The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
There’s a reason that glossy magazines rarely feature sightings of A-list celebrities doing lengths at their local pool or using an outdoor gym next to a kids’ playground. The super-rich already lead a completely different daily life from the rest of the ‘normal’ world, but when you have a team of staff doing the boring jobs like cleaning and household admin, you also have plenty of time to pursue a variety of hobbies.
If you want to add some ideas to your list of things to try if you win the lottery, then look no further as these are some super high-end hobby ideas.
You may be surprised to learn that you can buy a pedalo for less than a hundred pounds but sweating your way around your local boating lake will never have quite the appeal of a super yacht. The highest spec models have a breathtaking array of luxury features including full staff quarters, on-deck cinemas, and, in case the tropical seas aren’t expensive enough for your liking, even on-board swimming pools.
These incredible boats are seriously impressive, with everything on board designed to exude elegance and sophistication. One impressive specimen features an adjustable pool that can be as deep as six feet, but the bottom can be moved up to make a paddling pool for rich toddlers or additional floor space once everyone is tired of swimming.
If money were no object, lots of people would travel more, trading off the stress of luggage carousels and flight boarding systems in order to explore another culture. But for those who can afford it, zipping around the world in a private jet makes it all so much easier and more fun.
Others use planes and helicopters the way the rest of us use taxis, whizzing from one glamorous destination to the next and taking in everything from the seven wonders of the world to the most exclusive shopping in Milan, Paris, London and anywhere that takes their fancy!
For those who enjoy travelling and visiting new destinations, you will also get a taste of trying new entertainment options. Casinos are often associated with luxury and glamour, with popular high-end land-based casinos being based in Monaco, Macau, Las Vegas, as well as other exclusive resorts around the world.
Playing casino games at VIP tables in a lavish casino is a popular hobby amongst the rich and famous and has become a lifestyle. For those wanting the experience and feel of the casino lifestyle can do so by playing free casino games that pay real money.
In a car-focused society, many of us spend more than we might like keeping our means of transport on the road. But as a high-end hobby, collecting classic cars is perhaps one of the most expensive and ostentatious.
The most expensive car ever sold was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupe that went for $135 million at auction in 2022, and you probably need a team of experts to keep it in pristine condition as well. Collecting cars has always been the preserve of the particularly well-heeled: Rolling Stone drummer Charlie Watts kept a garage packed with classic vehicles, despite never having held a driving licence.
Imelda Marcos famously spent millions of pounds worth of stolen money on more than three thousand pairs of shoes, housed in elaborate architectural structures, also paid for with stolen funds. If she had wanted to invest in a shoe collection today, the best option would have been high-end sneakers, some of which can fetch millions of dollars.
When Drake collaborated with Nike to design some shoes, he put his high-end stamp on them by making them solid gold. Each shoe weighs more than 22 kilos, so they aren’t the most practical, but more surprising is perhaps the fact that even box fresh, these shoes are not the most expensive shoes ever sold.
That honour goes to a collection of used sneakers that the previous owner made no effort to keep pristine. Michael Jordan’s collection of autographed custom shoes, all worn during the finals of his six NBA championships, sold in 2024 for a whopping $8 million.
Anyone who has ever been near a horse can probably tell you that they are not cheap, and riding is one of those hobbies where the costs just keep mounting. It’s not just the upfront cost of a basic horse, but the ongoing stabling, care, and maintenance that racks up the bills.
But that seems relatively cost-effective compared to the cost of owning racehorses. The most expensive horse ever sold, Fusaichi Pegasus, went for $70 million at auction after winning the Kentucky Derby in 2000.
And a $70 million horse can’t just be turned out into a field and left to eat grass – a horse of that status has expensive tastes in the form of a carefully balanced diet, beautifully maintained stables, and a team of grooms that accompany them everywhere they go.
Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy time to invest in hobbies, and when those hobbies are as exciting and exclusive as these, you can see why.
