Newsweek ran a series of stories on the (even more so) private and lavish lifestyles of the uber rich. The wealthiest humans on earth are buying up their own islands, helicopters, private concerts and art showings that even the butler has made a big comeback.

While this is nothing new, I was especially struck by these statistics: There are a record number of millionaires, many newcomers from the developing world. And the demand for servicing them is huge. There was a company mentioned in the article that sells $100 million yachts and it is having a “supply problem” right now. “We’re basically in the business of building private islands that orbit the earth,” said Jeffrey Beneville, head of Camper & Nicholson’s development business.

According to Merrill Lynch and Capgemini's 2007 World Wealth Report, the number of people with more than $1 million in assets excluding their primary residence grew by more than 8 percent last year, to 9.5 million worldwide. Their ranks are swelling the fastest in the developing world: Latin America saw a whopping 23 percent growth in nouveaux riches last year. The wealthy elite also live more globally nowadays with, say, an Indian passport, a castle in Scotland, a pied-à-terre in Manhattan and a private Caribbean island. Because of their global presence, the ultrarich can no longer count on local word-of-mouth networks to tune them in to whom they can trust.

This is a disturbing trend towards aristocracy and creating an underclass of people to just serve them. But, I will say I did not envy these folks. I actually thought it was pathetic that they had to isolate themselves in order to prevent kidnappings and muggings. From what I gathered from the article, which mentioned many private and exclusive e-mail lists to blacked-out Humvees to avoid being seen, I felt a desperation on the part of these individuals to find people to relate to:

Todd Millay, a partner at CCC Alliance, a Boston-based network for the ultrarich, says that while middle-class people can easily discuss their jobs and livelihoods at a dinner party, wealthy families can't just "invite people over and expect them to understand what it's like to have $300 million."

Gated living is also being inspired by more-concrete fears. Global rates of kidnapping and homicide are on the rise, and many of the elite are aware of the security risks their wealth poses.

A couple of the mentioned services that struck me was advice on prenups and “estate planning.” I immediately thought of how these people could never establish friendships and family ties outside of their own class. Imagine how they must contend with money-grubbing heirs who could never amass such a fortune on their own? Sad.