How the super rich use gold
The super rich sure know how to set the gold standard.
From a gold-plated chopper to a gilded casket, here are eight crazy ways millionaires and billionaires are showcasing the precious metal.
Get ready — you've discovered a gold mine.
— By CNBC's Jamie Corsi
Posted 22 March 2016
"Secret Lives of the Super Rich" premieres Wednesday, March 30.
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A golden sundae
Price: $1,000
I scream, you scream, we all scream for gold-covered ice cream!
The Golden Opulence Sundae, served at New York City's Serendipity 3 restaurant, is one of the most expensive desserts in the world. It's covered in 23-karat gold leaf and comes in a $350 Baccarat crystal goblet that's yours for the keeping.
Served with an 18-karat gold spoon, the decadent dessert is topped off with a garnish of gold-colored vanilla caviar. Dig in!
A gold-standard flight
Price: Varies, but can top $30,000 for a roundtrip ticket
First-class cabins on Emirates Airlines' Airbus A380 are the ultimate in sky-high luxury.
Complete with 22-karat gold-plated trim, each of the plane's 14 private cabins has a personal minibar in the arm rest and a private shower with heated floors.
Gold digger
Price: $40,000
The super rich have found a way to confront death: with luxury.
The Golden Casket company produces the world's only hand-gilded gold caskets. Each unique version is hand painted in 24-karat gold and can take 100 to 200 hours to complete.
Gold-plated chopper
Price: $500,000
Your golden chariot awaits.
Meet Nehmesis, the crown jewel of BMS Choppers in Davie, Florida. One of the most expensive motorcycles ever built, Nehmesis took more than 3,000 hours to make and has $25,000 in chrome and gold plating.
Goldfinger
Price: $125,000 a bottle
When gold jewelry isn't enough, you can literally have gold at your fingertips.
Each bottle of Gold Rush Couture nail polish, created by Models Own, is its own pot of gold. Made to give your hands the super-rich treatment, the polish contains actual flakes of 24-karat gold. Even the bottle is handcrafted and inlaid with 1,118 diamonds.
Sex drive
Price: $13.75 million
This must-have supercar is coveted by collectors worldwide: The McLaren F1.
Its 680-horsepower engine sits inside a gold-lined compartment. Only 106 of these vehicles were made, and one recently sold at auction for $13.75 million.
The Midas touch
Price: $159 million
This Florida mansion, known as Le Palais Royal, certainly offers the royal treatment.
The 60,000-square-foot mega-home, which is currently on the market, is being covered in gold leaf. The ornate paint job, being done by the hands of artisans flown in from France, will take months to complete.
Dream boat
Price: $200 million
Everything about this mega-yacht screams luxury — including the fact that it's dripping with gold.
Guests who climb aboard the "Solange" are greeted by a five-story, gold-plated sculpture called "The Tree of Life." The mega-yacht is also adorned in gold leaf, including the dining room ceiling.
'Secret Lives of the Super Rich'
"Secret Lives of the Super Rich" unlocks the mansion gates and scores you the ultimate VIP access to an exclusive world filled with unimaginable extravagance and enormous fortunes.
Beyond the jaw-popping price tags, mega-homes, and shiny supercars, the series brings viewers face to face with some of the wealthiest people on the planet, revealing their voracious appetite for the best of the best, and the secret to their extraordinary success.