Leisure activities and hobbies are a common way for every one of us to relax and recharge their batteries, but not all hobbies are similar and certainly not all of them cost the same. While most of us would be happy with a bike ride on a trail through the woods in the weekend or a ski trip to Austria, rich people have to have their yachts.
Ok, maybe not all of them, but in general their leisure activities and sports are a little bit more different than those of common people. Some are into extravagant hobbies such as collecting classic cars or giving yacht parties in the Caribbean, others love playing golf and some will happily give money away to charities, trying to make the world a better place for the not so lucky among us.
But let’s not judge a book by its cover and better find out more about what do the wealthiest people on the planet love to do with their free time. For that matter, we’ve done our homework, made a little bit of research and comprised a list of 15 Favorite Hobbies of the Richest People in the World:
15. Skiing
Skiing has been around since prehistory, first as a means of transport, then as an aid in military operations in winter conditions, but it’s only in the latest 3 centuries that skiing has naturally evolved into the sport and recreational activity that it is today. And nowadays, skiing is one of the favorite outdoor activities of many people, especially the world’s most wealthy and famous.
Many notorious billionaires love taking the slopes and riding downhill for the thrills it gives, and some of them might even own entire resorts. There was a rumor going on around that the renowned Roman Abramovich even wanted to buy the entire resort of Courchevel, the famous French ski resort which regularly appears among the world’s most luxurious destinations. And who can blame him? We’d do it too if we had the means.
It should be said that although skiing caters to the wealthy, it’s gradually becoming more accessible to the commonfolk. We recommend this resource for getting started with gear selection and understanding the basics of what you need and how to do it on a budget.
14. Flying
Flying is many people’s childhood dream, but very few of them later develop the resources to achieve it. And we’re not talking about the skills here, but about the money required to learn to fly and own a plane.
Getting a PPL (Private Pilot License) will start at around $10.000 at the lowest and owning a plane will rise somewhere in the thousands for a very basic and old model like the Cessna 172 Skyhawk, often even exceeding $100.000, and that for a second hand plane. From there on, the prices only go higher.
Given this fact, it’s somewhat normal to consider that almost only the rich and famous have flying as a hobby. And after all they’ve always had their heads in the skies, haven’t they? Just think of Bruce Dickinson and his band’s – Iron Maiden – tour plane, a Boeing 747 called Ed Force One.
13. Golf
Boring for many, calming for others, golf is one of those sports favored by a lot of the rich and famous. From actor Clint Eastwood to Donald Trump, many wealthy people have no problem paying the sky high fees of some of the most exclusive golf club memberships in the world. And when we say sky high, we mean tens of thousands of dollars for joining. At the least.
Anyone can find a golf course for a short weekend fun, but few will seek out the best courses in the world and sustain all the costs this hobby requires. And when you travel to the other corner of the world to play golf on one of the best courses you can find, for sure you won’t go there with cheap clubs.
12. Polo
A gentleman’s sport, and one especially appealing to generations of royal families, polo comes as a no surprise on this list. It’s the classic game of the wealthy and sophisticated, and a nonetheless expensive hobby.
Polo requires a certain degree of erudition, higher than most other common sports out there, and not only that but plenty of money, since buying and owning a horse and paying for a full membership in a polo club isn’t even close to being cheap.
11. Hunting
Hunting may seem like your ordinary hobby – since there’s nothing fancy or expensive about being out in the woods, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Hunting can get pretty expensive really fast. Depending on the country, owning a gun may already be a costly business.
Then add in the costs of hunting taxes and expedition expenses and your wallet will start emptying quite fast. In addition to that, if one wants to hunt something more exotic, like big game in Africa, well, that will sky-rocket the costs to heavens.
10. Reading
We’re not sure if the richest people in the world read because they have time and money, or they have time and money because they read. But reading is indeed one of the favorite hobbies of some of the wealthiest people on the planet.
While reading isn’t necessarily an expensive hobby – that unless you’re building yourself a huge library, it’s one that develops good thinking and good thinking is a necessary skill in the world of businesses and fortunes.
9. Philanthropy
Philanthropy is probably one of the most common habit of rich people, some sources claiming that over 50% of the richest people in the world commit to charitable causes. You’ve surely heard about many charitable foundations around the world, foundations started by some of these wealthy people.
The reasons behind this hobby may be very subjective, some even pointing to the psychological need of feeling good about oneself, but we have to admit that philanthropy requires a great deal of money. Money which the rich and famous have and are willing to give away.
8. Sailing
Another fine sport that sits between unaffordable and very unaffordable is sailing. From renting small sailing ships to owning big fancy yachts, sailing is a sport mostly available to the rich, and many famous names such as George Clooney are among the lucky ones who’re doing it as a hobby.
While sailing is a noble sport, owning a yacht and partying in the Carribbean with all the fine ladies dancing on the deck is less on the sport side and more on the hobby side, but extremely expensive nonetheless.
7. Race Car Driving
For those rich and adventurous souls who need adrenaline pumping through their veins, driving a race car is the hobby to have. Getting a few laps on the race track in a super fast high performance machine may not make one happy but for sure it will add a lot of excitement to their lives.
On the other hand though, this hobby will draw a lot of money from their wallets, because only a few minutes on the race track can suck up to $1000. And everybody wants more than a few minutes of sheer joy, don’t they?
6. Owning Collections
From art pieces and antiques to watches, jewelry and classic cars, collecting is a hobby in itself. While this isn’t necessarily an expensive hobby reserved only to the rich, sometimes it can become one. You could collect post stamps or you could collect classic cars and WWII warplanes.
But once you start with it, finding more and more high value items will make you push this hobby farther and farther into the expensive side. And that’s where things begin to get really interesting.
5. Equitation
One of the favorite pastime of the world’s wealthiest people, equitation is becoming more and more common. But owning a horse is not simple and definitely not the cheapest hobby at all. That’s why it’s a lot more common for the top earners to get into this hobby compared to the usual folk.
4. Winemaking
Fine wines are something almost every rich person in the world has tasted, but for some of them, that’s not enough. Growing a vineyard and making wine for themselves is yet another habit of some of the wealthiest people in the world.
It’s not uncommon for villas belonging to famous people to have wine cellars and wineries and certainly is not too hard for them to make their own wine.
3. Running
While a lot of people in the world consider running and fitness in general a hard thing to do, most rich people consider it a healthy habit. And they usually stick to it, no matter if they’re actors playing roles in which they need to be in top shape or just businessmen in need for a healthy mind and body.
And running certainly isn’t on the expensive side of most of the hobbies we presented here. Well, that if you don’t want to own a fully equipped top-notch gym.
2. High Altitude Mountain Climbing
While almost all sports had a utility in the past, climbing mountains had none. It was something invented by nobles to separate themselves from the rest. Today, more and more people embrace hiking, trekking and climbing as exercise, but high altitude mountain climbing has so far remained a thing for the rich.
Climbing some of the most famous summits of the planet comes with great costs, and we’re not talking about the possibility for injury or even death. We’re talking about money. A whole lot of them. Climbing Everest nowadays can start somewhere at $35.000 and get well over $100.000. And there are lots of high peaks out there where the taxes for trying to reach the peak rise higher than the peaks themselves. In dollars.
While there’s no real utility into trekking for extended weeks, depriving the body of the much needed oxygen for extended periods of time and reaching a high peak after spending loads of money on gear and supplies, there’s something very alluring to that kind of adventures. Something not many people can afford.
1. Traveling
Traveling is becoming ubiquitous. The cost of transport is diminishing as technology is evolving, and vacations are getting cheaper and cheaper, but there still aren’t too many people who can afford more than a few weeks of traveling every year.
But the richest people in the world have both the time and the means to spend months on end traveling, so this is a hobby in itself. First class airline tickets, exquisite destinations and ostentatious hotel rooms are just some of the perks of traveling around the world the way rich people do.
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