Bentley Motors sales rose 22 percent in 2012 over 2011, the British luxury automaker announced today.

The strongest market was the Americas (sales were up 22 percent, to 2,021 cars sold), but growth in Asia was especially impressive.

Deliveries in China, Russia, and the Middle East rose 23 percent, 37 percent, and 44 percent, respectively.

Four of every ten Mulsanne sedans built were sold in China.

But the most dramatic increase in sales was in Japan, where deliveries rose 73 percent, to 190 cars. The explanation for the jump is simple, a Bentley spokesperson said: The Japanese market was rebounding after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

Sales grew in all international regions.

Asked about sales going forward, the spokesperson said "It's very difficult to make predictions." But it's clear the automaker is optimistic:

"We expect the luxury market in 2013 to continue to be challenging but, with significant new model introductions, we believe we have the potential to maintain growth throughout the year," Bentley Chairman and Chief Executive Wolfgang Shreiber said.

One of those models is the Continental GT Speed Convertible, the fastest four-seat convertible in the world, which will make its international debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next week.

Now see our test drive of the $347,000 Bentley Muslanne >

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Marvin Schwartz, managing director and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, is selling his amazing Westchester estate for $30 million, the NY Post reports.

The place is called Twin Ponds (one of the ponds is under the house), and it sits on 21.7 acres of land. The 6 bedroom, 3,600 square foot house boasts floor to ceilings windows, but it's really the grounds that will take your breath away.

The pool and massive wine cellar aren't too shabby either.

Sally Slater at Douglas Elliman has the listing.

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Manhattan's wealthy SoHo neighborhood is a favorite among celebrities, but it seems the nearby shopping and food was not enough to keep Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos from selling their New York pad.

The couple have put their 76 Crosby Street penthouse on the market with The Modlin Group for $24.5 million, according to Curbed NY. The real estate website also reported that Kelly and Mark had previously spent two years renovating the home after originally paying $9.5 million back in 2005.

The 6,800-square-foot loft has five bedrooms and tall 12 foot ceilings. It was outfitted with a fully vented six-burner Wolf stove in the kitchen, a Jacuzzi in the master suite, and a private roof deck with outdoor fireplace and hot tub.

This is 76 Crosby Street. It has a full-time doorman and easy access to SoHo's main shops on Broadway.

Source: The Modlin Group and Google Maps

The grand living room has tall 12-foot ceilings and seven large windows that let in ample natural light.

Source: The Modlin Group

A dramatic staircase leads from the foyer to the upper bedrooms.

Source: The Modlin Group

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A deal for a four-bedroom apartment at 15 Central Park West has closed for $32.5 million, a 92 percent mark up over its last sales price, The Real Deal has learned.

The unit, owned by former Lehman Brothers executives Arthur and Evelyne Estey, was listed by Kyle Blackmon of Brown Harris Stevens for $36 million.

Tamir Shemesh of the Corcoran Group represented the buyer in the deal, a source said.

Neither Blackmon nor Shemesh immediately responded to a request for comment. An email to Arthur Estey went unreturned.

As The Real Deal previously reported, the unit, which is one of the largest non-penthouse residences in the building, totals 4,584 square feet and is on the seventh floor.

It was listed in June by Blackmon, who also lives in the Zeckendorf-developed tower. The couple bought the unit for $16.9 million in 2007, public records show.

The Esteys have moved on since their Lehman days. Arthur Estey established his maiden hedge fund in 2009; Evelyn recently took a position as chief financial officer and chief operating officer of a French-language school, Lycée Français de New York, on the Upper East Side.

The identity of the buyer was not immediately clear.

SEE ALSO: Meet The Big Shots Who Live At 15 Central Park West

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When it comes to customer satisfaction among those who travel for leisure and business, the same domestic airlines top each list.

A YouGov BrandIndex survey released this week asked travelers, "Are you a satisfied customer," and ranked the country's airlines by how many said yes.

JetBlue, Virgin America, Alaska Air, and Southwest were in the top five for both leisure and business (in different orders).

It is a sign of the weakness of the American aviation industry that for business travelers, only the top airline, Alaska Air, had a satisfaction rate above 50 percent.

JetBlue and Virgin have reputations for providing excellent in-flight service, complete with live television. But even their numbers, ranging from 36.3 percent to 61.7 percent, are not very impressive: Apparently, more than 60 percent of JetBlue business travelers are not satisfied customers.

Here are the top five for each:

SEE ALSO:  Here Are The World's 10 Safest Airlines

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At the beginning of the year we thumbed our noses at New Year's resolutions that involved dieting by showing you a week's worth of decadent meals at the Four Seasons Chicago to start 2013 on a more interesting note.

Well, now we guess we better get on the detox bandwagon, as this ditty from W Hotels just came in our mailbox, making us wonder if there's been rumors of our "festive" ways.

W hotels in New York has teamed up with Cooler Cleanse, a cold pressed juice and raw food cleanse co-founded by Juice Generation’s Eric Helms and enthusiast Salma Hayek, to create a Detox to Retox package. Available at any of the four W hotels in New York, guests will receive the newly launched Juice for a Day program, which features a six-pack of juices designed to bump up energy, decrease calories, and revitalizing the mind and body. There's also a customized Raw Cooler system containing a mix of juices and raw-food items that will be delivered to one's room upon check-in.

You can decide whether to start their diet off with a liquid-only program or a combo of raw foods and juices.

The Detox to Retox package, which starts at $289 per night, includes:

• Two Night Stay in a room at a W Hotels of New York property: W New YorkW New York Times SquareW New York Union SquareW New York Downtown
• Late checkout
• A Customized Detox & Cooler Cleanse Juice for a Day six-pack                                    

Available for stays from January 14 – February 28, 2013, the package can be booked at http://www.whotelsnewyork.com/detox two days in advance of arrival.

DON'T MISS:  Health Guru Names His 8 Favorite Restaurants In NYC

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You're out. You're having a blast and you just caught a glance from that pretty little something down the bar.

What do you do next? Be the gentleman that you are and send her a drink. 

This isn’t as easy as it sounds, though. You’re aiming for suave, not sleazy. But if you play your cards right, you’ll be able to make a big impression with your gentlemanly style and confidence.

Use the bartender as your wingman

To pull this off correctly, it’s essential to get the bartender on your side. Make sure to treat him with respect and not like a lackey. After all, his delivery will go a long way to determining how the woman is going to react. If his body language says you’re a jerk, it doesn’t matter what words he uses when he brings the drink over to her. When sending women drinks, the bartender is your wingman and in order to make him a helpful and willing one, you should be nice and tip big.

Ask what she’s drinking

You can’t just order any old drink and send it over to her. You should ask the bartender what she’s drinking and send another of the same to her when it looks like her drink is getting a little low (but before she orders a fresh one). If you end up choosing something she doesn’t like, you’ll have wasted a drink and won't get the reaction you desire.

Play it safe and send her something you know will please her taste buds. Another way of doing this is to ask the bartender to charge you for whatever drink she orders next. When he hands it to her he can gesture in your direction, indicating that it’s on you.

The casual nod

As the bartender takes the drink over, keep your eyes on the woman. When he points you out to her, put on a genuine smile and give a casual nod. You could also slightly raise your glass toward her. Don’t jump up and down or wave at her like a lunatic. You don’t have to act overly eager. Just keep it cool and sincere.

Observe her reaction

The next step is to watch her reaction to see whether or not you should make your way over to introduce yourself. If she returns your smile and waves, you’ve got a green light. If she turns to her friends and giggles, give it some time to figure out whether she’s laughing at you or expressing her delight to the girls. Anything along the lines of eye-rolling, nose-upturning or refusing the drink is obviously a bad sign. In that case, shrug it off.

Introduce yourself

Give her a chance to enjoy her drink. Then, if her reaction is favorable, approach her and start up a conversation. You shouldn’t act cocky or assume anything just because she accepted your drink. You have created yourself an in to start things off with her, but don’t take it for granted. You still have to use your wit and charm to make a good impression. A proper follow-up is key when it comes to sending women drinks.

the ice is broken

Sending a woman a drink is a classic move that many women will appreciate. It’s an old-school gentlemanly move (you know Clooneywould approve) that doesn’t get used too much these days, and therefore has some novelty appeal. If you feel like taking a more direct approach, you could just go up and talk to her, but sending over a cocktail first will make her feel special and show her that you’re a generous guy. Sending a drink over will definitely provide you with an easy icebreaker.

From there, it’s up to you to form a connection and get her interested in you.

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The Huayra, the long-awaited new Pagani, is finally hitting the market, and the price for one special edition could be higher than expected.

While the estimated cost of the next great supercar is $1.2 million, luxury goods site JamesList reports the Huayra with Chassis No. 01 — the first to be built — will cost €2 million ($2.6 million).

It's being sold by German luxury car dealer Excalibur Deutschland.

Pagani builds only about 40 cars per year, but has already taken 105 orders for the Huayra.

Named for the Incan god of the winds and designed by the "maniacally obsessed perfectionist" Horacio Pagani, the Huayra is a beautiful car that can hit 230 mph and goes from 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds.

Now see why car nuts are lining up to buy the Huayra >

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There are a multitude of ways to experience a new city — biking, pub crawls, and museums among them.

But what about through the eyes of a homeless person?

A growing trend in Europe, as well as in San Francisco's infamous Tenderloin district, is city tours led by a homeless guide. The tours are marketed as a cheap alternative for visitors who want to see a different side of well-known world capitals.

The Guardian was one of the first to report on homeless tours back in 2010, specifically London's Unseen Tours. Unseen Tours grew out of a volunteer network called Sock Mob that would distribute socks and food to London's homeless population. It started training some of the city's homeless to give tours of the places they lived. Of the £7-£10 per person rate, the guide keeps the majority of the cash, though some is reinvested into Sock Mob for future volunteer training.

Reuters followed up on the growing trend in Prague, reporting last month that from August to December 2012, 430 people paid roughly $10 to visit the spots where the Czech city's homeless population lived. Half of the proceeds went to the homeless guide, and the rest to a student-run agency called Pragulic that puts together the tours.

Like other traditional city tours, visitors can register for homeless tours online: San Francisco's Homeless Walking Tour is on the website Vayable; a homeless tour in the Netherlands simply called "Walking with a Homeless Guy in Amsterdam" is available through Mokum Events; and you can sign up to reserve tickets for Unseen Tours in London on its website as well.

Tours are not the only homeless-centric novelty appealing to tourists these days. There's now a website where a variety of homeless camp "hotels" are available to book in Gothenburg, Sweden.

First reported by PSFK, the website's goal is to raise awareness for where the majority of the city's homeless have to seek shelter at night. The money raised, either by donation or from those who choose to stay in the camps, goes toward the street magazine Faktum that writes about —and employs — Gothenburg's homeless population.

Whether it's a homeless hotel or tour, the idea is not only to raise money, but to focus on the darker side of city culture. London's Unseen Tours, for example, mentions the "Winchester Geese," medieval London prostitutes who were taken advantage of by the city's Bishops and buried in the Cross Bones graveyard reserved for "the outcast dead." Prague's tour guides speak candidly about how hard it is to become employed as a homeless person and the crime and disease one can witness, while San Francisco's guides lead visitors through shelters and soup kitchens for an in-depth look at living on the street.

But do the tours take advantage of a vulnerable population?

In one listing we saw, the guide was described as more of a cultural rarity than a human being. From the Amsterdam ad on Mokum :

Take a walk with this very interesting person and experience what it's like to live on the streets, to depend on the generosity of other people, to eat what you and I think not to be healthy anymore and to sleep at the Salvation Army or at worst, to sleep in a cardboard box in the open air!

The website goes on to promise that the homeless guide is not unhappy, and "will tell you with pleasure his story and the adventures of his drifting friends."

Language aside, the idea of taking a tour of these homeless communities is still dubious. When done without thought to treating the homeless as human beings and not simply objects to be witnessed, the tours are at best problematic and at worst hugely exploitative.

But when done well — where the goal is to see the city through the eyes and experiences of the homeless and not simply to view the homeless individuals as a cultural attraction — the tours can be constructive. They are a chance to give a voice to a largely voiceless culture, and show what life can be like for this socially invisible community. For the guides, being able to tell their own story can also provide a sense of ownership over their lives, and a chance for candid discussion.

As Badalec, a Prague tour guide, said to Reuters: "I'm trying to do the best I can. I don't steal, I don't cheat people, I don't abuse welfare benefits. The tours are great. They are a chance for me to explain myself better." Which is all any of us really wants.

DON'T MISS: The 20 Most Distressed Cities In America

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We're fresh into the new year but we're already daydreaming about our next vacation.

A number of apps are more than capable of helping you plan your next trip. Use them to save a bundle on flights, hotels, and car rentals — then use them again to find fun stuff to do once you've arrived at your destination.

Minube

Not sure where you want to go yet? Use Minube to browse pictures and video of destinations to get inspiration on where to take your next big trip.

Price:free

Gogobot

Here's another app to help you brainstorm fun travel ideas. It lets you lay out a potential itinerary and share your plans with friends when you're done.

Price: free

Kayak

Paying for your travel is one of the biggest costs associated with any vacation. Kayak's app comes to the rescue by scrounging up the best deals to get you where you want to be when you want to be there.

Price:free

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For the fourth consecutive year, Vienna was ranked as the number one city with the highest quality of life in the world, surpassing cities in Switzerland, Denmark, and the U.S.

The title was bestowed by Mercer, a global consulting firm, and was based on a combination of traits such as stability, rising living standards, and advanced city infrastructures.

Vienna, known for its coffee, low crime levels, and historical architecture, beat out the over 450 other world cities surveyed, which left us wondering — what makes Vienna's quality of life so high? We did some digging to learn the top facts about the historical Austrian capital, its attractions, and residents.

Vienna has a thriving music and nightlife culture beneath the subway between the Thaliastrasse and Nussdorferstrasse stations with famous clubs like Chelsea and the Rhiz bar.

Source: Wien.gv.at

Its residents have access to a ton of shopping options, including one of the best flea markets in Europe — the Flohmarkt — with plenty of gems hidden among the piles of goods.

Source: The Lonely Planet

There's also the fashion-forward 7th district of Neubau that includes the MuseumsQuartier Wien. Made up of museums, concert halls, and a theater, it was constructed from the original Hapsburg stables.

Source: MuseumsQuartier Wien and Travel + Leisure

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This is the Stick-N-Find by Sticknfind Technologies, a subsidy of SSI America.

Why We Love It: Whether you're guilty of losing your things all the time or you've always got everything in check, hey—we're all human. The Stick-N-Find is a discreet sticker about the size of a quarter that you can adhere to anything you want to keep track of and link to your phone with Bluetooth. The Stick-N-Find app monitors the whereabouts of anything with a sticker on it up to a range of 100 feet.

With the app you can see approximately how far away from your phone an item is, you can prescribe an item a range so if it winds up outside that range the app will alert you, and you can page a sticker on an item to flash and create a sound so you can easily find it anywhere within 100 feet. 

The Stick-N-Find stickers are perfect for small items, or moving items; attach them to your kids' shoes or your pet's collar so they don't wander off.

Where To Buy: The Stick-N-Find will be released in March, but is available to pre-order from indiegogo. The app is available on the Apple iTunes Store and on Google Play.

Cost: Various packs available, from $35 for two Stick-N-Find stickers to $1,400 for 100 stickers.

Want to nominate a cool product for Stuff We Love? Send an email to Megan Willett at mwillet@businessinsider.com with "Stuff We Love" in the subject line.

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What are you doing this weekend?

If you live in Pyongyang, your options are understandably limited.

Ray Cunningham, a University of Illinois administrator and amateur photographer, has managed to visit North Korea each of the last several years.

With his permission, we have republished a series of his photos showing what a North Korean might do for fun on the weekend.

Of course, fun is a relative term in the Democratic People's Republic.

Let's start the day at the Mangyongdae Fun Fair.

It's located about 7 miles outside Pyongyang.

A recent Daily Mail story says Westerners who visit occasionally report "unlocked harnesses" and engineers "quickly bashing in a few loose screws."

Source: Daily Mail

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In 2011, Wall Street lost one of its greatest to brain cancer, billionaire private equity investor Teddy Forstmann.

And while Forstmann was a huge public figure — he was a philanthropist who also owned IMG, the biggest sports and modeling talent agency in the world — a lot of his life was quite private.

On the private side of things was the Gulfstream V (G V) jet he got after buying, turning around, and then selling the Gulfstream in the 1990s.

The February issue of Vanity Fair has a long profile of Forstmann's last days told by a man who spent many of them with him — Rich Cohen, the ghostwriter working on Forstmann's biography. Forstmann loved to travel, so Cohen ended up spending a lot of time on the Gulfstream going from New York City to Paris, London and beyond.

Here's what it was like:

We met at a heliport on the west Side of Manhattan. Teddy's driver carried his bags across the concrete. I followed behind with my own, battered valise, climbing into the passenger cabin of the helicopter as Teddy gave the signal and up we went....

Soon the helicopter set us down on a runway at the Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey. Teddy's plane was waiting, its turbines already spinning, its crew standing in starched uniforms, its jet bridge ascending to technological heaven as the tycoon and his ghost made their way across the tarmac...

Teddy's plan was all command center: deep leather chairs, financial journals, and flat-screens. There was a bed, but it was hidden away, disguised...

We landed in Paris as the sun was going down. the city was gold and blue and strung with lights. When you are rich, you do not stand in line to show your passport. Instead, after the G V rolled to a stop, scotch glasses clinking in the tray beside the single malts, a customs official came aboard, greeted us in her beautiful language, gave our documents the once-over, sad, Oui Oui Monsieur Forstmann, and bid us adieu as we moved on to the car, then off through the moody twilit streets.

Pretty boss, right?

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Writer Rich Cohen had the pleasure and the frustration of being late billionaire investor Teddy Fortmann's shadow during his last days.

In 2010 Cohen was contracted to ghostwrite Forstmann's biography, but Forstmann died of brain cancer before he could finish.

Before then, though, Cohen ate, traveled and riffed with the legend. He wrote about the experience in the February issue of Vanity Fair. The article is a melancholy look at a man who seems almost subconsciously aware of his own end — and he's lonely.

From Vanity Fair:

In the fall of 2010 I started to write Teddy's book. This meant a change in our relationship. Instead of being me and Teddy in the world, it was going to be me and Teddy in my mind, and he didn't not like it. It increasingly seemed to me that, for Teddy, the purpose of the book was fun, and the fun was having a friend to pal around with, tell stories to, a friend who would listen and be impressed and make you believe that it had all been worth it after al. Teddy or his office would call several times a week. He wanted me to travel with him to India, New Orleans, Brazil. when I said no, it was time to write, he got pissed. "What kind of ghostwriter are you?" he asked.

It was this frustration on Forstmann's part that lead to his one and only argument with Cohen. Forstmann wanted Cohen to have dinner with him on the first night of Rosh Hashanah and wouldn't take no for an answer.

For the first time, I got mad at Teddy. I stopped being a ghost. I put my body on and started to shout. I mean, here i was on Rosh Hashanah, with my wife and my children, my little thing, my on lt little thing in this too big world, and a billionaire who had everything else was demanding I give him this too. I said something like, "First of all Teddy...Rosh Hashanah is two days and two nights@ Second, you call yourself a dodger fan? I though Sandy Koufax settled this about 40 years ago. If Koufax didn't pitch in the World Series on Hom Kippur, I'm sure as hell not coming into the city to have dinner at Marea on Rosh Hashanah.

It stunned Teddy. He was not used to people talking to him this way. He behaved like a bear that had been slapped in the nose. "I'm not mad at you," he said finally. "When I get mad believe you will know it."

Cohen writes that he only saw Forstmann one more time after this argument before he died.

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The talented and polarizing Karl Lagerfeld gave what can only be described as a very him interview in the January issue of WWD. The fashion designer, recognized world-wide by his stark white hair, sunglasses, and spoiled cat Choupette, spoke with the magazine's executive editor Bridget Foley about everything from French politics to his love for Texas. Below are some of his best quotes from the interview.

On resurrecting the Chanel brand:

"Ten or 11 years after [Coco Chanel's] death, it was a sleeping beauty with one idea: respect. The good thing about Chanel is that her whole life was not that flawless that, “Yes, we have to be respectful.” The other side, that’s about fashion. Only doing an homage really gets nowhere.That’s boredom incarnated."

On following his instinct:

“I listen to my inner voices, like a French male version of the Joan of Arc.”

On his favorite artist:

"My favorite is Jeff Koons, because I think that’s the right spirit of our times. I like the spirit, the proportions, the person, the whole thing. When I like something though, I don’t ask myself why. I only like it, that’s all."

Read the full interview over at WWD.

DON'T MISS: This Outrageous Men's Knitwear Collection Stole The Show At London Fashion Week

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For Porter House New York chef and managing partner Michael Lomonaco, preparing steak is a blend of art and science. 

State-of-the-art cooking facilities at the restaurant's prime Manhattan location in the Time Warner Center include a broiler that can reach 1800º F (most consumer grills max out around 500-600° F) and a high quality dry aging locker for the meat.

The sophisticated set up allows Chef Lomonaco and his team to keep and cook their meat with exacting accuracy but that's only one half of the equation.

The art of proper steak preparation isn't just about the grill. It involves choosing the right cut for the right kind of meal, prepping the steak properly, and carefully attending to it as it cooks. Getting a steak to medium-rare or your preferred doneness isn't always an exact science (particularly if you aren't planning to use a meat thermometer) but there are some tricks to help you get it right.

Watch below as Chef Lomonaco explains the properties of different cuts of meat and how to choose them, the best way to get your meat ready, and some tips on how to grill them to perfection.

Produced by Daniel Goodman and Kamelia Angelova

SEE ALSO: The Secret To Making One Of The Tastiest Sandwiches In New York City >

SEE ALSO: Watch This Top New York Chef Make A Giant Foie Gras And Squab Spring Roll >

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Sure, Wall Street guys in NYC tend to spend too much time in the office, but it seems to be paying off on another front: gorgeous women. We picked out ten financiers who have found the time to land some of the city's leading ladies.

Olivier Sarkozy

What he does: Managing Director at The Carlyle Group

Net Worth: $60 Million [Stats via]

Rumors of Olivier dating Mary-Kate Olsen started earlier last year in May, when the couple was spotted together in the Hamptons over Memorial Day weekend. Now, the fully committed couple are jetting off together and look more in love than ever. This weekend, there was even word of their possible engagement. Though the couple is seventeen years apart, Mary Kate(age 26) is worth $150 million, making her almost $100 million richer than the 43 year old financier.

Abie Cohen

What he does: Financier for UBS

Leandra Medine, a.k.a the Man Repeller, got married last summer to her on-again, off-again boyfriend Abie Cohen. They met six years ago at a Halloween party while she was still in high school and he was a student at NYU. After tying the knot in June, she finally revealed his identity in the November issue of Town & Country.

Jared Kushner

What he does: Investor: Real Estate Mogul, Owner of New York Observer

Net Worth: $200 Million

Alright, we know he's not a banker, but he's one big investor. Jared is the principal owner of his family real estate development firm, Kushner Properties, and is the owner of the New York Observer. (He bought the paper for $10 million when he was 25.)

Three years ago, he married 31 year old Ivanka Trump in a lavish ceremony at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey. Among the star-studded guests were Russell Crowe, Natalie Portman, Barbara Walters, Regis Philbin, and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Ivanka, also the heir of a real estate mogul, is an executive at Donald's firm and has since started her own fashion line.

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In late 2012, Princess Yachts, based in Plymouth, England, unveiled the first official photography of the "Imperial Princess."

The yacht debuted at the Festival de la Plaisance de Cannes in September, and is a model for Princess' new class of 40-meter yachts, according to Charter World.

Buyers of a 40M Princess will have lots of choice in terms of customization, but the "Imperial Princess" offers a glimpse of just how luxurious these ships will be.

Princess has not yet announced a price point for the new 40M yachts, but do not expect to drop less than a few million to get one of your own.

The 'Imperial Princess' is built to accommodate 12 guests and a crew of seven.

The tri-deck setup makes the most of the relatively short yacht.

The three decks are connected by a grand central staircase. Crew have their own stairway to move throughout the yacht.

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CrowdTilt is a company that makes it easy to raise money for any cause you want.

Think Kickstarter, for creative and non-creative projects alike.

To welcome 2013 in style, CrowdTilt leveraged its own platform to raise more than $62,000 amongst its employees and their friends to throw one heck of a New Year's Eve party. (Donors gave $300-$400 each.)

From a private plane to a private shuttle to luxury casino suite, the donors stayed up all night for a New Year's Eve party to remember.

They boarded a private 737.

And were soon headed for Vegas (baby).

It looks like the flight started off a bit tame...

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