Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MEGA RICH OF MONACO
Suites at £35k a night, pals with the prince, the tricky decision of which supercar to take for a spin – what it’s like to be one of the...
YOU’VE got to feel for Monika Bacardi and Princess Camilla of Bourbon-Two Sicilies.
It’s time to socialise and oh, what to wear? Which car to go out in? The Rolls or the Ferrari... maybe the Mercedes? And do we dine at the Hotel de Paris or stay a little more local? The wine might set us back £27,000. But at least we haven’t got to pay £35,000 a night for a hotel suite.
Welcome to Monaco... home of the rich, the super rich and the outright stinking rich. A place where a third of residents are millionaires.
And the billionaires club boasts plenty of members too – like savvy businesswoman Camilla, 49 – enjoying life in this low-tax haven.
Italian-born royal Camilla is so wealthy that even the luxuries that most of us can only dream of seem like an inconvenience.
Shopping at Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior? Not for Camilla.
SPOILED
She says: “I have the pleasure of young stylists that loan me or give me nice dresses to wear at important dates or events. Somehow I have been quite spoiled on that front.”
A spot of lunch if she gets peckish? That’s at Monaco Yacht Club where new members need approval from Albert II, the Prince of Monaco.
Camilla and Monika are among the mega-wealthy characters to feature in new BBC2 show Inside Monaco: Playground of the Super Rich. The programme peers into a world of wealth in this French Riviera paradise.
Camilla moved to Monaco more than 20 years ago after marrying Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro – a member of the Spanish royal family.
They have two daughters – Princess Chiara, 15, and Princess Carolina, 16 – and now split their time between Monaco, Paris and Rome.
Camilla says: “In Monaco, you can go to two or three events every night. There is not one evening where it is boring. It’s impossible.”
She loves Monte Carlo restaurant Cipriani’s, which serves sumptuous Italian meals at up to £95 per head for three courses.
Wine and tips are extra. But still pretty cheap by Monaco standards.
Like many, Camilla is reluctant to go into details of her wealth. She heads the family investments business and runs a charitable foundation too. But despite her connections and formidable business acumen, Camilla likes to spend her free time with her daughters – homeschooled at their luxury apartment.
She explains: “My girls are still at the perfect age to dedicate themselves to their mother – or Mummy, as they call me. We live in a rented apartment
which is very simple, but I’ve made it nice. It’s quite modern. It’s fantastic because it has a nice view of the sea – which is most important.”
Camilla may be understating the opulence of the apartment.
For starters, there is an aquarium. Not to mention a private cinema room, a gym, a spa and a star-painted ceiling reminiscent of Hogwarts Hall in Harry Potter. Camilla says:
“My favourite thing is the aquarium. It’s very big and it’s also the living room table.
“On top of it, you have candies and decoration. We had octopus for a little time but it wasn’t working very well. Then we had piranhas and now it’s full of big red fishes. We change it up sometimes to have fun.
“The ceiling illustrates our universe and the diverse galaxies. When we had it done, we asked the artist to make our planet shine brighter so we could spot it. “I would be very sad to ever leave Monaco. You just get out the house and walk across the road and you have the best position in the world. From plastic INVESTOR F1 star Coulthard surgery, to the best cars, best boats, everything is right in front of you. It’s always bright, the sunshine is always there – it’s a heavenly place.”
Monaco, around the size of Hyde Park, prides itself on being the glamour capital of the world.
CELLAR
Ex-playboy Prince Albert – who has just recovered from coronavirus – has the final word on all that happens in this nation of 37,000 people.
He flies by private jet – naturally – drives fast cars and has a cellar at his palace containing 15,000 bottles of super-expensive wine.
Gregoire Gomon, the palace butler, says: “Such bottles are the best wines you can find ever. Very rare – ranging in the 30,000 euros.”
Like Camilla, film financier Monika Bacardi has been in Monaco for 20
Prince has best wine you’ll find at €30,000 a throw... GREGOIRE GOMON ROYAL BUTLER
years. Her late husband was heir to the Bacardi rum fortune and she is also close friends with stars such as British actress Dame Joan Collins.
Monika, 51, says: “Here we have the Hotel de Paris, the yacht club, a shopping centre – Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Celine, Bvlgari, Cartier, Dior – whatever your heart wants.”
And Monika knows how to splash the cash. A fleet of cars includes two RollsRoyces – well, you always need a spare – a Ferrari, Mercedes and a Range
Rover.
Unusually for Monaco, Monika lives in a multi-storey house with five floors.
She boasts: “I don’t go to the gym. I rock it up the stairs!”
Property, unsurprisingly, is toe-curlingly expensive, with the average home costing £45,000 per square metre, twice as much as a flat in London’s Mayfair. Ex-Formula One driver David Coulthard, 49, dipped his toe into the market by investing in the swish Columbus Hotel in Monte Carlo, before selling in 2010.
But for visitors, nothing beats the lure of Hotel de Paris, where rooms with a private pool can cost £35,000 per night. One of the biggest signs of wealth here is transport. On Grand Prix weekend, visitors take helicopters like taxis – up to 800 flights per day. The streets are crammed with Rollers, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens.
Huge yachts grab attention too and harbour masters struggle to fit them all in at £1,887 a night,
Assistant harbour master Gerald Mazzola says: “For me, they are like crazy children, they want everything and they want more and more and more and more.”
Monaco is a captivating place – if you have the money. And even the captives can’t complain.
Inmates at a small prison – right on the water’s edge with stunning views – are served pasta with entrecôte steak and bruschetta with tomato and Emmental cheese.
There could be worse places to be locked up...
Whatever your heart wants it is here – Dior, Cartier... MONIKA BACARDI RUM HEIR’S WIFE ON MONACO