Valentine's Day inspires a flurry of wedding planning. These billionaires show what can be done when wedding budgets have no limit.
On Valentine's Day, a tiny box from Tiffany, Cartier or DeBeers often can force frenzied brides-to-be-and their mothers-into a deluge of wedding planning. If it's a billionaire who is down on one knee asking his lucky girl to join him on a lifelong journey of happiness, those plans tend to go a bit beyond which flavor of cake to serve.
"When money is no object, the gown and the jewels tend to separate the billionaires from the millionaires," says Cheryl Clisby, a wedding planner who focuses on the ultra-rich. "Millionaires tend to borrow the jewels; billionaires tend to buy them."
Billionaire: Terry GouTerry Gou and Tseng Hsin-ying
Grand Hyatt Taipei; July 2008
Taiwanese billionaire Terry Gou married his tango instructor Tseng Hsin-ying on what by most accounts was not the typical billionaire extravaganza. Witnesses included Taiwan's Vice President Vincent Seow. According to one report, Gou did 30 push-ups to applause to prove he was "strong and capable."
Billionaire: Donald TrumpIvana Trump and Rossano Rubicondi
Mar-A-Lago; April 2008
Ivana sported two distinct pastel gowns--a silk Swarovski crystal-embroidered gown by Zuhair Murad to the ceremony and a fitted cocktail dress by Mark Zunino to the reception. German bakery Lambertz flew in six chefs from Germany to bake a 12-foot-high cake on-site. They also created cocoa music boxes as mementos for the 400 wedding guests. The music boxes played the couple's song, "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets," by Sarah Vaughan--with the lyrics altered to "Whatever Ivana Wants, Ivana Gets."
Billionaire: Phil RuffinPhil Ruffin and Aleksandra Nikolaenko
Mar-A-Lago; January 2008
Bride Aleksandra Nikolaenko, a former Miss Ukraine, wore a Michael Kors gown to her black-tie wedding to casino mogul Phil Ruffin (who has won both Forbes 400 poker championships ). Donald Trump served as best man. Among the witnesses to the wedding in the Palm Beach, Fla., mansion were Celine Dion and Justin Timberlake.
Billionaire: Larry PageLarry Page and Lucy Southworth
Necker Island; December 2007
The couple wed at Richard Branson's private 74-acre Necker Island in the Virgin British Islands. Also rented neighbor island Virgin Gorde to accommodate all 600 guests. Guests reportedly included Leonardo DiCaprio and U2's Bono. Branson was Page's best man.
Billionaire: Tamir SapirZina Sapir and Rotem Rosen
Mar-A-Lago; December 2007
More than 600 guests celebrated the wedding of Sapir's daughter at Mar-A-Lago in Palm Beach. The feast was catered by Cipriani. Lionel Richie and the Pussycat Dolls performed. Guests included billionaires Donald Trump and Steve Schwarzman.
Billionaire: James PackerJames Packer and Erica Baxter
French Riviera; June 2007
Australia's second richest man, Packer awaited his model bride overlooking the Mediterranean as she reportedly glided on a white carpet in a $100,000 Christian Dior gown. Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were among the stars who attended the wedding.
Billionaire: Sergey BrinSergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki
Location "undisclosed"; May 2007
Google's Sergey Brin and Anne Wojcicki had guests board Brin's private jets and take off to an "undisclosed location." The location was such a closely guarded secret that wedding guests were invited to hop on the jet owned by the Google pair, Brin and Larry Page, and discovered their destination only when they arrived on a private island in the Bahamas.
Billionaire: Andrei MelnichenkoAndrei Melnichenko and Aleksandra Kokotovic
Côte d'Azur, France in September 2005
Ceremony featured performances by Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera, who was flown to Cannes on a private jet and was reportedly paid $3.6 million for her performance. Melnichenko, the son of a respected Soviet physicist, founded MDM Bank, which later handled the accounts of oil tycoon and fellow billionaire Roman Abramovich. His wife is a former Miss Yugoslavia.
Billionaire: Donald TrumpDonald Trump and Melania Knauss
Mar-a-Lago; January 2005
The Donald's third wedding featured 10,000 flowers, 45 chefs and a 200-pound Grand Marnier wedding cake. Billy Joel and Tony Bennett performed for the couple and their guests, which included Hillary Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani. Knauss' satin gown had a 13-foot train, 1,500 rhinestones and pearls and weighed 60 pounds. She later modeled it on the cover of Vogue magazine.
Billionaire: Lakshmi MittalVanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia
Paris, France; June 2004
The wedding of Mittal's only daughter, Vanisha, cost $60 million and lasted five days. The family sent out 20-page invitations in silver boxes. Mittal put up his 1,000 guests in a five-star Paris hotel and held one party at Versailles and another reportedly at a temporary wooden castle at Parc de Saint-Cloud. Five thousand bottles of Mouton Rothschild were purchased for the occasion.
