, who has donated $10,000 to Glide. The AP reports that last year’s winner Zhao Danyang of Pureheart China Growth Investment Fund, and seven of his friends is scheduled for the long awaited luncheon with Buffet this Wednesday.

Via Luxist

Who is haute if not Barbie? The girl’s got everything, including class and timeless style. Every girl’s childhood favorite doll is hitting the shelves with a makeover by Bulgari. Is she a fashion icon, toy, celebrity, or doll?  Call her what you will, it is indeed Barbie who is currently endorsing Bulgari’s support of Save the Children’s ‘Rewrite the Future’ campaign, funding education programs for children in poverty stricken areas of the world.  Bulgari hopes to raise $10 million for the cause through the sale of special edition jewelry and timepieces.  Seven timepieces and eleven jewelry items are part of the collection, and $1 million has been personally donated by Bulgari.  Barbie herself is dawning a silver ring on her left hand, engraved with “Save the Children” on the inside and “S. Bulgari” on the outer.  These particular rings have a price tag of $555.  Guaranteed Barbie is the only plastic doll with a ring that pricey. Lucky girl.
Also supporting the campaign are a list of living and breathing celebrities, including Julianne Moore, Benicio Del Toro, Ben Stiller, Sally Field, Sting, William Dafoe, Rosario Fiorello, Gabriele Muccino, Jason Lewis, Andy Garcia, Valeria Golino, Isabella Rossellini, and Debra Messing.

Via Luxury Launches

British actress Sienna Miller, known for her roles in Casanova and Alfie, as well as for her bitter split from ex, Jude Law, is turning in the key to her classy London abode. The townhouse is on the market for $1.6 million. The décor is both sophisticated and mod with a vibrant Turkish bath and sauna, contemporary studio-style reception room, a luminous galleried study area, complete with fireplace and terrace.

Located near friend and model Kate Moss, there is question whether the area is as high-end as it should be for a home of this class. Having bought the townhouse in 2007 for $1.9 million, Miller is lucky if she only loses the $325,000 from her asking price.

Via Luxist

Love it or hate it, Wal-Mart is the leading money maker in the world. The top two richest women in the world are in the family of Wal-Mart descendants. Christy Walton tops Forbes 20 Richest Women in the World list worth $20 billion. She is the widow of Wal-Mart successor, John Walton who died in a 2005 plane crash. Staying in the family, Alice Walton comes in second, worth $19.5 billion. Her father Sam Walton and his brother started a general store in Arkansas in 1962, becoming the world’s largest retailer today. Wal-Mart controls almost 8,000 stores, employs two million people, and reaps annual sales of $400 billion.

The 20 richest women in the world have a combined net worth of $160 billion, formulated from industries in manufacturing, finance, real estate, and commodities. Even with the bad economy taking a toll on their funds, the group has added another $20 billion since March to their collective wealth.

Third and fourth on the list have been involved with some scandal of late. 86 year old L’Oreal Heiress Liliane Bettencourt, worth $15 billion, had a criminal complaint filed by her daughter, after Bettencourt gave $1.3 billion in the form of gifts, life insurance benefits, and assets to 61 year old photographer Francoise-Marie Banier. Susanne Klatten, daughter to the man that saved BMW from bankruptcy, is worth $12 billion, and the victim of blackmail after former lover, Helg Sgarbi, threatened to post secret videos of the two having sex on the internet.  He is now sentenced to serve six years in prison for the crime.
Holding second spot on Forbes Celebrity 100 list, Oprah Winfrey, worth $2.7 billion did not make this year’s richest women list. Female billionaire J.K. Rowling missed the list as well, though one can hardly feel sorry for those women coming up short. With a hopeful turn of events in the economy, there’s always a chance for next year.

Via Forbes

Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton have reportedly been window-shopping for a beachside abode in Malibu. Soon after Prince Harry’s New York City visit, the couple toured a four-bedroom, 4.5-bathroom, four-car garage estate priced at $8 million. As it turns out, the house they saw was already sold to a like-minded buyer.

There’s no reason to get too excited though, because, after all, the Prince is second in line to the British throne. Once he’s king, he’ll be America’s royal resident only when on holiday because no king would dare occupy another nation full-time. Plus, by then, he would have acquired plenty of royal addresses that will not only come to him free of charge, but will probably have more rooms than all of the houses in Malibu.

Via The Real Estate Channel

Even though Harrison Ford has only headlined four movies since 2000, he’s still managed to make it to Forbes’ number one spot as Hollywood’s top earning actor. What shot him up to the top of that crisp, green mountaintop, you might ask? It just so happens that Ford worked out a deal which stipulated that once 2008’s Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull earned back all of its production and advertising costs, all of the overflow profits would be split between himself, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. So, between June 2008 and June 2009, Mr. Indiana Jones earned $65 million. With paydays like that, it’s safe to say that Ford will keep with his four-film-a-decade pace.

The following four top-earning actors who came it millions short of Ford include Adam Sandler ($55 million), Will Smith (tumbled from Forbes’ 2008 top spot with $45 million), and Eddie Murphy and Nicolas Cage who both earned $40 million.

Via Forbes

Donald Trump didn’t have to wait for the new season of “The Apprentice” to fire his employee Carrie Prejean. He okayed Prejean’s dethroning today after repeated warnings to get her to honor her contractual duties were ignored. Apparently, the now former Miss California refused to make appearances at events on behalf of the Miss California USA Organization.

Pageant officials were quick to stress that Prejean’s personal beliefs and past modeling work had nothing to do with her removal. You’ll remember that Mr. Trump re-sashed the beauty queen last month after all those semi-nude pictures surfaced. Her q&a session during the Miss USA pageant in April made her a household name when she asserted her belief that marriage “should be between a man and a woman.”

The successor to the Miss California throne is runner-up Miss Malibu Tami Farrell.

Via MSNBC