Tokyo, Japan

What is the most expensive city in the world? Before you can even begin to answer that, you must first decide what “most expensive city” actually means. Several companies have done just that over the last few years and, due to the different methodologies used, compiled lists with surprisingly different results. We’ve compiled our own list of some of these surveys and the cities they’ve concluded are the most expensive cities in the world.

Mercer Cost of Living Survey, 2010
Highest-ranking city: Luanda, Angola

Mercer’s survey compares the costs of over 200 items in each of 214 cities. The survey covers the cost of housing, food, transportation and other essentials to help employers determine compensation for expatriate employees. This is the first of Mercer’s surveys to include African cities Luanda, Angola; Ndjamena, Chad and Libreville, Gabon. The high placement of these cities in the survey—Ndjamena placed third and Libreville placed seventh—can be explained by the fact that these areas, while rich in natural resources, are generally poor and expatriate employees must rely on newly built infrastructures. Other high-ranking cities on Mercer’s survey include Tokyo, Japan in second place; Moscow, Russia in fourth place and Geneva, Switzerland in fifth place.

Economist Intelligence Unit Cost of Living Survey, 2009
Highest-ranking city: Tokyo, Japan

Unlike Mercer’s, EIU’s survey disregards the cost of housing as it is usually provided by expatriate workers’ employers separately from their wages. The result is a list that may be more useful to the expatriate employees than to their employers. This list places Oslo, Norway in second place; New York City in third; London, England in fourth and Sydney, Australia in fifth. Luanda is notably absent from the top tier.

ECA International Cost of Living Survey, 2010
Highest-ranking city: Tokyo, Japan

ECA’s survey also disregards the cost of housing, as well as utilities, vehicles and schooling. In their survey, Oslo, Norway places second; Luanda, Angola places third; Nagoya, Japan places fourth and Yokohama, Japan places fifth.

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Filipino chef Angelito Araneta, Jr. specializes in extravagant foods to be used during courtship and marriage proposals. In 2009, he created a $2,500 “carat” cake coated completely in gold flake and topped with diamonds. In 2010, he created a dish that looked somewhat more, well, edible—the most expensive sushi in the world.

Each of the five pieces on this sushi plate is covered with a leaf of edible gold and garnished with a .2-carat African diamond. The plate was presented at a Milanan restaurant in June.

The dish was valued at 91,800 pesos, or just under $2,000.

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Nothing says luxury like lazing the hours away in a tub that costs more than a lot of houses. Those looking for such a tub, however, have a few more options than they used to. If you’re not happy with plain porcelain, you can purchase a tub made from fine materials or hi-tech gadgets.

Water Games Technologies’ Red Diamond bathtub – $47,200

(via bornrich.org)

Designed by Aldo Puglielli, this bright red tub is big enough for two people. That’s just the beginning of the tub’s laundry list of features, however. It also includes a console framed in gold—42 grams of 18-karat gold, to be exact—and Swarovski crystals. The console controls two waterproof HDTVs that remain hidden when not in use. Among the tub’s other features are a massage function, multicolored lighting, a hand-held shower unit, automatic disinfection and even a Swarovski-coated Champagne holder. At $47,200, however, the Red Diamond bathtub is not for the faint of wallet.

Kallista Archeo Copper Bathtub – $67,557

Made of solid copper, this tub is hand-crafted by the very people who refurbished Lady Liberty’s torch. Over five feet long and two-and-a-half feet wide, the tub is spacious enough to comfortably accommodate just about anyone. The fluted faucet and hand-held shower unit are designed with the same aesthetic quality as the rest of the tub, featuring a finely engraved starfish-on-seashell knob.

Baldi malachite bathtub – $222,000

This boat-shaped tub, designed by Luca Bojola is made from turqoise malachite that is perfectly complemented by its ornate, 24k gold-plated feet.

Baldi Rock Crystal bathtub – $790,310

Also designed by Luca Bojola, the first of these three-person bathtubs was created in 2008 and shown at that year’s Salone de Mobile. TThat tub was carved from a single piece of Amazonian rock crystal measuring over 8 feet in diameter and sold for over $850,000. This second tub was created for Harrods and, as the exteriors of both tubs were left rough, is as unique as the first. Baldi even offers a rock crystal basin to complement the exquisite bathtub.

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When you’re traveling, only one thing can say as much or more about you and your lifestyle than the clothes on your back, and that’s the luggage you carry. Luckily for the elite jet set, they have the option of showing off their status with the most expensive suitcase in the world.

The Henk Travelfriend doesn’t just show off your wealth, though. Its customizability allows you to show off your own brand of aesthetic. Purchasers may create their own Henk suitcase by choosing from fifteen different color and material combinations, including options such as carbon glossy and calfskin in a variety of colors with optional ostrich or crocodile motifs. Each of these different combinations may be chosen for the exterior, inside lockers and doors, bottom lockers and inside frame. Two options are available for the button, which may also be customized with a logo or monogram.

The Henk Travelfriend opens from both sides and features an extendable handle and retractable wheels.

This luxury suitcase may be purchased from the Dutch company for $20,000.

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In the 1920s, white linen sheets were de rigueur. That all changed when Madeleine Porthault convinced her husband, Daniel, to offer a home couture collection through his small Parisian lingerie boutique. Their business thrived and many others followed suit, but the D. Porthault name still carries weight among the wealthy and their bath towels are the most expensive towels in the world.

The practice that sets D. Porthault apart from their competitors is that they still silk-screen their prints by hand. This process allows their hand-mixed paints to set deep within the fabric, making their towels and other home coordinates vibrant for a lifetime.

D. Porthault’s most expensive towels are made with 65-gram Egyptian cotton with double-rolled, hand-sewn scalloped edges. These luxury towels are priced over $400 and may be purchased in the US at their New York boutique at 470 Park Ave.

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R. Jewels Diamond Edition

Luxury designer Stuart Hughes is at it again, this time in collaboration with Manchester tailor Richard Jewels. Rather than the gold-plated and diamond-encrusted gadgets Hughes is known for designing, this duo has created the most expensive suit in the world.

The R. Jewels Diamond Edition suit has 480 single cut diamonds, 0.5 carats each, studding the Cashmere wool and silk blend that makes up the rest of the suit. It is the flagship creation of the R. Jewels line of luxury suits that Mr. Jewels hopes will “not only capture the eyes but the hearts of the consumers.” The suit is the product of 600 man hours and only three will be made. It’s priced at £599,000 or just under US $900,000.

Alexander Amosu’s gold-threaded suit.

Alexander Amosu, whose London-based design house is also known for gem-studded phones and accessories, performed a similar feat in 2009. The fabric of his single-breasted suit is made from vicuña wool, the most expensive wool in the world due to its scarcity and stringent regulations on wool-gathering, as well as qiviut, wool made from the coats of muskoxen. It’s also threaded with 18-karat gold and its single button features pave set diamonds.

This fantastic suit took a total of 80 hours to make and was sold to an anonymous buyer for a price of £70,000—over US $100,000.

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A Māori male wearing Huia tail feathers in his hair.

You might think the most expensive feather in the world would come from some rare and exotic bird verging on extinction—and you’d be half right. In fact, the most expensive feather came from a bird that has already gone extinct.

The Huia bird had black plumage on its body with white tips on its tail feathers and orange wattles on its face. The female had a length and curvature of the female’s beak, when compared to the male’s shorter and relatively straight beak, made the Huia more sexually dimorphic than any other species of bird.

The Huia bird, indigenous to New Zealand’s North Island, was a sacred bird to the native Māori and only highly respected individuals were allowed to wear its skin or feathers. The last living Huia were seen in December of 1907, however, as 17th century European settlers deforested the birds’ winter habitats and hunted them for museums and other collectors of mounted specimens.

The white-tipped tail feather of a Huia bird was purchased at a New Zealand auction, where it was expected to fetch around NZ $400 to $500. It sold for NZ $8,400, around US $6,800, to a family who wished to remain anonymous.

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You can’t put a price tag on good company—or can you? While some might shell out for an entrée laden with gold flake and white truffle, foie gras or a Cabernet Sauvignon from Chateau Mouton Rothschild, patrons of the world’s most expensive lunches are there for one thing—the company of billionaire investor, industrialist and philanthropist Warren Buffett.

For the last decade, Mr. Buffett has hosted these Power Lunches to benefit the Glide Foundation, a San Francisco community-based charity organization. The lunches are auctioned on eBay and, at $2.63 million, this year’s Power Lunch beat the 2008 record of $2.11 million. The winner and up to seven guests may dine with Mr. Buffett at Smith & Wollensky in Manhattan.

This year’s record-setting lunch is particularly auspicious as demand for the nonprofit’s services has increased by thirty percent during the recession, while donations have fallen by twenty percent.

Another expensive lunch was had by Roman Abramovich in 2009. The Russian billionaire and nine other guests dined in at Nello’s restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper East Side for $52,000. That lunch included three bottles of La Tache, two bottles of Chateau Petrus and two magnums of Cristal Rose—each wine being $5,000 per bottle. Other highlights of the lunch include three plates of truffle tagliolini at $195 each and two plates of truffle carpaccio for $100 each. The group was apparently feeling generous, as they supplemented the over-$7,000 automatic gratuity with an additional $5,000.

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To a collector of model cars, a model of the Bugatti Veyron might be the centerpiece of their collection. It is, after all, the world’s most expensive car. Of course, for the truly dedicated—and well off—collector, the only option is the world’s most expensive model car.

The Bugatti Veyron Diamond Limited Edition, a collaboration between luxury designer Stuart Hughes and Swiss model car engineer Robert Gülpen, is a 1:18 scale replica of the ultimate luxury car, rendered in 24k gold, platinum and 7.2 carats of single cut flawless diamonds. The hoods and steering are functional and the engine is highly detailed. This fantastic model car weighs in at 15 pounds and took two months to produce.

Only three of the most expensive model car in the world have been created, each accompanied by a certificate of authenticity, glass house, aluminum case and photographic documentation of its manufacture. Even more phenomenal, the Bugatti Veyron Diamond Limited Edition costs twice as much as the car on which it is based—US $3 million.

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You’ve probably heard of antique coins dating back to the early 1900s selling for millions of dollars, but what about coins dating back to the early 2000s? It’s no fiction, as Canada unveiled the world’s largest and most expensive new coin in 2007.

This coin, featuring Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse and a set of three quintessentially Canadian maple leaves on the reverse, is a 220 lb behemoth of 99.999% pure gold. The massive coin is 21 inches in diameter and 1.2 inches thick. It has a face value of C$1 million (around US $977,000), although the current price of gold would place it closer to C$4 million in 2010 and even in 2007 the gold used would’ve been worth more than C$2 million. Even so, it’s the highest denomination to ever grace a coin.

The coin was originally created to promote the Royal Canadian Mint’s new one-ounce gold bullion coins. On June 25th, 2010, the world’s most expensive gold coin will be auctioned in Vienna.

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