It may seem to be a paradox, but at this time of severe economic crisis the rich are in fashion. The media is well aware of it: people love to see the super-luxurious villas and expensive lifestyles of Spain’s millionaires, of which there are estimated to be some 440,000. In the case of Malaga province, factors such as the climate, the business opportunities generated by the property and tourism sectors and its strategic geographical location explain why it has always been a mecca for those with huge fortunes. Some of themhave become regular participants in the media circus, such as businesswoman Olivia Valere, or Marianna Nannis, the wife of a former international footballer. But these are just two of many.
According to data from the private banking sector, more than ten thousand wealthy people have made Malaga their primary residence and the amount of money they have amassed is a staggering eight thousand million euros. These fig-ures make Malaga one of the most important places in Andalucía in monetary terms and the province is home to a quarter of the riches in the region. That is not to say that this group has not been affected by the crisis, like everybody else. Calculations by Banif (a specialist prívate banking branch of the Santander Group) showthat its potential client market dropped by 13 per cent in this area in 2009, to 46,500 people who hold 32,000 million euros between them.A key role in Andalucía
Wherever there is money, you will find private banks. “For any company which manages wealth, it is absolutely vital to be in Malaga province”, says Carlos Gálvez, regional director of Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management for Andalucía. As far as this business sector is concerned, the definition of being rich means having at least 300,000 euros in cash. However, each bank applies its own criteria. For example, Deutsche Bank considers a grand fortune to be that which exceeds two million euros. BBVA Patrimonios, which opened an office in Malaga at the end of last year, agrees. Its aim over the next three years is to double the amount of wealth it manages to two hundred million euros and the number of family group clients to one hundred. So who are these people? The professionals who help the wealthy to manage their fortunes explain that in 95 per cent of cases they are family
groups who like to manage their money jointly, although there tends to be one representative figure who is aged about 55. And how do they get their money? Carlos Gálvez insists that it doesn't usually just fall into their hands.
One third of rich people live in Malaga city, and 17 per cent live in Marbella
“The majority of our clients are professional people who have created considerable wealth by working extremely hard. Few of them become rich through inheritance”, he insists. This also coincides with Banif ’s findings. “There are a lot of myths about the rich. They don't all live in Marbella, nor do they drive big cars.
any of them are normal people who have been able to save money thanks to businesses in the prop- erty or services sector, and espe- cially tourism”, they say. Another myth: most of the ten thousand rich people in the province have a mansion on the Golden Mile. Sources at Banif estimate that 35 per cent live in Malaga city. The rest are scattered around the prov- ince, with the largest group – some7 per cent – choosing Marbella, followed by Fuengirola, Vélez- Malaga and Estepona in order of importance.
In the case of Malaga city, the president of the Association of Constructors and Developers, José Prado, explains that the larg- est villas are concentrated in the eastern part of the city, in prestig- ious residential areas such as Paseo de Sancha, Gibralfaro, El Limonar, Cerrado de Calderón and El Candado. “We are talking about houses which cost more than one million euros and which are made to measure. The owner buys the land and then contracts a team to take care of the design and con- struction”, he says. on the Costa del Sol, says that most of the wealthy clients who buy a residence to live here full time are middle aged couples, above all law- yers, notaries, doctors or business professionals, who are moving away from the stress of major cit- ies and who are attracted by the climate, the good communications and the educational, sports and cultural facilities of Malaga province. They are now more con- scious of the price and at the mo- ment the most popular properties are villas up to two million euros and apartments under one million. To the west, the urbanisations with the greatest fortunes per square metre are Sierra Blanca and Los Monteros in Marbella, El Madroñal and La Zagaleta (in Be- nahavís), Guadalmina Baja (San Pedro Alcántara), Casasola and La Boladilla Alta (Estepona), among others. Their residents pay dearly to live there.
Exclusive cars
But houses are not the only items which add extra zeros to the ex- penditure. The same goes for their cars. The president of the Ganvam motor sales association, Juan An- tonio Sánchez, says that Malaga is an important province in the luxury car sector. In August, five luxury vehicles were sold in the province, while between January and August Malaga companies sold 31 out of a regional total of
93. Among those most in demand are Audi, Mercedes and BMW, but three Lexus, two Jaguars and two Maseratis were also purchased, some of them at a cost of more than 120,000 euros. This industry has also been affected by the cri- sis, and the volume of business has dropped by about 60 per cent. When it comes to the restaurant business, there are about one hun- dred restaurants dedicated to haute cuisine in Malaga. Here, customers will rarely pay less than one hundred euros per head. In the city, Café de París, Montana, Adolfo and Limonar 40 are among the best known. In Marbella, there are even more restaurants of this type and the richest residents are frequent visitors. The Calima res- taurant, run by famous Malaga chef Dani García, is one which is often featured in the media, as is the Café de París, mentioned above. Its manager, José Carlos García, says that some of his cli- ents arrive in limousines or from yachts which are berthed in the port, and they seek quality, pri- vacy and distinction. The most popular menu in his restaurant costs 130 euros, but this amount is often exceeded. “The other day a client selected a bottle of 1998 
Petrus which cost 2,100 euros”, he admits. Other exorbitant sums are spent by the wealthy in the exclusive shops of Puerto Banús, the port with the highest density of luxury shops per linear metre and where fir ms such as Christian Dior, Chopard, La Perla, Louis Vuitton, Jimmy Choo, Carolina Herrera and Loewe compete to attract the platinum credit cards. The aver- age amount spent? At one time, people with a monthly credit limit of 20,000 euros would spend about 90 per cent of it, but now they tend not to exceed six thousand euros a month. But not all rich people are so extravagant. Private banking professionals reiterate that most clients prefer anonymity and discretion. They are conservative when managing their savings: they diversify, don’t take risks, and just want to preserve their capital and keep their acquisitive power above inflation."You can read the full article on the Sur in English Website"
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