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Anton Casey was right. we are poor people :(

All not rich like t2 la How come no full cash yo?

Rich in 10 years, I'm working for the past 40 years, where's my $$$$$$$$$$ .... from Yahoo: Singaporeans among fastest to get rich More than half (51 percent) of high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) in Singapore became rich in less than 10 years, making them the world's fastest group to accumulate wealth, according to a report from Barclays. Singapore also had the highest percentage of respondents (at 14 percent) who accumulated wealth in less than five years, cementing the city-state's position as the top 'get rich quick' centre. On average, 26 percent of HNWIs across the globe achieved their net worth of at least US$1.5 million (S$1.9 million) in less than 10 years. Singapore's super rich also bested respondents from Qatar, where 48 percent built up their wealth in less than 10 years, followed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 32 percent and India at 30 percent. Completing the top five is China (27 percent) and Hong Kong at 16 percent. Meanwhile, HNWIs in Switzerland and the United States were the slowest, with less than 10 percent attaining their wealth in under 10 years. Entitled "Origins and Legacy: The Changing Order of Wealth Creation," the Barclays report polled more than 2,000 HNWIs across the globe. [/color] Nikki De Guzman, Junior Reporter at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email [email protected] Related Stories: S'pore the 8th most innovative country in the world Asian Tigers spur building boom Household debt soars due to high home prices. link: http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/singapore...-034338657.html Please don't include our HDB flags ... Household debt soars .......... I am wondering also, who started it...

Found an interesting view on HDB... http://therealsingapore.com/content/truth-...-wants-remember For sharing only...

Even trottle2 is a blue collar worker cf these kind of spending

http://workfairsingapore.wordpress.com/201...-police-report/ January 14, 2013 Uncategorized Harassed and Intimidated

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-05/r...pore-wages.html When dozens of Chinese bus drivers held Singapore

It's tough to be rich in Singapore. For the ladies, a pair of classic Louboutin pumps costs US$2,714 here, compared with only US$1,005 in Hong Kong. A Chanel bag comes at US$5,781 versus US$4,921 and a Tiffany 2 carat diamond ring sets you back US$159,910 against US$116,452. For the men, a gold Rolex Oyster costs US$33,341 in Singapore against US$32,207 in Hong Kong and a Cohiba cigar, at US$1,375, is three times as expensive here. And this is before one even touches on high-end property, whose prices have shot through the roof this year. But if it is any consolation, a wedding banquet for 500 at a top Hong Kong hotel would cost US$121,100 against US$67,482 in Singapore while memberships to classy golf clubs also cost almost 50 per cent more there. A Julius Baer Lifestyle index released yesterday has found that the rich in Singapore suffered the highest inflation rate of 13.7 per cent to maintain their lifestyle against their friends in Hong Kong (10.8 per cent), Shanghai (8.8 per cent) and Mumbai (2.6 per cent). This is despite the fact that the Singapore dollar has strengthened more than 5 per cent against the greenback this year. The index, in its second year, comprises 20 items, capturing both goods and services in US dollars, in Mumbai, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Singapore. "Naturally, the selection of items covered in the Julius Baer Lifestyle Index is subject to individual taste. However, the goods and services chosen for the index should better reflect the lifestyle choices and consumption patterns of high net worth individuals than the more traditional consumer price indices available," said Julius Baer. For 2012, the average Julius Baer Lifestyle Index across the four cities rose 8.8 per cent, down from last year's 11.7 per cent. This rate of increase was well above regional, traditional consumer price indices of about 6 per cent, the private bank said. "Singapore was home to the highest price hikes in US dollar terms, followed by Shanghai, Hong Kong and lastly Mumbai. Across the region, the prices of high-end wine, wedding banquets, handbags and business-class air travel underwent the largest increases," it noted. Julius Baer spokeswoman Lim Li Koon said the increase for Singapore is mainly due to the property score, which jumped 35 per cent. Homes of the ultra rich in US dollar terms went from US$9.7 million to US$13 million, she said. Many other items actually saw no change or even slight declines. Jewellery, shoes and handbags, for example, did not change in price at all. Wedding banquets went up 10 per cent, but this happened in most of the cities. Cars also went up another 5 per cent. The Singapore story is skewed heavily by massive property price movement, she added. Stefan Hofer, Julius Baer emerging markets strategist, said driving the index was property and prices of luxury articles which have pricing power compared to services. "For example, watches have been able to increase their prices relative to service providers like lawyers and hospitals," he said. It's still no comfort to the ladies should they suffer the indignity of a fall from their 8-inch heels, as a night in a posh Singapore hospital at US$756 far exceeds Hong Kong's US$464. And if you want to make sure your spouse does not fritter the hard earned cash away, a family lawyer costs US$660 per hour here, almost double that in Hong Kong. One consolation is that a facelift in Singapore at US$2,559 is far cheaper than the other cities. Ditto root canal treatment. So how do the rich cope with the almost 14 per cent inflation? According to David Lim, chief executive of Julius Baer Singapore, they remain conservative in their investments, spending only a fraction of their wealth to maintain their lifestyle. "They're not expecting a 14 per cent return, not becoming more aggressive in their investment approach," he said. They are concerned about inflation and their higher living expenses. "There's a lot of activity going into income and dividend stocks," he added.

Wasn't rude to me but still I wanna bring it up. At cross junction at Ubi road 2 and Ubi Ave 4, there is a left turn green arrow towards the driving center. The junction is always full of cars towards Ubi Ave 3 on both lanes, so when even when there is left green arrow, cars won't be able to turn as it's block by cars wanting to go straight, this bugger was being block by a taxi going straight, keep on horning his way and comes all the hand signal. You think rich is everything? Got money means you have the right of way? That taxi even bother to move forward to let you pass when he can don't bother and you don't even wave a thank you to him, shame on you a-----e!

In the other thread, we see many members sharing their experiences on how to make it up from a humble beginning...I was thinking..from another side of the coin.....it will be an interesting sharing for people that experienced great set back in life...this could be a good learning for all members here as well.....that's the reason for opening up this thread.

, since we always use up OA, most people will probably have more in their MA

Eliza Lee, 22, is not only a fresh graduate who studied at a top secondary school, she is also from a wealthy family and used to be chauffeured home from school. Despite her background, she chose to marry a chicken rice seller. According to an article in the New Paper, Miss Lee is the daughter of parents who own a bag-manufacturing business and has a bachelor's degree in hospitality management from the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS). She is engaged to 32-year-old Michael Poh, who owns a chicken rice stall. Despite her pampered background, Miss Lee has been helping out at her fiance's stall for 10 to 15 hours everyday, 7 days a week. Before she started helping out at the stall, says her fiance, Miss Lee had 'not touched a drop of detergent'. The prospect of being a hawker's wife has never bothered her, says Miss Lee. Miss Lee's mindset is rare among Singaporean women her age. Most university graduates would not consider marrying a blue-collar worker. Mr Poh affirmed this by saying he has experienced his fair share of snobbery from ex-girlfriends, and says that women like his fiance are rare. And why did Miss Lee choose to be with Mr Poh? She says they 'click' and that they have endless conversations. They also share a common goal of building a comfortable life together. Mr Poh, who has a diploma is sociology, says: "To find another one like Eliza, who would go through thick and thin with me, is mission impossible." In a poll conducted by the New Paper, 100 percent of 50 female undergraduates aged 21 to 28 said they would not date a blue-collar worker.

Either that or angmo really have strange taste in Asian woman. Very gossipy topic but I cannot tahan

ST reported a rich man who has three wives (all with families from him coz his didi very powerful), plus another PRC 'companion'.... Long and short of story: he divorced 1st wife after 51yrs of marriage in 2002 or so, recently tried to 'borrow' a few million dollors (he said for his PRC campanion) from the family business (now run by some of his sons). Now he decides to wind up all his businesses (market value about half a billion) and split them among his 3 families etc... All three families are fighting for a bigger share, naturally.... will he be left with himself, probably the PRC (before she sucks everything from this old man)? 1st wife called him a "serial womaniser" when they split.... All in today's paper Moral of story: None / plenty?

Some register once they get child's birth cert Benita Aw Yeong | The New Paper | Tue Mar 20 2012 For some parents, success starts in the womb. Her second child, whom she plans to name Isaac, will be born only next month, but Mrs Irene Lee, 33, has already decided which school he will attend when he turns 18 months old - even if that is almost two years away. She chose Pat's Schoolhouse, which her four-year-old son, Werner, is already attending. She intends to sign her newborn up when registration begins at the end of this year. Speaking about her advanced planning, she explains that she believes children's formative years are crucial. "At this age, they absorb beyond what you think they can. My son Werner came back one day and told me the sun is a star," she says with a note of surprise in her voice. Housewife Daphne Chia, in her 30s, thought she was "well-prepared" when she tried to register her 11/2-year-old son, Aaron, at St. James' Church Kindergarten (Leedon campus) in 2009. What she didn't expect was that the 11/2-year lead time was not enough to secure a spot in the popular kindergarten. "They told me there were more than 100 people on the waiting list, and I realised that people go to the school once they have the child's birth certificate to register,"she says with a wry laugh. Fortunately, her son, Aaron, now three, eventually secured a spot in the school's newly-opened third session, which runs from 2.30pm to 5.30pm on weekdays. He started school in January last year. The annual fees for St. James' nursery to kindergarten classes is about $3,080. The experiences of these two mothers are not uncommon. About four years ago, Ms Cheryl Tan tried to get her daughter, Claire, then two, a place at the Lorna Whiston Pre-School. It was about four months before she was due to start pre-nursery, but the school had already run out of places, she says. "My friends had already warned me I should have registered earlier, but I thought it was a little absurd,"she adds. "When I didn't get a place, I thought, serves me right," she says with a chuckle. Her two children, Claire, six, and Marc, three, have since transferred from another preschool to Lorna Whiston after being offered places some time last year. For Mrs Lee, having Werner in Pat's Schoolhouse gives her priority. Mrs Lee started looking at schools only around the time she wanted her older son, then 11/2 years old, to enrol in one, which typically would mean she was too late. "But I got lucky," she says, noting that many parents were unable to get their kids in. She had found out that Pat's Schoolhouse had vacancies at a weekly story club they operate - and this gave her priority in enrolment in the preschool. So she signed up, and shortly after, secured a spot for her son. The competition for a place in prestigious commercial preschools is fierce - 13 out of Pat's Schoolhouse' 15 centres are running at maximum capacity. The larger centres can accept up to 300 students. "The number of parents on the waiting list varies from month to month, but some centres such as the one located at Serangoon, typically have waiting lists of over 300 parents," says Ms Patricia Koh, founder of Pat's Schoolhouse. During the year, places do become available for certain classes when children transfer out of the school. At Etonhouse Preschool, the waiting time for a place in their pre-nursery and nursery classes, which cater to 18-month-olds to three-year-olds is one to two years. It does not matter that the annual fees the school charges ranges from $13,400 to $23,590, depending on factors such as the location of the campus, duration of the school session and the children's ages. "We have parents register even before their child is born to ensure that he or she has a place and so that they do not have to go through a waiting list," says Mrs Ng Gim Choo, founder of Etonhouse Preschool. In contrast, attending a kindergarten run by the PAP Community Foundation costs about $1,200 a year for Singaporeans. The steep prices do not deter parents, say "branded" preschools. She explains that at Etonhouse, the child-to-teacher ratio does not exceed 15:1, ensuring that the children and their families get "personalised" attention. In addition, teachers at the school hold bachelor's and masters degrees, and hail from all over the world. The curriculum, designed in-house by the school, is also based on research on how toddlers learn best. Impressed by the large playground and wide spaces available for children to run about, Ms Casey Yong, 33, registered her son, Enzo, for a place at Etonhouse last year, when he was just eight months old. He will begin attending the school in August this year, when he turns 11/2 years old. Ms Yong expects to pay up to $24,000 a year when her son starts school. "I feel it's not knowledge that I want to implant in him. It's about having him have an inquisitive mind for the rest of his life, and a thirst to learn, which I feel Eton does well to fuel," says the housewife. Popular but pricey From $13,400: Annual school fees for Etonhouse International Educational Group (Singapore) From $11,760: Annual school fees for Pat's Schoolhouse From $11,428: Annual school fees for Lorna Whiston Pre-School Compared to $10,700: Subsidised annual tuition fees for Singapore citizens at Singapore Management University for freshmen entering academic year 2012/2013. It does not include textbooks and fees for additional programmes.

The record $39-million sale of a Sentosa Cove seafront bungalow to a buyer from India, which made headlines earlier this month, may have raised many eyebrows. But it is far from being the most expensive prestige landed home on the Singapore property market - in terms of absolute price - at the moment. Sources told my paper that one of the priciest residential landed properties up for grabs is a five-bedroom good-class bungalow (GCB) in Ridout Road, off Holland Road. Its owner is asking for $68 million, or about $1,670 psf, for the property, which occupies about 40,000 sq ft of land. The large plot of land, on which two GCBs can be built, is sited on a slope and comes with its own swimming pool and tennis court. It looks set to eclipse last year's top transaction, a 69,546 sq ft bungalow at 23 Yarwood Avenue which was sold for $59.5 million, or $856 psf. The asking price for the Ridout property also rivals the psf price of most of the 57 GCBs sold last year, hovering slightly higher than that of the top-five highest transactions. There are only about 2,400 GCBs in 39 gazetted areas islandwide. GCBs, by definition, span at least 15,000 sq ft of land and have to fall within designated zones to be so classified. Also on the market now is a six-bedroom modern-contemporary-design GCB in Belmont Road - also off Holland Road - which comprises an 11,000 sq ft house and an additional 26,400 sq ft of land. It could go for about $50 million, property agent Savills said. Still, it is areas such as Nassim Road, Chatsworth Park and Cluny Hill which remain the favoured residential addresses of the ultra-rich and famous here. The record psf price for a GCB in mainland Singapore is held by 6 Chatsworth Road, which went for $2,081 psf in July last year. When it comes to such high-end luxury properties, it is the sheer exclusivity of the neighbourhood and the size of the land which the property sits on that draw the high-profile and high-net-worth buyers. Property experts specialising in such prestige homes shared that the built-up area of the house itself usually has limited influence on buyers' decision. This is because the majority of such buyers have almost infinite cash to spare and have no qualms about re-building the house from scratch. The value of the house itself is typically only about 25 to 30 per cent of that of the entire property, with the land being the key price determinant, said Mr Douglas Wong, director of luxury homes at property firm CBRE, who specialises in GCBs. Savills' director of prestige homes, Mr Samuel Eyo, said: "GCBs, as a property type, are in a class by themselves. It's something which tells immediately of the owners' status, and most buyers purchase such properties for their own use." The profile of GCB buyers tends to be highly mixed, even as most of them belong to the top 5 to 10 per cent income brackets in Singapore society. Mr Eyo added that individuals keen on buying a high-end GCB, such as the ones in Ridout Road and Belmont Road, would probably need to have a net worth of at least $500 million. >>>>So a $500M net worth individual pays for a home 10% of his net worth, whereas a HDB which cost $500k, likely the owner may downpayment $50k and loan 90% to pay back for the rest of this life. Unless he strikes it lucky, this will likely be his lot for his life. clearly the rich poor gap is widening in s'pore. anyone has any views?

Business Times - 28 Feb 2012 More projects prepare for launching Hong Leong sells 160 units at Bartley Residences at average $1,240 psf By KALPANA RASHIWALA (SINGAPORE) Even as Hong Leong Group is understood to have sold about 160 units at Bartley Residences last week, other developers are getting ready to roll out their projects in the next few months. These include Tuan Sing's Seletar Park Residence; Far East Organization's Greenwood Mews (a 62-unit cluster housing development in the Bukit Timah area) and 416-unit Hillsta condo in Choa Chu Kang; and Frasers Centrepoint's Palm Isles condo at Flora Drive in the Upper Changi area. Those looking for strata office units can also check out Far East's PS100 next month, which will comprise 100 units of 402 sq ft to 507 sq ft spread across five levels (7-11) of a 27-storey tower at Peck Seah Street near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station. The tower will also include the 314-room Oasia Downtown Hotel. The strata offices will have a floor-to-floor height of about five metres - higher than the 3-3.5 metres for typical offices. PS100 is slated for completion next year. Over in Seletar, Tuan Sing is expected to preview around mid-March its 99-year leasehold condo, Seletar Park Residence. Pricing for the 276-unit, five-storey development is expected to take after The Greenwich next door, where transactions have ranged from $1,244 psf to $1,512 psf over the past four months based on caveats data. However, as an analyst points out, half of The Greenwich's 319 units are one bedders, allowing higher per square foot pricing to be extracted. As for Seletar Park Residence, 93 or a third of the project's units are one-bedders. The project has 113 two-bedders, 46 three-bedders and 24 four-bedroom apartments. The project is being designed by award-winning SCDA Architects. Tuan Sing is developing Seletar Park Residence on a site that it clinched at a state tender in December 2010 for $468 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr). 'We are preserving a row of raintrees on the site and will design a board walk and tree house around them, as part of our 'green' and sustainability efforts. We will also include a golf driving simulator room in our project,' said Tuan Sing chief financial officer Chong Chou Yuen. The group also has another 99-year leasehold condo plot, next to Potong Pasir MRT Station, on which it is planning a project of about 312 units, including townhouses. A launch is likely around end-June, said Mr Chong. The project is being designed by MKPL Architects. Tuan Sing has a third residential project, at the freehold Serene House site in the Cluny Park Road area opposite Botanic Gardens MRT Station. The 63-unit low rise project is likely to be released towards end-September, Mr Chong estimated. For the whole of last week (Feb 20-26), Far East sold 66 units including joint venture projects. The three top-selling projects were Watertown in Punggol (17 units), The Hillier in the Hillview area (14 units) and euHabitat at Jalan Eunos (four units sold). To date, 917 of Watertown's 992 units have been taken up since sales began in January. As for The Hillier, 446 of its 528 units have found takers, while the 748-unit euHabitat has seen 651 units being snapped up. Hong Leong meanwhile is said to have sold some 160 units at Bartley Residences since Tuesday last week. The average price after discounts is $1,240 psf.

Singapore household incomes increased last year

Susan, a rich woman living in a condominium in Bukit Timah, was robbed by her online date. The 40-year-old woman met a Caucasian man online. The 36-year-old man works in Kuala Lumpur and the duo "dated" for 15 days via online chat before she invited him to her home. The man took a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore on 9 July and brought his luggage in tow around 10.35pm that night. He was captured on the condo's CCTV camera carrying some fast food. The woman invited him in and they watched TV while eating the fast food. She said she felt weak after a few drinks of coke. She passed out before 11pm, and fell asleep for 16 hours. By the time she woke up, it was 3pm the next day. She discovered her entire home ransacked and all her valuables missing. She felt her lips were swollen and fears she had been sexually violated. Susan made a police report and after watching the CCTV footage, she realised she had been drugged and robbed. The thief had already charged 3,000 ringgit (S$1,216) to her credit card by the time she made the report.

Last weekend I tagged along with a friend to see a few houses for sale. None priced below $10M. What do you think rich people have in their homes? Other than one or more nice cars....

As per topic, please discuss. It seems that a good deal of rich old towkays were lowly educated bengs who simply knew how to hustle. Is it still possible nowadays? I think we can look at stuff such as (relative) importance of education, mindset, economic climate, barriers to entry, pressence of big players, regulations and so on

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/S...ory_735333.html By Aaron Low Singapore's households are at their wealthiest, boosted by rising property prices, a report released by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) stated on Friday. Household wealth stood at a record high of $1.471 trillion in the three months to September, up 8.6 per cent from $1.354 trillion in the same period in 2010, said the central bank. Property made up about 50.2 per cent of the household assets, while cash, Central Provident Fund balances, stocks and shares, as well as insurance, formed the other half of households' assets. Companies and banks were also in the pink of health, with good profits, a strong base of funding and healthy balance sheets.

The guy does not want to be trapped in the future to pay more?

Well made video on Singapore F1, but give an impression that everyone here is super rich. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIHRB1znktE...layer_embedded#!

My open HDB carpark got a Lambo Gallardo and this owner stay same block as me. A 4-room 30+ years old block. Power la this guy! The car is worth more than the HDB flat.