Wednesday, August 1, 2012

The top 10 Highest-Paid Football Players in 2011

The list of 2011’s highest-paid soccer players has been released by Forbes Magazine a couple of months ago and we’ve thought we should share the players who earned the most in this last year with you as well. The numbers represent salaries, endorsements and bonuses for every player listed, earned during the last year.
Regarding the fact that some of them, like David Beckham, Thierry Henry or Ronaldinho aren’t playing for top football clubs right now, but they are still in the top ten highest paid footballers list, it’s because they still have major endorsement deals. So, take a look at probably the world’s richest football players in this list with the 10 highest paid footballers of 2011.
No.10 -> Samuel Eto’o
Last year’s Earnings -> $15 million
Club: FC Anzhi Makhachkala
Africa’s most decorated footballer of all time, winning the “African Player of the Year” award four times, he has now added Puma and Ford to his list of sponsors. His salary at the Russian club rises up to $29 million a year, for a 3 year deal, making him the highest-paid player in the history of soccer. On 23rd of August he agreed for a transfer to Internazionale Milano, with a $38.9 million transfer fee.
No.8-9 -> Frank Lampard
Last year’s Earnings -> $17 million
Club: Chelsea
His main wage is the salary on Chelsea’s field, of around $11 million, putting him on Britain’s highest paid sportsmen but he also has a couple of endorsements that make his total earnings quite a lot bigger.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Last year’s Earnings -> $17 million
Club: AC Milan
His salary at the Italian club still keeps him among the first ten in the world, thanks to his reputation of one of the best footballers in the world. He always  had impressive salaries at all teams he played and that’s what happens at AC Milan as well.
No.7 -> Wayne Rooney
Last year’s Earnings -> $20 million
Club: Manchester United
Given his bold and rude attitude, he went back at cursing in front of cameras at West Ham. He did this soon after ending his $600,000-a-year contract with Coca-Cola. His current sponsors are Nike and Electronic Arts, and, the deal at Old Trafford, for around $8 million a year, will last at least 5 more years.
No.6 -> Thierry Henry
Last year’s Earnings -> $21 million
Club: New York Red Bulls
After moving to MLS in 2010 to play for the New York Red Bulls, he has bought a suite in New York for almost $15 million, while his partnership with Gillette started during the late 2010.
No.5 -> Ronaldinho
Last year’s Earnings -> $24 million
Club: Flamengo
He was the best players of the world two years in a row just a couple of years ago and now, after moving to his home country to play for Flamengo he still gets the appreciation he truly deserves. His deal with the Brazilian club will last until 2014 and his endorsements are amazing.
No.4 -> Ricardo Kaka
Last year’s Earnings-> $25 million
Club: Real Madrid
He joins this list thanks to his contract with EA Games, selling around 100 million units of the game FIFA 2011, for his presence on the package cover and, of course, thanks to his huge salary from Real Madrid and several ads he’s been doing lately.
No.3 -> Lionel Messi
Last year’s Earnings -> $32 million
Club: Barcelona
Known as the world’s best player right now, Messi is now sponsored by Konami, AudemarsPiquet, Chery, AirEuropa, PepsiCo and Adidas. And these are just the big companies who sponsor this brilliant player. His annual salary of $16 million adds to the numbers.
No.2 -> Cristiano Ronaldo
Last year’s Earnings -> $38 million
Club: Real Madrid
He enhanced his fame on Twitter, with 3 million followers, and on Facebook, 26 million fans. Names like Nike, Armani, Coca-Cola and Castrol stick with him because he’s got the looks and skills needed to promote any product. His salary at Real Madrid is also incredibly high but he scores a lot of goals for the team and I’m sure he deserves it all.
No. 1 -> David Beckham
Last year’s Earnings -> $40 million
Club: Los Angeles Galaxy
After his deal with Adidas, the biggest in the sports world, supported by upper-class soccer apparel, he signed another deal with Samsung, in may 2011, becoming the company’s main figure for the Games. He’s also doing ads for top fashion companies and his salary is probably the highest in the MLS right now.

Top 29 Most Expensive Luxury Watches in 2010


A stylish watch is probably the ultimate fashion accessory and if you have a thing for watches, you probably know how expensive a beautifully designed timepiece could get. Renowned watchmakers from all over the world use diamonds, platinum, fancy tourbillons, chronographs and perpetual calendars to impress everyone with their most expensive creations.
Business Week asked the most prestigious luxury watch manufacturers about their priciest products currently on the market and that’s how we made this list with the most expensive watches in 2010. Prices range from $75,000 to a staggering $4,599,487 for the most expensive watch in the list.
Enjoy this list with the top 29 Most Expensive Luxury Watches on the market in 2010!

29. Baume & Mercier – William Baume Flying Tourbillon

Price: $75,000
The William Baume Tourbillon features a “flying tourbillon” held in place on only one side, a black dial and black alligator strap. The flying tourbillon is in the 9 o`clock position and in the 6 o`clock position a small seconds display is present. The watch is limited to just 10 units worldwide and it has a 52-hour power reserve.

28. Tag Heuer – Monaco V4

Price: $80,000
Tag Heuer was inspired by cars when they designed this watch and engineered the world’s very first and only belt-driven timepiece. The design is more shock resistant and also requires less maintenance because of the belts and micro ball bearings. An alligator leather strap and a platinum case are the other goodies that come with this watch of which only 150 were manufactured.

27. JeanRichard – Paramount Tourbillon Linear Power Reserve

Price: $128,000
JeanRichard is an independent Swiss watchmaker and this unique tourbillon is probably his most important creation. The Paramont Tourbillon watch uses a linear indicator for the 72-hour power reserve and it comes in an 18 carat white gold case. The stylish watch is paired with a rubber covered alligator strap.

26. Glashütte Original – Julius Assmann 4 in white gold

Price: $161,000
This watch from Glashütte Original was released on the market in 2007 and it features a unique retrograde hour display and tourbillon. It can be worn as a wristwatch or pocket watch and it’s also offered in “cheaper” versions in rose gold or red gold for $145,000.

25. Porsche Design – Indicator P´6910

Price: $225,000
12 Engineers and watchmakers from Porsche Design created this masterpiece from around 800 individual parts. The P’ 6910 is the world’s first chronograph with a mechanical-digital stopwatch function display. It can record up to 9 hours and 59 minutes and it’s available in three variants.

24. Panerai – L’Astronomo Luminor Tourbillon 1950 Equation of Time

Price: $235,000
Panerai unveiled the L`Astronomo only this year at the 2010 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie in Gevena. The watch was developed as a tribute to Galileo Galilei and it will be produced in a limited run of just 30 units. Clients can specify their hometown, which is engraved on the back near a rotating sky chart of the city. The dial of the watch also displays the sunrise and sunset times of the chosen city.

23. Breitling – Grande Complication

Price: $280,716
Breitling also unveiled this luxurious pocket watch in 2010, featuring a perpetual calendar that displays the date, day, month, leap years and moon phases. The watch also has a minute repeater that strikes the hours, quarter and minutes on demand and it was built from around 700 parts. It comes in an 18 carat yellow gold case which features an engraving of the founder of Bentley.

22. IWC – Grande Complication

Price: $318,000
The Grande Complication collection was laughed by IMC 20 years ago and the most expensive version has a platinum case and bracelet. It features a perpetual calendar with moon phase, and a minute repeater combined with a chronograph with an automatic movement. Only 50 pieces of this watch are produced every year.

21. Concord – C1 Tourbillon Gravity

Price: $320,000
The C1 Tourbillon Gravity features a unique seconds display located on the side of the 18 carat white gold case. The watch also has a flyback chronograph and 84-hour power reserve and it could resist under water up to 30 meters.

20. Montblanc – Grand Tourbillon Heures Mysterieuses

Price: $365,750
The Grand Tourbillon Heures Mysterieuses is available in 18 carat white gold, limited to eight pieces, each being priced at $319,000, 18 carat red gold, also limited to eight pieces, each priced at $302,500 and, the most expensive version, a one-off platinum timepiece.

19. Chopard – Secret

Price: $508,000
Chopard’s Secret features a square pave set diamond dial and frame inside a case composed of brilliant diamonds with a total of 19 carats. The watch comes with a satin strap and a baguette-cut diamond clasp. The Swiss watchmaker has only produced two Secret watches so far.

18. A. Lange & Söhne – Tourbograph “Pour le Mérite”

Price: $508,900
A. Lange & Söhne has manufactured only 50 units of this watch which is made from honey gold and features a one-minute tourbillon and a double chronograph. The company is part o the Richemont Group today and these limited edition watches can be purchased only in New York, Dresden, Shanghai or Tokyo.

17. de Grisogono – Meccanico dG S25D

Price: $590,000
The Meccanico dG collection with badnette diamonds was launched by de Grisogono at this year’s Baselworld. The most expensive of them, the S25D, was produced in just 20 units and it’s available in three versions: with bagnette diamonds, with white pave diamonds or black pave diamonds. The watch displays two time zones and has both analong and digital displays and a power reserve indicator.

16. Girard-Perregaux – Vintage Jackpot Tourbillon

Price: $625,000
The Jackpot Tourbillon is made with rose gold and features a manual wind movement with 38 jewels and power reserve of 96 hours. The watch features a decorative slot machine that chimes whenever the lever is pulled. It also comes with a folding buckle on a crocodile strap.

15. Greubel Forsey – Quadruple Tourbillon

Price: $690,000
This complex watch has an asymmetrical platinum case and two beautiful separate double tourbillons which were made of a total of 531 parts. The watchmaker is well known for offering two or even four tourbillon mechanisms in the same watch case and this is probably his best creation. An alligator leather strap also comes with this beautiful timepiece.

14. Vacheron Constantin – Malte Tourbillon Regulator

Price: $700,000
The Malte Tourbillon Regulator has 263 baguette-cut diamonds embedded on its dial and 274 baguette-cut diamonds embedded on its case. It features a tourbillon at 6 o`clock and it comes with a black leather strap. The case is in the classic shape of the Malte collection.

13. Omega – Constellation Baguette

Price: $708,742
The Constellation Baguette is a one of a kind watch from Omega with 459 Top Weselton embedded diamonds, totaling over 30 carats. The case of the watch is made of 18 carat white gold but it’s completely covered by 146 baguette and trapeze diamonds on the dial.

12. Breguet – Classique 5349 Grande Complication

Price: $755,000
The Classique 5349 Grande Complication from Breguet features a dial covered in diamonds and twin rotating tourbillons in a platinum case with embedded baguette-cut diamonds. The watch was built from more than 570 parts and it has three patents to protect its superior precision and technology.

11. Audemars Piguet – Jules Audemars Grande Complication

Price: $780,600
This one of a kind, self winding skeleton watch has a titanium case and features a perpetual calendar which indicates the hours, minutes, day, date, week, moon phases, month and leap years. The watch also has a minute repeater chronograph and a crocodile leather strap.

10. Jacob & Co. – Crystal Tourbillon

Price: $900,000
The Crystal Tourbillon has an 18 carat gold case covered in baguette-cut diamonds which total 17.48 carats and it also has a transparent skeleton tourbillon dial. Only 18 pieces of this watch were manufactured by Jacob & Co. The watch is finished with an alligator band with a 2.22 carat baguette diamond buckle.

9. Hublot – Million $ Black Caviar Bang

Price: $1,000,000
The Black Caviar Bang from Hublot has the case, crown dial and clasp encrusted in baguette-cut black diamonds. The watch has 544 diamonds, with a total of 34.5 carats and it has no numbers on its dial. It has an adjustable leather strap and last year it won the Grand Prix de Geneve Jewelry Watch prize.

8. Ulysse Nardin – Royal Blue Tourbillon

Price: $1,000,000
Ulysee Nardin produced only 30 pieces of this beautiful timepiece which comes with a platinum case and bracelet with a total of 568 baguette-cut Top Wesseldon diamonds and 234 baguette-cut royal blue sapphires. The diamonds from this watch make a total of 33.8 carats while the sapphires total 16.79 carats.

7. Patek Philippe – Sky Moon Tourbillon

Price: $1,091,869
This is the first double-faced wristwatch from Patek Philippe and features the nocturnal sky on its reverse side with the motion of the stars, the orbit of the moon and its phases and a display of sidereal time. It also features a perpetual calendar, a tourbillon and a minute repeater.

6. Blancpain – Tourbillon Diamants

Price: $1,812,700
The Tourbillon Diamants from Blancpain features 480 embedded diamonds totaling 58 carats on the dial, bezel, case, lugs and bracelet. It is self winding and it has an exceptionally long power reserve of seven days. This luxurious timepiece is water resistant to a depth of 100 meters.

5. Parmigiani Fleurier – Fibonacci Pocket Watch

Price: $2,400,000
The Fibonacci pocket watch has a case decorated with enameling of a lotus flower which mimics Fibonacci’s Golden Rule and it’s represented by the snail shape. The watch features mother-of-pearl counters and a white gold dial with a minute repeater with cathedral chimes and a perpetual calendar. The piece can take up to two years to be made.

4. Franck Muller – Aeternitas Mega 4

Price: $2,700,000
The Aeternitas Mega 4 has more components and complications than probably almost every other watch in the world. It’s made of 1,483 components and it has 36 complications. The watch displays three time zones and a 999-year calendar, it has a flyback chronograph and chimes the Carillon Westminster melody on the hour with small strikes on the quarter hour.

3. Cartier – Secret watch with phoenix decor

Price: $2,755,000
Cartier’s Secret watch received an extra twist of luxury for this one of a kind phoenix shaped wristwatch. The timepiece is made of 18 carat, rhodium-plated white gold and it uses emeralds for the eyes and a big pear-shaped portrait cut diamond weighting 3.53 carats on it. The watch is covered by 3,010 brilliant-cut diamonds totaling 80.13 carats.

2. Piaget – Emperador “Temple”

Price: $3,300,000
The Emperador “Temple” from Piaget has actually two hidden watches that are revealed by pushing down on certain parts. The first watch has a set with 481 brilliant-cut diamonds, 207 baguette-cut diamonds and an emerald-cut diamond on the top of the case while the second watch has a tourbillon, a Polynesian mother of pearl dial, 162 brilliant-cut diamonds and 11 baguette-cut diamonds. The bracelet is also covered with 350 baguette-cut diamonds.

1. Louis Moinet – Meteoris

Price: $4,599,487
The Swiss watchmaker Louis Moinet introduced this new concept called Meteoris in the first month of 2010. The watch is actually a collection of four tourbillon watches, each made out of worldly materials such as meteorite from Mars, the moon, an asteroid and an ancient meteorite called Rosetta Stone. The company worked with universities around the world to authenticate these materials and this watch also come with a planetarium that depicts the solar system.

Top 10 most expensive ZIP codes from the US in 2010


If a neighborhood was featured in Forbes’ list of America’s 500 Most Expensive ZIP Codes, it meant buyers spent big bucks to get their dream home there. Every year Forbes magazine makes a list with the top ZIPs from the US and in 2010, as usual, Los Angeles is still leading the chart since it has always been home to some of the world’s most expensive real estate.
But forget about Beverly Hills, 90210, because this year a new Zip from Los Angeles takes the hot spot for multimillion dollar mansions! You’ll see it at the end of course. So, here are the the top 10 most expensive ZIP codes from the US in 2010 according to Forbes.

10. 93108 – Santa Barbara, California

Median home price: $3.15 million
This stucco home located in Montecito, California, featuring four bedrooms, four bathrooms, cathedral ceilings, two fireplaces, a pool and a beautiful interior design is on sale now for $3.25 million.

9. 10012 – New York

Median home price: $3.22 million
This simple downtown home with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, two terraces and a couple of other useful amenities is currently on sale for $1.5 million.

8. 94920 – Belvedere, California

Median home price: $3.28 million
This Spanish-style stucco home is located in the section of Belvedere that’s neighboring Tiburon, California and it’s a 4,347-square foot residence. The house has three bedrooms, four bathrooms, a fireplace, a quite attractive interior but the most important… it offers spectacular views to the surroundings. It’s on sale for $3.2 million.

7. 10065 – New York

Median home price: $3.63 million
A two bedroom, two bathroom condominium like the one from this image located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and featuring only a few goodies, it’s selling for $975,000 at the moment. If a two bedroom unit costs almost $1 million you can just imagine how expensive a bigger and more luxurious home is in this neighborhood.

6. 90210 – Beverly Hills, California

Median home price: $3.68 million
One of the most popular ZIP codes comes only in the 6th place in this year’s most expensive ZIPs of the US. This five bedroom, four bathroom 4,700 square-foot home is now listed for sale for $3.7 million. It was built in a Mediterranean-style and apart from being really luxurious, this property also attracts with it’s amazing views of the surrounding mountains.

5. 10014 – New York

Median home price: $3.78 million
The most expensive ZIP code from New York is 10014, a neighborhood with a great position in Manhattan. Most buildings have amazing views of the city and even small apartments are priced really high. This one-bedroom, two bathroom, 1,500 square foot loft in Manhattan’s West Village is on sale for $2.05 million.

4. 07620 – Alpine, New Jersey

Median home price: $3.81 million
Located at less than 9 miles from Manhattan… Alpine is an area where probably everyone would dream to own a home. This seven-bedroom, five bathroom, colonial-style home features an impressive design, a double height foyer, a three car garage and the list of goodies might go on for a while. It’s currently on the market for $3.95 million.

3. 90274 – Rolling Hills, California

Median home price: $3.89 million
Almost every home located in the Rolling Hills, California, offers beautiful panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. This wonderful hilltop property with five bedrooms, four bathrooms and 4,320-square foot with a beautiful interior design is now listed for sale at almost $4 million.

2. 94027 – Atherton, California

Median home price: $4.01 million
Located in San Mateo County, the quiet, scenic town of Atherton boasts gorgeous views of the local forest land and the San Francisco Bay. The town is one of America’s wealthiest communities and some of the most expensive homes in the world are located here. This redesigned midcentury four 4,010 square-foot ranch features four bedrooms, four bathrooms, cathedral ceiling, fireplace, media room, a two car garage and beautiful gardens and it’s listed for $4.49 million.

1. 91008 – Duarte, California

Median home price: $4.28 million
The new hot spot for multimillion dollar mansions in America is Duarte, a small suburb northeast of downtown LA, near the Los Angeles national forest. The 91008 ZIP code also includes the city of Bradbury and homes in this beautiful area sell for a median cost of $4,276,462 which makes it the most expensive housing market in the country. This nine-bedroom, nine bathroom, 10,486-square foot mansion from Bradbury with two swimming pools, a spa, gym, library with wine cellar and many other goodies is on the market for $4.68 million.

Top 10 most expensive cars for sale on JamesList


Cars can be considered the best fashion accessory and probably all of us dream of having or at least driving a couple of times one of the world’s most powerful and most attractive cars. If you really want something unique… one-off and really limited edition cars are hardly available even if you have enough money to pay the price for them…
But, if you wait long enough, cars like that might go on sale sooner or later. JamesList is the ultimate luxury marketplace and since they presented the most expensive cars listed for sale on their site, we’ve decided we should do a cool top 10 with that list. Highlights include former fastest production car title holders, rare Reventons and bespoke one-off cars.

10. SSC Ultimate Aero

The SSC Ultimate Aero was unveiled just three years ago when very few people believed that a new car could take the record of “World’s Fastest Production Car” from the Bugatti Veyron. The SSC did that and managed to reach a breathtaking top speed of 257 mph! But now, the best part: this car listed here is not a regular SSC Ultimate Aero, this is the actual car used to break the Production Car Speed Record.

9. Leblanc Mirabeau

You’ve probably never heard of this car before, maybe because it’s a unique car designed to fulfill all the FIA/Le Mans standards and to compete in the famous endurance race from Le Mans. The car is a real piece of art with the spirit of race and even though it belongs on the racing track, it’s also road legal!

8. Koenigsegg CCX

Launched at the 10th anniversary of Koenigsegg, the CCX (which stands for Competition Coupe X) is one of the most powerful supercars in the world. The supercharged V8 engine delivers 806 HP and 678 lb-ft of torque which is just enough to reach an amazing top speed of 245 mph.

7. Koenigsegg CCXR

The CCXR is an even better version of the Koenigsegg CCX and it’s actually an ultra exclusive edition of cars. The beautiful body is made entirely from unpainted carbon fiber which makes no pretense of presenting itself as a luxury car. It’s top speed is 254 mph and even though it’s street legal in Europe, it’s probably very frustrating to drive this masterpiece on the streets.

6. Maybach Landaulet

This is a one of a kind limo from Maybach to experiment unsurpassed luxury. The unique Maybach Landaulet was built in 2009 for the super rich individual who wants something that is extremely extraordinary and enjoys being in a car with acres of sky above them, as company best describes it.

5. Lamborghini Reventon

The Reventon it is said to be the most outrageous Lamborghini ever made. It’s production was limited to just 20 models and it was sold out before the cars were even made! The price was about 1,000,000 but now one of the 20 cars is up for sale! It has the most powerful engine from Lamborghini and it’s also the fastest Lamborghini out there.

4. Lamborghini Reventon Roadster

After the great success of the Lamborghini Reventon, the Italian supercar maker decided to release an even more limited edition of this car which is not a coupe, but a roadster! The car has the same aggressive design as the coupe but it’s a bit less powerful. Only 15 units of this car were released on the market, and this is actually one of them.

3. Pagani Zonda F Roadster Clubsport

This Zonda F Roadster Clubsport is finished in custom colors and has only 1087 miles under its belt. It was built in a limited edition of just 25 units, and this is car 18 of 25 apparently. The Zonda F is Richard Hammond’s (Top Gear) favorite supercar so … it must be really great!

2. Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport

Bugatti has unveiled only this year the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, an even faster version of the Veyron that has already set a new land speed record of over 268 mph (430 km/h) !!! The Super Sport now has a breathtaking power output of 1,200 HP and 1,500 Nm of torque, 200 HP and 250 Nm more than the standard Veyron and many many performance upgrades.

1. Koenigsegg Trevita

Only three units of the Koenigsegg Trevita were produced and this is the only one available on the global market. The Trevita in Swedish means “three whites” and this incredible car is based on the CCXR and features a shimmering diamond carbon fiber finish and many unique upgrades. The exterior paint is fully developed at Koenigsegg headquarters and under the hood it “hides” a 1018 bhp engine!