Denise Rich, the songwriter, philanthropist and Clinton Presidential Library donor, is putting her Fifth Avenue duplex on the market for $65 million, which makes it the most expensive co-op ever. more ›

How many times have you packed your lunch this week? How many cups of coffee have you picked up on your way in to the office? Do you keep track of how much you're spending? No? Yeah, didn't think so, because if you knew how much cash you dropped on seemingly minor expenses, you'd be brown-bagging it and home-brewing it every day for the rest of the year. more ›

Oh hey, did you guys know that New York is an expensive place to live? Like, really expensive? Were you hanging on to some shred of hope that somehow, the cost of living here would become reasonable? Well, sorry, you poor, sweet thing: it's not happening anytime soon. more ›

Today, Bloomberg news releases the shocking news that it's freaking expensive to get out of town during Thanksgiving, which is not news to anyone who's ever heard their parents say, "Of course you don't have to come home; hopefully Grandma Tilly will live long enough to see you next year." more ›

If you enjoyed the recent NY Times features on $50,000 tree houses, must-have home bartenders, and buying your kids an apartment to teach them financial responsibility, you're sure to love today's exclusive on another rich people trend: flying charter planes to summer camp. "More of the nation’s wealthier families are cutting out the car ride and chartering planes to fly to summer camps," reports Christine Haughney. "One private jet broker, Todd Rome of Blue Star Jets, said his summer-camp business had jumped 30 percent over the last year." One small airport manager in Maine even hired two extra people last weekend to handle all the traffic—and yet Democrats still want to raise taxes on job creators like Melissa Thomas, a Connecticut mom who brought her daughter home from camp in Maine in turboprop Pilatus PC-12. more ›

Now that the $175 burger is dead, let's look at the other over-the-top extravagant dishes that are either dunzo or just hanging out as gimmicks. more ›

Now, more than ever, college is crazy expensive and the U.S. Department of Education has created a website that will make parents of prospective college students faint. more ›

According to a Curbed tipster, a new four-bedroom rental available for just $32,500 at 158 Mercer Street is the former apartment of the late Mark Madoff—expensive rentals are all the rage, don't you know? Curbed says, "The listing doesn't make the connection (we can't blame it for wanting to fly under the radar) and we haven't yet heard back from the broker, but the details line up: Mark Madoff and wife Stephanie purchased the 4,169-square-foot #4M for $6.075 million in 2005. The brokerbabble describes the apartment as having 'a very high end, magnificent renovation.'" Of course, Madoff, son of Ponzi schemer extraordinaire Bernard Madoff, killed himself in his apartment last December. more ›

All month, people have been bitching and moaning about the increases in parking prices which Mayor Bloomberg has proposed for next year. But while the proletariat are left to scurry and hustle for parking scraps on the street, the bourgeoisie get to play their own decadent version of the same game: where can one find the most expensive parking space in NYC? more ›

One man is fed up with what he deems overpriced goods at the city's Green Markets, specifically the one in Union Square. He posted that after not visiting the market there for a year, he returned only to find it's become a "gouging shit fest." With vendors selling cookies for $4 a piece, a bunch of radishes for $7, and jam for $10 a jar... he has now vowed to walk away from buying local. Could the Green Market kill the conscious buyer and in doing so bring Wal-Mart to Union Square?! He writes: more ›

Are there really people buying $500 pairs of socks out there? The NY Post is reporting on some sort of expensive sock trend, pointing to Rodarte's $500 multicolored hand-crocheted ones (pictured), and noting most high end retailers carry something similar. One New York PR girl told the paper, "They last forever, and they look amazing and feel comfortable. If you think about all the times you buy cheap socks and six months later they have holes in it, these don't." But... these crocheted socks come with holes, and besides, the editor of Elle warns, "The open-toe [shoe with] sock trend is very season-specific, and by the end of the fall, the trend is most likely to look dated or passé." more ›

In an interview yesterday, the now 74-year-old Woody Allen was asked about his comment about shooting movies in New York becoming too expensive (again). He told the NY Times, "My first choice would always be New York. It would be my fondest wish—to work where you live is of course the most luxurious privilege, and I’m sure I will film here again. But the few dollars I have go further in certain places.... London, Paris, Barcelona—these are very cosmopolitan, and they’re like New York." more ›

New York City may be the nation's most expensive city to park in, but according to a new Colliers survey, it's not the priciest parking in the world. Monthly parking rates in Midtown Manhattan are down 2% from last year, now at an average of $538, while downtown rates rose 6% to $529. The highest price in the world goes to London, where drivers spend an average of $933 a month! more ›

A new study on poverty rates in the city [PDF] reveals some information that every New Yorker already knows: taking a cab to work is the most expensive way to get there. Just 1% of the 4.3 million New Yorkers who commute take a cab to work, while most opt for the subway, and about 10% are able to walk. Traffic consultant Samuel I. Schwartz told the Times, “This reminds me of the traffic engineer’s joke about New York City. ‘Shall we walk or do we have time to take a taxi?’ Those who can afford to commute by taxi probably have the luxury of time on their side.” Hilarious. So what else does the study say about the city's commuting patterns? more ›

Shocking. Con Ed reportedly charges the highest residential rates of any major utility in the 48 contiguous states. The only people who pay more live in Alaska, Hawaii, Fishers and Block Islands. more ›

Brooklyn Bowl has been open for a while now, and for the most part receiving favorable reviews... until Bloomberg News paid a visit, that is. While the establishment has fancy foods and couches, unlike the still-preferable Gutter, their writer points out that it may just be the ESPN Zone of Hipsterburg, complete with "barbecue-sauced balls." Being draped in leather couches and flat screen televisions comes with a price, of course, and the piece focuses on what they call lazy comfort food with a Times Square price tag. One menu item that isn't really fit for this economic climate is the $13 milkshake; it contains whatever a normal milkshake would, with the added ingredients of Nutella and whiskey (what, no truffles and gold flakes?). Sounds good, tastes good, but as the writer points out, "a $13 milkshake can’t be right. Leave my junk-food prices alone." Okay, so maybe Fred Flintstone wouldn't bowl here, but would you? more ›

Remember that $25,000 sundae that Serendipity 3 was selling back before the stock market parked itself in the garage with the engine running? Needless to say, they haven't been selling too many of those lately, and even their down-market $1,000 sundae hasn't had any takers since last November. more ›

Is Donna Karan still based out of New York... or The Universe? The designer seems unaware of the epic financial crisis going down right now, as she just released her new $595 jeans into the marketplace. They allegedly boast a bias-cut (aka no side seams) and are available in boutiques and department stores right now should you be wondering where to spend that money reserved for your next six unlimited Metrocards. She told the NY Post, "I went into business in the first place in order to create jeans that I couldn't find for myself. Now I'm craving a more decadent, sexy and iconic pair of jeans." The paper calls her design "the Holy Grail of jeans—body-conscious, ultra-slimming and classically cut." Is the new recession busting tactic to target self-conscious women? Will realtors soon be jacking up rents for apartments that have flattering lighting and skinny mirrors? more ›

It's obscenely overpriced publicity gimmick time again! Today the object of derision is the $1,000 paella now on the menu at Sofrito. Chef Ricardo Cardona says the dish—made with rice, truffles and truffle oil, baby eel, octopus, Maine lobster and Alaskan prawns—was inspired by other outrageously expensive meals, which include such greatest hits as the $1,000 bagel and $25,000 dessert. And like Karl Rove before him, Cardona seems to have divorced himself from such vulgarities as "reality" or "facts"; he asks the Daily News, "Who said 'recession'? Who said 'bad economy'?" To his credit, Cardona's taking in just $800 from each paella sold because 20% is being donated to Ayuda, a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged Latino youngsters. A nice gesture, but it also makes our righteous indignation about 20% less fun. more ›

Here we go again with another Restaurant Week, which actually occurs over two weeks (minus weekends): July 21st through the 25th and July 28th through August 1st. Over 200 restaurants around Manhattan – many of them fancy places like Bar Boulud and Anthos – will be offering prix-fixe lunch specials for $24.07 and prix-fixe dinners for $35.00. more ›

Think paying $8 for a beer is outrageous? Then steer clear of ordering the Baladine Xyauyù at Park Slope's Beer Table, the 17-oz. bottle will set you back 95 bucks (but to be fair, would be the perfect accompaniment to the $175 hamburger). more ›

If you thought dropping $81 on a hamburger at The Old Homestead was enough to prove you’ve arrived, think again, hayseed – New York’s newest culinary status symbol, the “Richard Nouveau” burger at Wall Street Burger Shoppe, is going to cost you over twice that. They’re charging $175 for the experience, but money’s no object when it comes to showing the other hedge-funders you’ve completely lost touch with reality, right? more ›

The New York Times has an interesting piece of service journalism for upcoming college graduates around the country planning on moving to New York. As a recent college grad, you are likely to be poor; and getting an apartment will likely be far more expensive and disappointing than you could ever dream. Fueled by expectations of a New York portrayed in the media, people imagine themselves living in neighborhoods like the West Village in a cute one bedroom apartment with lots of closet space. more ›

We've seen expensive pancakes, hams and who can forget the $25,000 frozen haute chocolate? But now overpriced sodas are hitting the scene, and there aren't even gold flakes floating in them. Or refills! more ›

If you're really, really rich, why not offer $150 million for a triplex penthouse at The Mark Hotel on East 77th Street? The Post reports that Russian-born American billionaire Leonard Blavatnik (#102 on the last Forbes list has "signed a letter of intent" for a number of units that would total almost 30,000 square feet. That's about $5,000/square foot! The Mark is being renovated to offer residences in addition to its hotel rooms. We guess... more ›