Opened last year before the end of the Hamptons season, Société du Vin is a "wine country club" where the wealthy can store their vintage wines and hang out.
The 10,000-square-foot space was once an old potato barn. It was gut renovated and decorated by Hollywood set director Elvis Restaino for $5 million with seating, chandeliers, and TVs, according to The New York Times.
It will be open nine months out of the year, and (almost) round the clock so members can access their wines whenever they choose, Alexander told The NYT.
Membership to the exclusive social club will set you back $50,000, plus annual dues of $8,000. Besides wine storage, members will be privy to events and tastings by invitation in the salon room, or they can go to Société du Vin to simply watch games on the flat screen TVs and relax while sipping their vintages.
Enrollment is limited to 100 members, according to the Times, and The Post reports that Alexander will send out invitations to 75 people.
"Out here in the Hamptons, most people who own wine cellars are a little older, and they don't go to discos, and there's no place to go after a restaurant on a Saturday night." Alexander told Curtis Dahl of Joseph & Curtis Custom Wine Cellars in an online video. "This gives them the opportunity to go out and meet friends, meet wine people, and store their wine in a great place."
The club will reopen over Memorial Day next month.
The 2014 Audi R8 lineup is significantly improved—with the German brand's mid-engine flagship sports car getting various updates to appearance, performance, and features.
And that's before considering what might be the most substantial change—a new seven-speed S tronic transmission that can shorten the V10 model's 0-60 mph time by 0.3 seconds.
It's not surprising that prices edge up a bit for the lineup. The base R8 V8 Coupe, in manual form, starts at $116,150, including the $1,250 destination fee; R8 V10 Coupes start at $152,450. Meanwhile R8 Spyder models start at $129,650 for the V8, or $163,450 for the V10. A $3,000 gas guzzler tax also applies to the lineup.
Want the S tronic automatic instead? That'll cost you $9,100 more, across the model line.
But it's worth that, if you read our First Drive of the 2014 R8 from late last year. “In manual mode it simply does what you want it to, holding gears or producing perfect rev-matched downshifts on demand,” said senior editor Nelson Ireson, who got some time with the new model on the road and on the track. “It's everything the balky R Tronic automatic before it was not.”
In R8 V10 Plus form, costing $171,795, weight is reduced by 130 pounds due to ceramic brakes, manual Alcantara seats, reduced engine-bay insulation, a smaller fuel tank, and carbon fiber side blades, front splitter, rear diffuser, and spoiler, spoiler, that means a 0-60 mph time of just 3.3 seconds, with a top speed of 196 mph. And while the engine lineup remains the same, in the base 430-hp R8 V8 form, the new S tronic transmission permits a 0-60 mph blast of 4.3 seconds.
Other improvements, Audi notes, include diamond-stitch leather seats and a new flat-bottom steering wheel. And in V10 models, look for high-end goodies like Bang & Olufsen audio and 'navigation plus' as standard. As well, you should see this post for more on the many cosmetic improvements for the 2014 R8.
Lion Air, the Indonesian budget carrier whose Boeing 737-800 crashed at a Bali airport on Saturday, has been banned from flying in the European Union since 2007 after being deemed "unsafe."
All 51 Indonesian airlines were banned from flying in the EU in 2007 after a series of fatal accidents, including the March 2007 crash of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200, which killed 21 passengers and one crew member.
In 2009, the EU lifted the ban on four of those airlines, including Garuda, and the delegation that made the decision said Lion Air could be taken off the list by the end of that year, the New York Times reported.
The Federal Aviation Administration does not rate, rank, or blacklist airlines, but it has assessed the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil aviation "as not being in compliance" with international safety standards.
Indonesian air carriers continue to experience air incidents and accidents. U.S. citizens traveling to and from Indonesia are encouraged to fly directly to their destinations on international carriers from countries whose civil aviation authorities meet international aviation safety standards for the oversight of their air carrier operations under the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program.
Lion Air operates mostly domestic flights, its international destinations include Vietnam and Thailand.
Several students were arrested and many more pepper sprayed when a party at Rutgers University got out of control this past Saturday, according to The Star-Ledger.
Police in riot gear broke up the New Brunswick bash,where students were drinking and burning furniture on Delafield Street near New Jersey's Saint Peter's University Hospital.
Pictures posted on Instagram, Twitter, and videos on Vine were tagged "#delafest," the name for the impromptu event.
"It was seven parties that got out of control," Rutgers sophomore Gina Pagliaro told The Star-Ledger.
Video taken at the scene showed students tossing Frisbees between houses, dancing on roofs, and mocking police officers as they drove through the crowd of hundreds.
Later in the video, students set fire to a couch as they danced and cheered while it burned in the street.
Tech companies in the Bay area such as Facebook and LinkedIn have gone public and made their early employees wealthy.
Increasingly, the young, rich employees are spending their fortunes on prostitution.
CNNMoney's Laurie Segall interviewed sex workers in the Bay area, as well as local authorities. All of them said prostitution was on the rise and technology is powering it. It has increased the list of clients, and it's making the prostitution business more efficient.
One sex worker says she uses Square, Jack Dorsey's mobile credit card swiper, to charge clients before visits. "As far as Square knows, it's a consulting business," the woman told Segall.
Another sex worker says she's made "close to $1 million" servicing young, rich men. Segall says they're from "a number of major tech companies in the area, places where the IPO money has been flowing."
"A majority of them are really sweet, kind ... kind of quiet," the worker said. "They're young guys that are working in the high tech industry and they have the money. ...Young guys in their 20s ask me, 'How do I get a girlfriend? What should I do?' One guy asked me if he should get a puppy as he pulled up in a Ferrari."
A meat company in Louisiana recalled 468,000 pounds of meat after a random inspection found listeria on a slice of roast beef.
Manda Packing Company recalled meat that was sent to retail stores in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas, the USDA said in a news release.
Investigators bought a slice of the company's roast beef in Tennessee and found it contained the bacteria. Dozens of deli meats are part of the recall.
Consuming listeria can result in the disease Listeriosis. Symptoms of the disease include fever, muscle aches, and vomiting, and it kills one in five people it infects.
The Consumerist pointed out that some of the meat might have been sliced at delis, making it difficult for consumers to identify whether it fit the dates and descriptions of the recall.
Manda Packing Company said on its website that customers can return the recalled meat for a full refund.
''I'm sure anyone that has worked with me would agree that it's not true,'' the Australian supermodel told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Kerr, who is also married to actor Orlando Bloom, was rumored to be out at Victoria's Secret because she was difficult to work with.
Kerr did confirm reports that she was too busy to be a full-time Angel.
"I'm just not in a position to commit to a full contract at this time,'' Kerr said. "It's three months at a bare minimum."
Kerr will release her second book this year. She also acts as a spokesperson for Mango, KORA Organics, Qantas, Clear Hair & Scalp Therapy, Samantha Thavasa, and Reebok.
The model does plan to walk in this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show.
The five-bedroom home is located on what used to be part of William Randolph Hearst's estate in Sands Point, New York. It's the one that is believed to have inspired Jay Gatsby's estate in 'The Great Gatsby,' and Larry and his wife Amy think their house is built on the estate's old tennis court.
History aside, the house is pretty awesome all on its own. It has its own 200 foot private beach, and if that's not enough there also the vaulted cathedral ceilings, wood burning fireplace, and gorgeous cedar deck where you can enjoy the ocean view should be decent draws.
In the aftermath of the explosions, many of the city's transportation systems have shut down or limited service.
Marathon Monday is a major holiday in Boston, and many public transportation services were already operating on alternate schedules.
In a press conference earlier this afternoon, the Boston Fire Department recommended that people stay home, and that those staying in hotels should return to their hotels.
At the request of law enforcement, the FAA placed a temporary flight restriction over a portion of the city, barring aircraft within a three nautical mile radius, up to an altitude of 3,000 feet. That zone has since been reduced to a two natuical mile radius.
The FAA also briefly put a ground stop in place, halting flights into and out of Boston's Logan Airport, so it could chance the runway configuration. Flights have since resumed, it said in a statement.
Logan Airport confirmed on Twitter that flights are departing and arriving, and advised travelers to check with their airlines for delays or flight changes.
According to the Mass. Department of Transit's (DOT) Twitter page, several sections of Boston highways are closed, including Boston I-90 East exit 22 to Copley Sq and Huntington Av., and Wellesley Rte-128/I-95 exit 21.
As of 5:46 p.m. EST, service on the Green, Orance, and Red lines was resuming with "significant residual delays," according to the MBTA. Green Line service had been temporarily terminated earlier in the afternoon.
Park Street and Downtown Crossing had also reopened as of 5:46 PM, according to the MBTA.
We've also heard reports that people at North Station are being stopped and checked. Jim Lokay, a reporter with WCVB tweeted that trains were being stopped and people being searched:
For people using North Station on the #MBTA, all trains are being stopped and people are being searched. Prepare for long delays. #wcvb
Amtrak trains are operating normally following the explosions, and the Amtrak Police Department is stepping up patrols and conducting increased sweeps of stations and track right-of-ways, the operator said in a statement.
To join China's Sports Car Club (SCC), you need two things. First, you have to be able to pay a 10,000 yuan ($1,616) annual membership fee. Second, you need access to an unbelievably expensive sports car.
While it was first formed in 2009 as a simple car enthusiast club, over the years the SCC and its associated social events have become linked with the negative concept of "fuerdai" — young second generation rich known for flaunting their wealth. The club is stirring up elements of class hatred in the communist country.
The screenshots (which may, of course, be faked) crystallized concerns about what the club means for China. On Weibo "SCC" became the number one trending topic, according to the South China Morning Post.
“Thank you SCC," one Weibo user wrote after the scandal broke. "You make me understand that I’m not living at the bottom of this society, I live 180 floors beneath the bottom."
“By my current income, I can become a SCC member in 1,000 years," wrote another. "That is to say, I don’t eat, drink or spend a penny in those 1,000 years.”
While there are reportedly just 1,500 members of the SCC, they have an habit of making news. When the absurdly fabulous life of a young woman in Shenzhen went viral earlier this year, it didn't take long for people to realize she was an SCC member.
In 2010, GQ China interviewed six Chinese twentysomething members of the Sports Car Club. One notable quote came from a man dating a pretty woman, who then realized her car was “five years out of fashion.”
For many Chinese citizens, the SCC and sports cars in general seem to represent the big new problem in China — economic inequality.
For example, the monthly membership fees for the SCC are almost twice the average annual salary for Beijing (based on official 2011 data). Even if a person earning this salary paid no taxes and had no other expenses, it would take them almost 50 years to buy a Porsche Carrera GT at $448,000.
Exactly how the SCC feel about being a symbol of inequality isn't clear (interview requests put in to the group were not answered).
In one 2011 interview English-language interview, two members of the group were asked by a CCTV interviewer how they became so rich. They responded awkwardly, one explaining that he works in shipping and the other saying he is "running a company that's doing luxury branding and distribution."
It's also worth noting that not all of the members are spoiled young fuerdai — one magazine estimated that 30% of members were entrepreneurs themselves (the rest appeared to be second generation rich). Time Magazine spoke to Zhang Kuan, the founder of the Beijing branch, last year. Zhang came from a modest background — his first car was a Volkswagen.
"People in my generation, we always want the next thing," he told Time. "It's how we express ourselves and live our dreams."
'Lone Ranger and her truly astonishing story will appeal to a new generation of luxury yacht owner,' the sales brochure notes.
'The yacht epitomises low key luxury, but most importantly offers the ideal platform for anyone wanting to explore the farthest flung corners of the world with their family.'
The family summer compound purchased by a former President of Ally Financial (then-General Motors Acceptance Corp.) in 1927 is being sold for $10 million, says the WSJ.
Grandson Davi Shuman said the Madison, Conn. property wasn't "appropriate" for his family every more.
What the 21 bedroom property is ideal for, however, is a large extended family. It boasts 500 yards of private beach, a cottage, two houses, a tennis court, heated swimming pool and perhaps room for yet another house.
The New Yorker has an awesome interactive infographic showing the median income of New York's 21 subway lines based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The wealthiest subway stops are all in one census tract downtown: Park Place on the 123 line, Chambers Street on the 123 and ACE, and the World Trade Center on the E line. These three stops all have median incomes of $205,192.
The next stops with the highest median incomes include 5th Avenue-59th Street on the NQR ($171,000), Williamsburg's York Street on the F line ($167,737), and Canal Street on the ACE line ($164,656).
Some of the poorest subway stops include 125th on the 456 ($15,625) and Marcy Avenue on the M, J, and Z lines ($16,139).
The infographic does an excellent job of demonstrating how dramatically income changes in New York City between neighborhoods.
Few drinks are as synonymous with a city as gin is with London, and in London there is only one major brand of gin still distilled within the city limits — Beefeater.
Beefeater aside, Gin has a major part in London's history. In the 1700s the town experienced a phenomena known as 'The Gin Craze' when citizens were hooked on the drink as an alternative to the city's unfiltered water.
You can imagine how that turned out.
It took some doing, but the government managed to bring the craze under control by charging distillers licenses to operate and sell their wares. That's when the cream rose to the top, and at the top still is Beefeater, the award winning brand known for the iconic Tower of London guard on its bottle.
In 1863 founder James Burrough bought a distillery that had been operating since 1820. From that point on Beefeater's recipe and process has remained mostly unchanged, safeguarded by master distiller Desmond Payne.
Payne and his staff showed Business Insider around the London distillery Beefeater has occupied had since 1958, shared their gin-making technique, and let us poke around the stills.
But not too close, obviously.
Disclosure: Our trip to London, including travel and lodging expenses, was sponsored by Pernod Ricard, which is the owner of the distillery. Enjoy our tour with that in mind.
Beefeater founder James Burrough started distilling in 1863, having bought an operation that had been in place since 1820. Beefeater has been at this location since 1958.
This is Henry, he's the first thing you see when you walk into the distillery.
The lobby is full of awards and bottles from Beefeater's past.
Even when on rough surfaces and going through potholes, the ride was remarkably smooth — the sign of a truly luxurious vehicle, and a good way to justify the $108,830 price tag.
Take a look at the Mercedes GL550 in some urban off-roading action:
We found the most powerful babies who have either been born recently or will be born this year. These babies might be new to the world, but they're already poised to become major players who will one day rule the world.
With her mom's looks and her dad's athletic prowess, this baby is bound to be a supermodel.
Future Soccer Pro: Milan Piqué Mebarak
Parents: Shakira Mebarak and Gerard Pique
Colombian singer and The Voice host Shakira and her football (soccer) star boyfriend Gerard Pique, who plays for FC Barcelona, welcomed a son on January 22nd.
He originally bought Marabella back in 2005 for $10.3 million, and has been adding to the property's acreage ever since, according to celebrity real estate blogger The Real Estalker.
The pad boasts a wine cellar, movie theater, and rooftop terrace. It also sits directly on Miami's Biscayne Bay, and has gorgeous views of the water from the oversized living room, pool, and hot tub.
Matt Damon's for-sale mansion sits in an exclusive Miami Beach neighborhood.
A third-party internet security firm in Beijing called Anquanrecently posted an opening for the position"chief porn identification officer" on its Weibo account.
According to its web site, the company was started in 2010 to "combat bad information on the internet" and promote greater control of pornographic content on the web. Its partners and members include internet giants, like Baidu and Tencent, as well as government agencies that regulate the internet in China.
Job Responsibilities：Quickly and accurately identifying pornographic and obscene websites.
Job Description： 1. Research and study pornographic videos and images, formulate criteria for determining obscenity.
2. Deploy courseware on the standards of obscenity determination, and study materials such as educational videos on pornography.
3. Manage and rate pornographic resources (including BT seeds, images, and online videos).
Job Requirements: 1. Familiarity with the different standards of determination of pornographic content of different countries;
2. Familiarity with the standards of determination and express regulations concerning pornography in China’s law;
3. Familiarity with the standards of pornography identification used by CNNIC (China Internet Network Information Center) and various major internet providers;
4. A bachelor’s degree or above; age between 20-35; all genders;
5. Possesses good teamwork skills, and a strong sense of responsibility.
Benefits: 1. National standard insurances and additional allowance for meals, transportation and phone.
2. Expenses on relevant books can be reimbursed. Free fruits and yogurt each week day.
3. Free physical examination once every year, and gift for birthday, wedding and child birth.
Tech entrepreneur Trevor Traina and his wife Alexis reportedly spent $35 million on a mansion on San Francisco's "Billionaire's Row," according to local real estate blog Socket Site (via Curbed).
At that price, it would be the most expensive home ever sold in the city.
The home, a Tudor in Pacific Heights, last sold in late 2011 for $29.5 million. It has six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, bay views, a chef's kitchen, a catering room, a 3,000 bottle wine cellar, and a heated outdoor spa.
Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander is sending out exclusive invitations this week to his luxury Bridgehampton wine club, Société du Vin, the New York Post reports.
Tech companies in the Bay area such as 
There have been 
Hollywood A-Lister Matt Damon is selling his stunning Miami Beach mansion Marabella for $20 million, 
