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Billionaire Pays $500K for 27 Bottles of Wine

Posted Apr 19, 08 2:14 PM CDT in Arts & Living 

(Newser) – As the global economy falters, many people are fighting to make ends meet. And then there’s the Chinese billionaire who spent $500,000 for 27 bottles of wine today. The sale set a record for a single lot. “I don’t think he has bought this as an investment,” said an executive from the selling company. “He has bought it to drink.”

Before this, the anonymous connoisseur had never spent more than $59,880. The lot comprised bottles of Romanee Conti, a Burgundy among the world’s most exclusive wine, with just 450 cases produced each year. The vintages ranged between 1961 and 2003. “The fine-wine industry is completely immune from the global credit crunch," said a company official.

Source Reuters

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The $500,000 purchase was the most ever paid for a wine lot. The buyer had never before paid more than $59,880.   (Shutterstock)
A Christie's employee displays a rare bottle of French 1945 vintage of Romanee Conti in this file photo.   (Getty Images)
Malcolm Forbes, the late publisher of Forbes' magazine, set a record in 1985 for buying the most expensive bottle of wine, a 1787 bottle of Bordeaux.   (Archive Photos)
"I don't think he has bought this as an investment -- he has bought it to drink," said a wine executive. "The fine wine industry is completely immune from the global credit crunch."   (Shutterstock)
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recession • wine • globalization • luxury goods • luxury • ultra rich


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