Expensed home decor splurges of the rich and powerful

Expensed home décor splurges of the rich and powerful

By MoneySense Staff on October 22, 2014
Estimated reading time: 1 minute

Alison Redford's $45K drapes? Pfft!

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Former Alberta Premier Alison Redford’s $1 million “Sky Palace” apartment has been the topic of much derision, including the most recent disclosure that she furnished the taxpayer-funded abode with $45,000 worth of—wait for it—drapes. Let’s see how Redford compares to other public figures with big-ticket home décor tastes.

Former Tyco International CEO and convicted fraudster Dennis Kozlowski reportedly expensed a $6,000 shower curtain woven with gold to his one-time employer before getting the boot.
Actor Daniel Radcliff, everyone’s favourite child wizard and fervent believer in the power of a good night’s sleep, once dropped $17,000 on a custom-made Savoir mattress.
Demonstrating the true spirit of Christmas, former boxer Mike Tyson bought his first wife Robin Givens a $2-million bathtub for the holidays one year.
Hans-Adam II, the reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, paid a cool $36 million for the “Badminton Cabinet,” an 18th century Florentine ebony chest inlaid with hard and semiprecious stones. Apparently, it really tied his living room together.