Even billionaires wear flip-flops

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The last week has been like a jump through a rabbit hole.

A few days ago, we lived in Paris, in the poor, black neighborhood of Goutte d'Or.

And now - here we are - living on Cap Ferrat, the peninsula of the billionaires, where the property value is supposed to be the highest in the entire world next to Monaco.

While our neighbors in the Parisian 'Little Africa' were up close and personal, filling the alleys, the cafes, and the open-air markets, the extreme richness of the Cap is very much more secluded.

Discretion is key on the Cap, and as an example, you don't see any Lamborghinis or Ferraris in the streets as you would in Saint Tropez, where the less wealthy (and much more flamboyant) playboys are hanging out.


If the billionaires on the Cap are collecting expensive automobiles, they might be stowed away in some underground garages - and you can't get any idea of the life being lived in the villas, as they are completely hidden on vast grounds behind fortified walls and closed gates with security cameras and expensive intercom devices.


This afternoon, we walked along the coast and listened to what we believed was an extremely loud gardening tool being worked on the other side of a tree-lined wall. It turned out to be a private helicopter warming up and ascending towards the sky.


What you DO see are some (usually elderly) people occasionally walking the streets of the idyllic town of Saint-Jean, nipping cocktails at the cafes near the harbor, or perhaps boarding one of their ferry-sized yachts.

They look actually quite normal - even billionaires wear cheap plastic flip-flops.


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Comments

  1. Karsten BrønnumSeptember 17, 2017 at 5:20 PM

    I have lived in Villefranche just around the corner from Cap Ferrat. A wonderfull place.

    ReplyDelete

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