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这看起来似乎有些不合乎常理，但只要你是迈克尔•奥尔特，那么开一家跳舞夜总会就不一定非得要有舞池。奥尔特这位曼哈顿夜生活老手是社会名流之后──他的父亲是梵克雅宝(Van Cleef & Arpels)珠宝家族中的一员，继父则是赫赫有名的华尔街大佬迪安•威特(Dean Witter)。抛开这些不谈，现年49岁的奥尔特有一桩本事最让他自豪：他有能力办一场最棒的派对。多年来，他一直在做的就是这件事，从纽约到迈阿密海滩(Miami Beach)，从圣保罗到伦敦，他经营的夜总会超过了25家。据称，上世纪90年代，在那家具有传奇色彩的纽约Spy Bar，他是第一位将整瓶销售的服务模式──如今这种模式在全球酒吧里很常见──引入夜总会的老板，而那家Spy Bar在客满时，据说连凯特•摩斯(Kate Moss)也被拒之门外。
他说，Pangaea营造的是一种家庭派对的感觉，只不过这个家庭派对还提供奥尔特私人收藏的非洲部落面具、节奏感十足的音乐、和里面放着一颗钻石、由身着黑色礼服裙的女侍者奉上的、价值2.6万美元的鸡尾酒。另外一点不同之处在于，你知道周围这些人都是身家数以十亿计。
Pangaea虽然开业仅有一年多，但已经被视为全球最赚钱的夜总会，据奥尔特说，最近几个月里每晚的收入都超过10万美元。这里也是全球最为昂贵的俱乐部之一，一张桌子的花费高达1.5万美元，超级富豪们在这里挥金如土，动辄就是六位数的账单。奥尔特原本可以将这种奢华带至全球其他任何一个地方。比如伦敦，那里聚集着众多皇室成员，那里的派对吸引着欧洲的上层人士。迪拜也行，那片土地上的富人们想要个小岛的话就马上可以打造一个出来。当然还有他的家乡、他昔日的游乐之地──曼哈顿。
然而三年前搬来新加坡的奥尔特说，他在曼哈顿“再也找不到那种美好奇妙的感觉了”，金融危机留下的伤痕犹在，这场危机让曼哈顿最为奢华的派对文化元气大伤。他说，新加坡则是另一番情形，在这里，富人们感觉很富有，而且还能找到不同寻常的安全感。此外，在这里，富人们似乎只知道一种共同语言，挥霍无度的语言──所有这一切都在他的夜总会里被毫不遮掩地展现了出来。
在某个周四上午的另外一次会面中，奥尔特穿着一双亮蓝色绣有粉色骷髅头的毛绒拖鞋，歪在他夜总会里的一个皮沙发上回忆道：“一天晚上，有一些孩子来这里──的确是孩子，也就二十来岁──他们每个人都有自己的私人飞机。而且都是价格不菲的飞机。其中一架A380内部被重新改造过，修了一个游泳池和一个篮球场──这简直可笑。”
他说：“我在这里看到的一切，与我想象中在19世纪80年代美国人的财富首次超过英国时的那个镀金时代(Gilded Age)所发生的情形一样。这里人们的富裕程度──以及他们花钱的愿望之强烈，的确让人惊讶。”
欢迎来到全球最新版的摩纳哥，一个超级富豪的天堂，一个就在不久前还被人嘲笑为全球最古板、最无趣城市之一的地方。大多数人在想到新加坡时──当然很多人根本不会想起这个国家──他们想到的是一个秩序井然的华尔街或是伦敦金丝雀码头(Canary Wharf)的亚洲翻版，只不过这里的街道干净、整洁得不可思议，而且没有犯罪。这个人口只有500万的东南亚城市国家，最著名的大概就是禁止出售口香糖，以及这里有鞭刑，1994年美国人迈克尔•费伊(Michael Fay)因在他人的汽车上涂鸦就尝到过鞭刑的滋味。在这个国家，贩卖毒品要被判死罪，就连奥尔特也抱怨，新加坡政府不允许他把自己收藏的心爱枪支带进来，那些枪支收藏品如今还留在他在棕榈滩(Palm Beach)和曼哈顿的家里。
然而，过去10年里，新加坡经历了翻天覆地的变化，亚洲乃至全球其他各地的富豪名流们来到这里寻找一个绝妙的新家──这里也是他们放置财产的最保险的地方之一。Facebook的联合创始人爱德华多•萨维林(Eduardo Saverin)为能成为新加坡永久居民而放弃了他的美国国籍，他更愿意住在这个岛国，从这里投资，同时开着他的宾利(Bentley)车去四处兜风。澳大利亚矿业巨头、在澳大利亚40岁以下的富豪中财富排在第二位的内森•丁克勒(Nathan Tinkler)去年也选择将家安在了新加坡，根据《福布斯》(Forbes)杂志，丁克勒的身家大约是8.25亿美元。这之前，印度电信业巨头之一布蓬德拉•库玛•穆迪(Bhupendra Kumar Modi)在2011年就得到了新加坡国籍，新西兰的亿万富豪理查德•钱德勒(Richard Chandler)于2008年搬来这里，著名的美国投资家吉姆•罗杰斯(Jim Rogers)则在2007年举家移民新加坡。去年，全球最富有的女性之一吉娜•莱因哈特(Gina Rinehart)一掷千金，花费4,630万美元在新加坡购置了两套共管公寓。
接下来当然还有那些普通的百万富豪们──新加坡居民中百万富豪的比例比全球其他任何地方都要高。根据波士顿咨询公司(Boston Consulting Group)的数据，2011年，新加坡收入达百万美元的家庭总计18.8万户──在新加坡全部家庭中所占比例略高于17%──这实际上意味着，每六户家庭中就有一户的可自由支配财富达到至少100万美元，这其中不包括房地产、企业和奢侈品。如果把房地产包括在内，鉴于新加坡位居全球最昂贵房地产市场之列，那么这个数字还会更高。根据莱坊(Knight Frank)和花旗私人银行(Citi Private Bank)于2012年发布的一份财富报告，目前新加坡的人均国内生产总值也是全球最高的，达到了56,532美元，超过了挪威、美国、香港和瑞士。
这些百万富豪和亿万富豪们的玩物在这个城市国家中随处可见。在这个面积差不多相当于旧金山大小的国家里，如今有449辆法拉利，远远多于2001年的142辆，玛莎拉蒂(Maserati)车的数量则从24辆增至469辆。各种游艇俱乐部和超豪华商店如雨后春笋，层出不穷，比如奢侈品牌路易威登(Louis Vuitton)建在水面上的旗舰店──Louis Vuitton Island Maison。诸如Pangaea和Filter这样的夜总会已经成为富豪们交际的天堂之所，在这些地方，经常能见到年轻的萨维林和他那班身家百万的朋友们的身影。富裕的外来游客则在新加坡两家流光溢彩的新赌场酒店找乐子，这两家赌场酒店于2010年开业，滨海湾金沙娱乐城是其中一家，娱乐城的名厨餐厅享誉盛名，57层无边际游泳池旁的棕榈树俯瞰着这座城市的天际线。2007年，伯尼•埃克莱斯顿(Bernie Ecclestone)决定将这个城市国家加入著名的一级方程式世界锦标赛(Formula One World Championship)日程之中。新加坡的F1赛事──是全球唯一个在夜间进行的F1比赛，而且计划至少在2017年之前每年举办一届──已经成为最吸引人的F1赛事之一，向全球数百万人展示了新加坡令人难忘的夜间天际线。
新加坡长久以来一直吸引着富裕的外来定居者和跨国企业的高管们。吸引他们的是这个城市国家的低税赋、犯罪率几乎为零的街道、适合企业发展的政策以及稳定的政府──新加坡自1965年独立建国以来一直由一个政党掌权。然而，这个昔日大英帝国的贸易站能够于近几年里成功跻身全球超级富豪城市之列，这反映出全球经济的一个重大转变，在新兴市场蓬勃发展十多年后，财富开始在亚洲落地安家。根据咨询公司凯捷(Capgemini)和加拿大皇家银行财富管理部门(RBC Wealth Management)的数据，如今亚洲的百万富豪人数已经超出了全球其他任何地方。就在欧洲和北美的富豪们还在舔舐昨日伤口之际，在中国和印尼等国家，个人净身家正在以每年6-7%的速度增长着。
根据伦敦政治经济学院(London School of Economics)经济学与国际发展教授丹尼•柯尔(Danny Quah)的计算，全球经济重心（根据全球700多个地方的平均收入计算得出）在过去30年间已经东移，从跨大西洋轴心，转向了阿拉伯半岛附近。如果目前的增长趋势能够持续下去，那么再过30年，这个中心将转移到印度和中国之间的某地──大概就是新加坡这里，这意味着，新加坡作为全球经济中心的潜力甚至可能尚未完全发掘出来。
不过，和西方、甚至中东等地区不同，大多数在亚洲被创造出来的新财富都来自那些富人们缺乏安全感的国家，在这些国家里，富人们的担心要么源自于政府的不可靠，要么则来自这些国家的仇富者们。据报道，仅中国一个国家，就有数十亿美元的财富被转移，中国人说他们不再信任政府，希望把钱放在别处。印度人和印尼人同样也在寻找一个理想之所来藏匿家财：既能规避高税负、又有国际一流理财专家帮助打理、同时还能躲开他们那个乱糟糟──据有些人说还很腐败──的民主政府难以预测的政策调整所带来的风险。许多美国人和欧洲人则只是希望找到一个地方让他们的投资能够持续增长──这对于地处迅速增长的亚洲之中的新加坡而言几乎不在话下。
柯尔说：“这类（全球经济的）巨变催生了一批需要安全和稳定的超级富豪们，还带来了对理财、投资和咨询领域金融服务的迫切需求。像新加坡这样的地方，在这些领域的每一个方面都已打造出了声誉和专长。”
不过真正让全球许多超级富豪心动的是新加坡对于秩序、可预见性以及可控性的超级关注，这一切都让那些近来财富在全球许多地方打了水漂的人们感到安慰。新加坡的一些税率在全球是最低的，包括没有资本利得税，对大部分的境外投资股息也不征税，这一点更是锦上添花。而且，新加坡的私人银行法律相对隐秘，同时还没有狗仔队或是示威游行者的骚扰，这类活动被当局严格禁止了，这让新加坡有序、稳定的光环更加夺目。伦敦城市大学(City University in London)的国际政治经济学教授、专门研究境外财富和避税场所领域的罗尼•帕兰(Ronen Palan)认为，虽然瑞士的私人理财行业“显然承受着”来自欧盟和美国的压力，但新加坡是一个“非常隐秘的场所”，许多人──特别是亚洲人──相信他们的财富在这里不会受到西方监管者的监督。
在本月的新加坡高级时装周(Haute Couture Week)上，在印尼出生的百万富豪弗兰克•辛塔玛尼(Frank Cintamani)身着灰色的三件套浪凡(Lanvin)西装，足蹬一双布洛克鞋，坐在一排金色装饰的高级裙装前说道：“尽管禁售口香糖以及执行鞭刑给新加坡带来了各种批评，但这显示出，这里一切都有秩序。公司治理井然有序，执政党稳定而且这种状况不会改变，一切真的能够发挥职能──每个领域都在有效运转。”自从将时装周从巴黎引至新加坡后，辛塔玛尼一直是这项活动的组织者。这位经常佩戴钻石胸针的新加坡公民，很多时间都是在酒店里度过的，他也是新加坡男士时装周(Men's Fashion Week)和女士时装周(Women's Fashion Week)的组织者，同时还有其他许多兴趣和投资，包括出版领域。
他说：“富人们在哪里都能找到乐子。”一辆法拉利呼啸而过的声音分散了他的注意力，此刻，他正带着一些模特、设计师和时尚记者穿过紧挨着滨海湾金沙娱乐城的一处帐篷，那里正在进行他的时装展。落座后，他还是不得不经常站起来同那些认出他来的超级富豪时装迷们打招呼。他说：“不过在这里，他们知道自己永远将是安全的，他们的隐私会得到妥善保护，他们的投资很稳定。”
今年36岁的辛塔玛尼打住了对于新加坡经济环境的谈话，把我的视线引向两位男士──其中一位身穿三件套黑色西装，另一位穿着领口有银色装饰的未来主义风格白色上衣，腿上是一条贴身白色过膝裤，脚上一双厚底鞋──和一位身穿两件套宽身套装、足蹬银色高跟鞋的女士。
他说：“看见那边的那几个人了吗？角落里的那三个人？他们加起来的身家在60亿到70亿美元──这一点我敢保证是真的。这就是为什么我们需要在这里做这个。”他指的是他的时装展。之后，他又指给我看了一位来自蒙古国的富豪，这位富豪对房地产有着广泛的兴趣，十分热衷于投资新加坡的房地产市场。名片上印有从杂志出版到时装展在内数个头衔的辛塔玛尼拒绝透露他的家族财富来自哪里，他说这太“敏感”。（他的发言人称，很多是来自石油和天然气业务。）
具有讽刺意味的是，就像其他那些早期的繁华城市一样，给新加坡带来成功的这些因素或许最终会显出其破坏性。近年来，现金的大量涌入已经让新加坡游资泛滥，给房价带来了持续不断的上行压力，私有住宅价格自2009年第二季度以来飙升59%，而同期全球其他很多地方的房价在大跌，或是原地踏步。新加坡总理李显龙在最近接受采访时称，新加坡房地产市场的繁荣“几乎是个泡沫”，一些分析师表示，这一评价只是在承认一个显而易见的事实。
新加坡的“基尼系数”──衡量收入差距的最知名经济指标──在全球发达国家中排名第二。据提供全球超级富豪相关信息的私营咨询企业Wealth-X估计，在新加坡，大约1,400位超高净值人士拥有总值超过1,600亿美元的财富。就连新加坡本地的上层中产阶级都发现，自己根本买不起这个城市国家中某些地区的住房，比如圣淘沙湾(Sentosa Cove)，那里超过60%的住房都被非新加坡人买走了。有些新加坡人则对那些被华丽丽展现出来的财富很是反感，特别是当这些财富属于那些外来者的时候。
与此同时，那些眩目的派对场面也给新加坡带来一种随心所欲的全新文化，这种文化对新加坡的秩序感造成了冲击，而秩序感正是外来者最初被这个国家所吸引的原因之一。其中一个令人不安的例子发生在2012年5月，当时，一位来自中国大陆的人士开着法拉利在新加坡街头以每小时超过110英里的速度行驶，在闯红灯后撞上了一辆出租车，结果法拉利司机本人、出租车司机和出租车上的一位乘客均在车祸中死亡。这起车祸在互联网上掀起轩然大波，新加坡人开始发泄他们反对外来者的情绪，一些Facebook用户为死在车祸中的法拉利司机创建了一份虚假简介，其中包括针对中国大陆人的讥讽言论。虽然在防止出现类似赌城拉斯维加斯和澳门常见的犯罪行为方面，新加坡政府做得基本上还算成功，但在当地媒体上也不乏有关新加坡两家新赌场里所出现各种问题的报道。有一次，有媒体报道称，一位在企业任中层管理职位的新加坡人在一次下注中一举输掉了40万美元。最近一个周六的晚上，在Pangaea附近，人们看到七名警察逮捕了一个未着上装的白人男子，因这名男子涉嫌醉酒后有不当行为。
对于新加坡的种种变化，人们公开表达愤怒或是不满的机会很有限，因为大部分抗议行为都被禁止。不过，人们内心不快的表现却越来越多。2011年，新加坡执政党虽然在大选中获胜，但支持率是新加坡建国以来最低的，而且人们通过日渐繁荣的博客文化敦促新加坡官员们考虑对该国的经济模式进行调整，包括为穷人创建一张更大的社会安全网，而实现这一点可能会需要加税。实际上，新加坡有几位领导人──他们几十年来一直在坚定维护经济增长优先于个人自由和个人福利的长期政策──似乎都在或多或少地进行着反省。新加坡总理李显龙在他的新年致辞中号召国民在物质目标与理想和价值观之间取得平衡，他说，“我们不是没有人情味、没有头脑的机器人，只知一味数数、一味追求经济增长和物质财富。”
默多克大学(Murdoch University)亚洲研究中心的研究员加里•罗丹(Garry Rodan)称，在新加坡，富人们如今发现自己有了“新的炫富场所”，而与此同时，“却能在街头看到年迈、且积蓄非常少的新加坡人捡塑料瓶子去回收卖钱”。他说，沿着社会阶梯向上爬的机会在减少。
在房地产方面，立法者们一直在想方设法对付堪比天高的房价，他们针对境外购房者购买私有住宅的交易推出了15%的印花税。去年，新加坡政府还取消了一项允许富有的非新加坡居民通过将至少810万美元资产留在新加坡境内五年即可“快速”获得永久居留权的规定，不过，投资者若有意拿出几百万来帮助新加坡企业发展，则仍然是受欢迎的。政府一再收紧新加坡原本就很严格的赌场相关法规──新加坡这方面的法律已经是全球最严格之列了──禁止一些新加坡本国人进场赌博，并对那些未能将有问题的赌客拒之门外的赌场采取惩罚措施。
乐观者表示，长期而言，这些措施或许能够防止新加坡走上早先那些新兴城市的老路，避免诸如迪拜那样昙花一现的悲剧重演。房地产开发商克里斯•康默(Chris Comer)说：“2007年时，迪拜的厄运如同来自上帝的启示一般写在 上──我们赚到钱了，是时候离开了。”康默正准备将独具风格的尼基海滩(Nikki Beach)连锁度假酒店引入新加坡，如今这家全球性的海滩派对俱乐部在圣特罗佩(St. Tropez)、迈阿密和圣巴特斯岛(St. Barts)上建有连锁，那里有身穿精美比基尼的女郎，还有顾客会穿着加勒比海盗服、或是在身上绘上斑马纹彩绘来参加派对。康默在新加坡时走时留地过了17年，如今他住在圣淘沙湾的一套临海公寓里，那栋公寓楼建在一个小岛上，距离新加坡市中心20分钟的路程，俨然是新加坡为超级富豪们居住所开辟出来的一块封闭式的飞地。康默说，他经营的这家海滩俱乐部──康默坚称这类俱乐部“有抗经济衰退的能力”──特别适合这个城市国家。康默边说边指给我看汽车类网站上长达七页的二手兰博基尼(Lamborghini)转让广告。
康默坐在他位于安详山(Ann Siang Hill)一带的办公室的顶层说道：“新加坡是我的家，这里是我的基地，让我感觉踏实。”安详山是紧挨着牛车水(Chinatown)的一处保存完整的历史街区，康默的办公室建在一处传统店屋内，一共有四层。
其他人则对未来没有那么大的把握。他们看到年轻一代挥霍无度，富人们根本不了解他们的先辈是做出了怎样的牺牲才帮助新加坡在短短几十年里从第三世界一步一步走向第一世界的。奥尔特说：“你经常能看到这种现象，一代人创造财富，而之后第二代、第三代人会将这些财富挥霍掉。”而且，奥尔特补充道，从数学角度而言，经济海啸有朝一日肯定会爆发。奥尔特早先在牛津大学(Oxford)和伦敦政治经济学院取得过经济学相关学位，在成为夜总会老板之前，他还在华尔街工作过。
还有人担心，新加坡相对隐秘的私人理财环境可能无法持续下去。这个城市国家并不喜欢“避税天堂”这个标签，政府已经开始采取措施修改税法条约，以保障监管机构能够得到有关避税者的更多信息，最近新加坡与德国签署的双重征税协议即为显示新加坡政府决心的最新例证。（新加坡金融管理局(Monetary Authority of Singapore)一位发言人表示，他们会努力将任何“可疑交易”报告出来。）新加坡还被迫去遵守一些新的金融监管规定──比如美国的《外国账户税收遵从法案》(Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act)，此法案是美国用以保证美国纳税人不会通过境外持有资产来避税的一种手段。伦敦城市大学教授帕兰说，这对私人理财行业而言是游戏规则的彻底颠覆，将会被其他国家当作范本。
不过，在夜总会这个行业──这里总会有一个接一个的良宵，总会有更多的美腿模特和富家子弟在门外排队，等着参与一个很难进入的派对──乐观点儿是值得的。至少奥尔特这位Pangaea的成功老板这么看。他认为，即便未来的发展出了岔子，“亚洲也更有优势”。奥尔特说，新加坡这个他所选择的城市“为留在顶峰提供了所需的一切”。
SHIBANI MAHTANI， 《华尔街日报》 ，2013年 03月 22日
Wealth Over the Edge: Singapore
$26,000 cocktails. Traffic jams freckled with Ferraris. The world's sternest city is now the richest. Why?
By SHIBANI MAHTANI
The infinity pool at the Marina Bay Sands resort
It's midnight on a Saturday night at the Marina Bay Sands resort near the sparkling Singapore River, and all the boutiques are shut. But past a cosmetic-surgery clinic and a Ferrari accessories store close by, a large crowd is getting increasingly agitated. Dozens of hopefuls are clamoring to get in to what is billed as the world's most expensive club, Pangaea.
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When most people think of Singapore, an order-obsessed Asian version of Wall Street comes to mind. But lately, Singapore has become a haven for the ultra-rich. WSJ Senior Editor Jonathan Dahl joins Lunch Break. Photo: Darren Soh/Redux Pictures.
Tight-fitting Herve Leger bandage dresses are practically a uniform here, often paired with Christian Louboutin heels and Chanel 2.55 bags, as women try to befriend club goers who are lucky enough to get past the red-velvet barrier and bouncers. It is frequently the leggy models, part of the club's core demographic, who succeed. Out-of-town visitors who negotiated their way onto the guest list weeks earlier are turned away, even after offering to pay more than $3,000 for a table. The nightclub is completely full.
Past the bouncers, a walk through a long tunnel with blue ultraviolet lights and a ride up an elevator reveal one of the world's most exclusive parties. Michael Ault, Pangaea's founder, sits at the club's most prestigious table by the bar, on cushions covered in exotic African ostrich skins. His table is covered with bottles of Belvedere vodka, Cristal champagne, buckets of ice and dozens of glasses for his friends. His wife, Sabrina Ault, a former fashion model and now his business partner, wears a fake shark's head and wields a plastic gun while dancing on a table top. At Pangaea, all surfaces are made for dancing—even tables made from the trunks of 1,000-year-old trees and the crocodile-skinned couches.
It may seem counterintuitive, but a dance club does not need a dance floor if you are Michael Ault. A veteran of Manhattan nightlife and descendant of blue-blooded socialites—he is the son of a Van Cleef from the Van Cleef & Arpels jewelry family and the stepson of Wall Street's famed Dean Witter—Ault, 49, prides himself on one thing above all others: the ability to throw a good party. And he has done just that over the years at more than 25 clubs from New York to Miami Beach and São Paulo to London. He is credited with being one of the first nightclub impresarios to introduce bottle service—now commonplace globally—at the legendary New York Spy Bar in the 1990s, where even Kate Moss was turned away on exceptionally packed nights.
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The Pangaea experience, he says, replicates the feeling of being at a house party—one that just happens to offer African tribal masks from Ault's personal collection, throbbing music, a $26,000 cocktail that contains a diamond inside and is served by waitresses in black dresses, and the knowledge that many of the people around you are worth billions.
Pangaea, though just over a year old, is now considered the most profitable club in the world with revenues of more than $100,000 per night in recent months, Ault says. It's also one of the most expensive clubs, with tables costing as much as $15,000, and the uber-rich regularly chalking up six-figure bills. He could have brought this extravagance to just about anywhere in the world. London, with its collection of royals and a party scene that attracts Europe's glitterati. Dubai, too, the land of if-you-want-an-island-you-just-build-one. And of course, his hometown and former playground, Manhattan.
But Ault, who moved to Singapore three years ago, says he "no longer feels the magic" in Gotham, which still bears the scars of a financial crisis that knocked the wind out of much of its most extravagant party culture. Singapore, he says, is another matter. This is where he says the rich feel, well, rich, and unusually secure. And where they seem to know only one common language, the language of excess—all too shamelessly displayed in his club.
"One night, there were these kids here—literally kids in their 20s—who all had their own private jets," Ault recalls during another meeting, on a Thursday morning, leaning back on a leather couch in his club wearing bright-blue fuzzy slippers embroidered with a pink skull. "Serious jets, too. There was an A380 which was converted to include a pool and basketball court—it was ridiculous."
"What I see here is what I imagined must have happened in the U.S. in the 1880s, in the Gilded Age, when it first took over England in terms of wealth," he says. "It is truly shocking how much wealth there is—and how willing people are to spend it."
Welcome to the world's newest Monaco, a haven for the ultra-rich in what until recently was mocked as one of the most straight-laced, boring cities in the world. When most people think of Singapore, if they do at all, they think of an order-obsessed Asian version of Wall Street or London's Canary Wharf, only with implausibly clean, sterile streets and no crime. The southeast Asian city-state of five million people is perhaps best known for banning the sale of chewing gum or caning vandals, including American Michael Fay in 1994 for spray-painting cars. Drug traffickers face the death penalty, and even Ault complains the authorities won't let him import his prized gun collection, which now sits in his other homes in Palm Beach and Manhattan.
But over the past decade, Singapore has undergone a dramatic makeover, as the rich and famous from Asia and beyond debark on its shores in search of a glamorous new home—and one of the safest places to park their wealth. Facebook FB -0.04% co-founder Eduardo Saverin gave up his American citizenship in favor of permanent residence there, choosing to live on and invest from the island while squiring around town in a Bentley. Australian mining tycoon Nathan Tinkler, that country's second wealthiest man under 40, whose fortune is pegged at $825 million by Forbes, also chose to move to Singapore last year. They join Bhupendra Kumar Modi, one of India's biggest telecom tycoons who gained Singapore citizenship in 2011, as well as New Zealand billionaire Richard Chandler, who relocated in 2008, and famed U.S. investor Jim Rogers, who set up shop there in 2007. Gina Rinehart, one of the world's richest women, slapped down $46.3 million for a pair of Singapore condominium units last year.
And then there are, of course, your average millionaires—more of whom can be found among Singapore's resident population than anywhere in the world. According to Boston Consulting Group, the island had 188,000 millionaire households in 2011—slightly more than 17 percent of its resident households—which effectively means one in six homes has disposable private wealth of at least $1 million, excluding property, business and luxury goods. Add in property, with Singapore real estate among the most expensive in the world, and this number would be even higher. Singapore also now has the highest gross domestic product per capita in the world at $56,532, having overtaken Norway, the U.S., Hong Kong and Switzerland, according to a 2012 wealth report by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank.
“But what really checks all the right boxes for many of the world's ultra-rich is Singapore's obsession with order.”
The toys of all these millionaires and billionaires are visible across the city-state. A country roughly the size of San Francisco, it now has 449 Ferraris, up from 142 in 2001, while its Maserati fleet has grown from 24 to 469. Yacht clubs are popping up along with super-luxurious shops, like the Louis Vuitton Island Maison, a flagship boutique of the ubiquitous luxury brand housed in its own floating pavilion. Nightclubs like Pangaea and Filter, which are frequented by the young Saverin and his crew of millionaire party boys, have turned into havens for the wealthy to mingle. Rich out-of-towners play at Singapore's two glamorous new casino resorts, opened in 2010, including the Marina Bay Sands complex with its celebrity chef restaurants and an infinity pool on the 57th floor with palm trees overlooking the skyline. In 2007, Bernie Ecclestone decided that the city-state would be added to the illustrious Formula One World Championship calendar. The race—which is the only Formula One night race in the world and is set to continue annually until at least 2017—has emerged as one of the most glamorous Formula One events, broadcasting the impressive Singapore night skyline to millions globally.
Singapore has long been a magnet for rich expatriates and multinational corporate executives. They are attracted to the city-state's low taxes, virtually crime-free streets, pro-business policies and predictable government, with one political party in power since it gained independence in 1965. But the onetime British trading post's ascent into the stratosphere of the world's ultra-wealthy cities in recent years reflects a momentous shift in the global economy, as wealth settles in Asia after more than a decade of booming emerging-market growth. Asia now has more millionaires than anywhere else, according to consultancy CapgeminiCAP.FR -0.49% and RBC Wealth Management. While the rich lick their wounds in Europe and North America, the net worth of individuals in countries like China and Indonesia are up 6 percent to 7 percent annually.
Danny Quah, professor of economics and international development at the London School of Economics, has calculated that the world's economic center of gravity—measured by looking at income averages across more than 700 places worldwide—has shifted east over the past 30 years, from the Transatlantic Axis to somewhere across the Arabian Peninsula. If current growth trends continue, this center will move in another three decades to a resting point between India and China—just about where Singapore is, meaning its potential as the world's economic center may not even be fully realized.
Unlike the West or even places like the Middle East, though, much of the new wealth being created in Asia is emerging in countries where rich people see their assets at risk, either because of unreliable governments or unloved ones. The Chinese alone are reportedly exporting billions of dollars, saying they no longer trust their government and want to put their money elsewhere. Indians and Indonesians have likewise been looking for a place where they can stash cash to avoid high taxes or work with international-class wealth managers, while steering clear of the unpredictable policy shifts in their rambunctious—and some say, corrupt—democracies. Many Americans and Europeans just want a place where their investments can keep growing—hardly a problem in Singapore, smack in the middle of the fast-growing Asia.
"This kind of sharp change [in the global economy] brings with it an emergence of the very rich, who seek security and stability and a pronounced need for financial services in wealth management, investment, and facilitating and guiding decisions," Quah says. "A place like Singapore has developed both the reputation and the expertise along every single one of these dimensions."
But what really checks all the right boxes for many of the world's ultra-rich is Singapore's obsession with order, predictability and control, all of which give comfort to individuals whose fortunes have recently gone down the drain in many parts of the world. It doesn't hurt that Singapore has some of the lowest taxes in the world, including none on capital gains and most foreign dividends. But it also has relatively secretive private banking laws and zero harassment from paparazzi or protesters, whose activities are narrowly proscribed by Singaporean authorities, further creating an aura of order and stability. Ronen Palan, a professor of international political economy and an expert on offshore wealth and tax havens at City University in London, believes that while Switzerland is "clearly suffering" from the pressure put on its private-wealth sector from the European Union and the U.S., Singapore is a "very secretive location" where many—Asians in particular—believe their wealth will be spared scrutiny from Western regulators.
"For all the flack that Singapore has gotten for chewing gum and caning, it shows that things are orderly here. Corporate governance is in order, the ruling party is stable and is not going anywhere, things actually function—everything works," says Indonesian-born millionaire Frank Cintamani, as he sits in front of gold-embellished couture dresses, wearing a three-piece gray Lanvin suit paired with black brogue shoes. It is Haute Couture Week in Singapore, an event he leads after luring it away from Paris. A Singaporean citizen who has spent a large part of his life living in hotels and who frequently dons diamond brooches, he also leads Men's Fashion Week and Women's Fashion Week, and has a host of other interests and investments, including in publishing.
"Rich people can have fun anywhere," he says, as the sound of a Ferrari zooming past distracts his train of thought, while he directs a stream of models, designers and fashion writers coursing through a tent next to the Marina Bay Sands, where his fashion show is being held. Though sitting down, he constantly has to stand up briefly to greet the ultra-wealthy fashion aficionados who recognize him. "But over here they know they will always be safe, their privacy respected and their investments solid," he says.
Cintamani, 36, interrupts the discussion on Singapore's economic environment, drawing attention to two men—one in a three-piece black suit, and another in a futuristic-looking white top embellished with silver at its collar and reaching past his knees over skinny white pants with platform shoes—and a woman in a white two-piece, loose-fitting suit with silver heels.
"See those guys over there? The three people in the corner? Their combined worth is between six to seven billion U.S. dollars—and I know this for a fact," he says. "This is why we need to do this here," referring to his fashion ventures. He then points out that one of Mongolia's richest men, with wide interests in property and a keen investor in Singapore's real estate, is also in attendance at the couture show. Cintamani, whose business card carries several logos from ventures in magazine publishing to fashion shows, declines to say where his family's wealth comes from, describing it as "sensitive." (His spokesperson says much of it comes from the oil and gas business.)
The irony, as with other earlier boomtowns, is that the very sources of Singapore's success may ultimately prove its undoing. The gushers of cash that have flooded Singapore in recent years have put relentless upward pressure on property prices, with private-home prices rocketing 59 percent higher since the second quarter of 2009, even as real-estate prices have tumbled or gone sideways in much of the rest of the world. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong was only admitting the obvious, some analysts say, when in a recent interview he said that the country's property boom is "almost a bubble."
Singapore's "Gini coefficient"—the best-known economic measure of income disparity—is the second highest in the developed world. Wealth-X, a private consultancy that provides intelligence on the world's uber-rich, estimates some 1,400 ultra-high-net-worth individuals now hold more than $160 billion of wealth in Singapore. Even upper-middle-class natives find themselves unable to afford houses in some parts of the city-state, such as Sentosa Cove, where more than 60 percent of the houses are owned by foreigners. Some are put off by flashy displays of wealth, particularly when it is the wealth of foreign nationals.
The dazzling party scene, meanwhile, has brought a new kind of anything-goes culture to Singapore that is threatening the sense of order that helped make it so alluring in the first place. One of the more disturbing examples came in May 2011, when a Ferrari driver from mainland China, traveling at more than 110 miles per hour, crashed into a taxi after running a red light and killed himself, the taxi driver and a passenger. The accident triggered an outburst of anti-foreigner sentiment online, with some Facebook users creating a fake profile for the dead Ferrari driver with derisive comments against mainland Chinese. Although authorities have largely succeeded in keeping out the kinds of criminal elements that populate the shadows of casino capitals like Las Vegas and Macau, local papers don't shy away from reports of problem gambling in Singapore's two new casinos, with one local middle manager reportedly losing $400,000 in a single bet. On a recent Saturday night near Pangaea, seven police officers were seen arresting a topless Caucasian male for alleged drunken and disorderly behavior.
“The irony, as with earlier boomtowns, is that the very sources of Singapore's success may ultimately prove its undoing.”
Public expressions of anger or dissatisfaction with Singapore's transformations are limited, since protests for the most part are prohibited. Yet signs of unhappiness are multiplying. The city-state's ruling party retained power with its lowest percentage of votes in Singaporean history in 2011, and a thriving blog culture is prodding officials to consider some changes to the country's economic model, including the creation of a bigger social safety net for the poor, which likely would require higher taxes. Indeed, several of the country's leaders—who for decades staunchly defended long-standing policies of prioritizing economic growth above personal freedoms and welfare—seem to be doing some soul-searching. In his New Year's Day message, Prime Minister Lee called on the nation to balance material goals with its "ideals and values. We are not impersonal, calculating robots, mindlessly pursuing economic growth and material wealth," he said.
The rich in Singapore now find themselves with "new avenues to display their wealth," according to Garry Rodan, a fellow at the Asia Research Center at Murdoch University, while "aged Singaporeans with grossly inadequate savings can be seen on the streets collecting plastic bottles for recycling." Opportunities to move up the ladder, he says, are shrinking.
On the real-estate front, meanwhile, lawmakers have tried to deal with sky-high prices by introducing a 15 percent stamp duty on foreign purchases of private residential homes. Last year, the government also removed a program that allowed wealthy foreigners to "fast track" their permanent residency if they kept at least $8.1 million in assets in the city-state for five years, though investors who plan to dedicate a few million to help companies in Singapore grow are still welcomed. Authorities have repeatedly tightened the city-state's tight casino-control laws, already among the strictest in the world, to restrict some locals from patronizing gaming floors and to punish casinos if they fail to keep problem gamblers away.
Optimists say those steps may, in the long run, prevent Singapore from going down the same road as earlier cities-of-the-moment that burned bright and then flamed out, like Dubai. "The writing was on the wall in Dubai in 2007—we had made our money and it was time to move on," says Chris Comer, a property developer who is bringing the exclusive Nikki Beach franchise—a global chain of beach party clubs in St. Tropez, Miami and St. Barts, with girls in elaborate bikinis and patrons who show up in Caribbean pirate outfits or zebra body paint—to Singapore. Having lived in and out of Singapore for 17 years, Comer now resides in an oceanfront condominium in Sentosa Cove, a gated enclave of ultra-wealthy residents on an island 20 minutes from Singapore's city-center. His beach club venture—one that he insists is "recession-proof"—is particularly well-matched for the city-state, he says, nodding at the seven pages of used Lamborghini listings in the online auto classifieds.
"Singapore is my home, this is my base, this is where I feel safe," says Comer, speaking in the loft of his four-story office in a shophouse on Singapore's Ann Siang Hill precinct, a preserved historic area just off Chinatown.
Others aren't so sure about the future. They see youths burning through cash, and rich people who are totally oblivious to the sacrifices made by earlier generations that helped places like Singapore climb from Third World to First World status in just a few decades. "You see this happening often, one generation would make the wealth, and the next two or three will lose it," Ault says. Moreover, "there is a mathematical certainty that there is going to be an economic tsunami" at some point, adds Ault, who trained as an economist with degrees from Oxford and the London School of Economics and worked on Wall Street before becoming a nightclub owner.
Others are worried secretive Singapore won't be able to stay that way. The city-state, defiant against the label "tax haven," has taken steps to ensure its tax treaties allow for more information exchange on tax dodgers, most recently firming a double-taxation agreement with Germany. (A spokesperson from the Monetary Authority of Singapore says it works hard to report any "suspicious transactions.") Singapore is also forced to comply with new financial regulations—including the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a way for the U.S. to ensure its taxpayers do not shirk payments through offshore holdings. This, Palan says, is a "game changer" for the private-wealth industry and will be used as a model by other countries.
Still, in the nightclub business—in which there's always another night, and more models and rich kids waiting in line for an exclusive party—it pays to be positive. At least that's how Ault, the highflying owner of Pangaea sees it. He figures that even if things do go awry, "Asia is better positioned." Singapore, his city of choice, he says, is "doing all the right stuff to stay on top."
