The Fabulous Life of Bruce Wayne

Personal Butler

Whatever Wayne pays Alfred, he's getting a fantastic deal. Alfred is the über-butler, a man of limitless talents and a cool English accent to boot. He clearly works long hours and is Wayne's closest and perhaps only confidant and friend. Kinda makes you wonder though: how exactly do their little heart-to-heart talks go? "Hey, thanks for listening old friend, now how about a cup of coffee on a silver platter, eh? Make it snappy and no skim milk this time, I want half and half!" At least he got those few years off while Wayne was "finding himself" in Asia. As far as compensation though, the starting salary for a butler can be pretty low, but would easily climb to over $250,000 a year for the responsibilities and experience of someone like Alfred.

Private Jet

When you get right down to it, even first class passengers have to deal with security lines, screaming babies, and mechanical delays. Put another way, riding in the front of the bus doesn`t mean you`re still not on the BUS, know what I mean? Nope, the only way you're going to reliably get a cohort of Russian Ballerinas to the South China Sea on a few hours' notice is with your own personal jet. The purchase price for a Gulfstream that can jump the Pacific Ocean starts at around $30 million and don't forget the annual operating costs of $625,000. If you have to slum it and charter a plane, consider it a bargain at $200,000 round trip.

Yacht in South East Asia

Since most of Wayne's miscellaneous groupies come with their own floatation devices, it's not surprising that they would gravitate to a vacation on a private yacht. Naturally, this old money mainstay is absurdly expensive, but how else could you get that close to the water while still maintaining all the simple comforts of your Gotham City penthouse? If you're looking to rent something similar in the area, expect to fork over $65,000 for a week of fun in the sun, or around $10 million to buy.  The real killer though is keeping everything ship-shape, which could be a wallet bleeding $1 million per year.

Penthouse Apartment

Traffic in Gotham can be a killer, so it's no wonder Wayne is taking his sweet time rebuilding the Manor in suburbia. A guy's got to crash somewhere though, so a high-rise penthouse is the natural choice, as long as it comes with a private elevator and secret passageway. No worries though, everything can be had for a price. Unfortunately, estimating that price is a difficult task – crime isn't exactly low downtown, and with masked vigilantes running about and the constant noise pollution from massive explosions and gunshots, property values are destined to suffer. Still, nothing with a helipad ever came cheap, and even at a bargain Wayne's new digs have to be at least $20 million and maybe up to $40 million.

Lamborghini Murcielago LP640

Billionaires don't like to draw too much attention to themselves, so even though Bruce Wayne drives the most powerful, expensive Lamborghini ever made, he's cleverly disguised it with a grey paint job. You'd hardly know it wasn't a Honda or something – really! And okay, while you can't exactly hide the sound of a V12 engine cranking 600 horsepower, the Murcielago goes from zero to 100 miles per hour in about eight seconds, so just try and catch a glimpse. Can you put a price on a beautiful piece of machinery like that? Actually yes – it's priced from $360,000.

Giorgio Armani Black Label Suit

You didn`t think Bruce Wayne wore one of those ordinary, off-the-rack Armani suits, did you? Hell no! There are Armani suits and then there are Armani suits. Bruce Wayne certainly has a closet full of the latter, which are custom-made for each customer, hand tailored in Italy by masters and, at about $5,000 a piece and up, pretty much triple the price of a standard model. When you're a billionaire playboy though, the details matter, and Wayne clearly understands that looking the part is half the fight. 

Helicopter

A private jet is nice for crossing oceans, but you can`t land it on your roof; that`s why man invented executive helicopters. Wayne`s is perfect for making grand entrances and can hold up to five additional girlfriends, or, ho-hum, business associates. It`s not quite as painful to own and operate as a Gulfstream, but you can figure on spending at least $4 million on the chopper itself and another $250,000 a year for maintenance, parking, pilots, gas, and all that other good stuff.

Political Fundraiser

Cases of champagne, a fancy catering staff, and don't forget the kick off donation to set an example for the rest of the crowd. You can bet guests aren't drinking Moet & Chandon's White Star at Wayne's penthouse either – it's got to be Cristal, Krug, or maybe a nice vintage Bollinger. After all, Alfred probably gets to decide. Similar extravagant events easily soar past $1 million.

		Benjamin Kneen