27 way-out eccentric billionaires

27 way-out eccentric billionaires, Are the extremely rich more eccentric than the rest of us, or is it just that their quirks -- be they creative, costly, adventurous or just plain weird -- stand out because the wealthy are in the spotlight? Click ahead for a look at some of today's quirkiest billionaires and their eccentric habits, hobbies and projects.

Roman Abramovich
As if owning a mega-yacht weren't enough, billionaire Roman Abramovich took his dislike of paparazzi to a whole new level when he installed this contraption on his yacht Eclipse.

Paul Allen
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen spent years collecting science-fiction memorabilia, including Captain Kirk's chair and the robot from "Lost in Space". Where are the memorabilia housed?

Nicolas Berggruen
Real-estate investor Nicolas Berggruen sold his homes and most of his possessions more than a decade ago. He's still a sought-after money manager and investor, but he has committed to giving most of it away.

Richard Branson
With a high-profile life that includes a yacht and an island, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson might just be living well. But his space ventures seem to tilt into eccentric territory. He not only opened a spaceport and celebrated with his family in an unexpected way

James Cameron
The director of hit films that include "Avatar" and "Titanic," James Cameron spends his spare time taking submarines solo into the deepest parts of the ocean. He's also a supporter of the Mars Society, which lobbies for the colonization of the Red Planet. But that's not even the craziest of it.

Alki David
Heir to a shipping fortune, occasional actor and founder of numerous websites, including FilmOn, Alki David offered $1 million to anyone who would streak in front of President Barack Obama.

Duchess of Alba
At 87, the woman who holds more royal titles than anyone else in the world is said to have a fondness for bright colors, big sunglasses, lace and even bikinis. And for younger men. The Duchess of Alba gave much of her fortune  to her kids before her 2011 wedding when -- at 85 -- she married a "boy toy" who was merely 60.

Chuck Feeney
Worth billions after co-founding and selling Duty Free Shoppers Group, Chuck Feeney gave most of his wealth to charity. More public with his giving in recent years, Feeney's still known as a recluse who prefers a low-profile lifestyle.

Foster Friess
Foster Friess is best known as the political activist who heavily backed Republican Rick Santorum -- and who made headlines suggesting "gals" should use aspirin as a contraceptive. But his sporting activities are what really put him on our map as a potential eccentric.

Robert Klark Graham
Eugenicist and businessman Robert Klark Graham is remembered for his "contributions" to science, but not necessarily in a positive light.

Larry Hillblom
The "H" in shipping company DHL's name, billionaire Larry Hillblom was known for wearing shorts and ratty T-shirts while running the company. The biography "King Larry" paints a picture of his sordid lifestyle after he left DHL.

Howard Hughes
Aviator, plane designer and even film producer Howard Hughes was known for his eccentric obsessions -- such as building a wooden plane with a 320-foot, 11-inch wing span, flying it just once, then stopping work on the whole project -- from a young age.

Bidzina Ivanishvili
Prime minister of GeorgiaBidzina Ivanishvili is living the high life in his multimillion-dollar mansion, designed by this famous Russian architect.

Ingvar Kamprad
A number of today's billionaires are known for being thrifty, but IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad makes even Warren Buffett's lifestyle seem lavish.

Peter Lewis
Who says insurance men such as Peter Lewis are boring? At 78, Lewis remains one of the nation's leading advocates of marijuana legalization.

Tom Monaghan
Known for founding this famous pizza chain, Tom Monaghan once owned the Detroit Tigers and spent millions on antique cars and souvenirs in honor of his favorite architect. Then, in a surprising turn of events, he gave it all away.

Henry T. Nicholas
The former chief executive of wireless communications firm Broadcom, Henry T. Nicholas was accused of building a mystery lair under his California mansion.

Clive Palmer
Clive Palmer, an Australian mining magnate, won international headlines when it was reported that he planned to clone dinosaurs to build a real-life Jurassic Park.

Bob Parsons
Go Daddy founder Bob Parsons made headlines when he posted a video of a hunting trip so graphic and controversial that even PETA got involved.

Graham Pendrill
On a trip to Kenya, British businessman Graham Pendrill reportedly fell in love with the country's culture and returned home just long enough to sell his 12-bedroom mansion and pack his bags.

Prince Jefri of Brunei
The brother of a sultan, the "playboy prince" Prince Jefri of Brunei named his mega-yacht after a body part; since then, reports from a court case suggest he had blown nearly $15 billion and was almost broke.

Gina Rinehart
The Australian heiress has found herself in the news after a protracted legal battle with her children.

Tamir Sapir
A Soviet immigrant, Tamir Sapir, started off driving a cab and later built a New York real-estate empire, but he dropped off Forbes' billionaire list when the market collapsed. So what moves him into eccentric territory?

Peter Thiel
Former PayPal CEO Peter Thiel has provided seed money to the Seasteading Institute. He also supports efforts to build an artificial intelligence superior to that of humans. He also has given millions to this foundation.

Ted Turner
Though Ted Turner himself hasn't said much about it, the CNN founder is frequently cited as a friend of marijuana and a major financier of the Kentucky Hemp Museum. Numerous reports say he even grew marijuana in his college dorm room.

Jocelyn Wildenstein
The former wife of a famed art dealer, Jocelyn Wildenstein has spent millions on plastic surgery.

Mark Zuckerberg
We're used to thinking of tech geniuses as different from the rest of us, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg fits that mold.

Roman Abramovich Buys Chelsea

Roman Abramovich Buys Chelsea, Russian billionaire and owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, is in the final stages of buying a 1920s mansion overlooking Central Park in Manhattan’s posh Upper East Side for a record-breaking $75m (N12bn), media reports said.

Abramovich has reportedly signed a contract to buy the 9,720 square foot, or 903 square meter, six-story home that is currently divided into three units, real estate website, Trulia reported.

If Abramovich seals the deal, the $75m price tag would set a new record sale price for a co-op (apartment building) in New York, outstripping the $54m (N8.64bn) paid by music and movie mogul, David Geffen, last year for another Fifth Avenue property.

The Manhattan property that Abramovich is reportedly poised to buy was acquired in 2005 by British real estate developer, Howard Ronson, who wanted to turn it back into the single-family mansion that it was in the 1920s, when it was built for coal magnate, Edward Berwind.

But Ronson died in 2007, and his family put the property on the market last year for $72m (N11.52bn).

Abramovich and his longtime girlfriend, Dasha Zhukova, have been looking at real estate in New York for the past year, the New York Post reported.

The 47-year-old Russian tycoon, who began life as an orphan, is also said to own an eight-story property in London’s Lowndes Square, several other residences around the world, and what used to be the world’s biggest yacht until it was eclipsed this year by the Emir of Abu Dhabi’s super yacht.

How Chelsea’s rich owner, Abramovich spends his money

 Russian Business tycoon and owner of Chelsea Football Club, popularly called ‘Baba Olowo’ by Lagos football lovers, Roman Abramovich, leads a flamboyant lifestyle much like a modern-day emperor.

If wealthy individuals could be categorised into rich and super-rich, then Abramovich would easily belong to the latter. According to Forbes, Abramovich’s net worth was estimated at $10.2bn (N1.63tn) as at March 2013, down from $12.1bn the previous year.

Born into a Jewish family, Abramovich, 47,  was orphaned by age four. His mother, Irina Vasilevna, was a musician and his father, Arkady Abramovich, worked as a supplier at a construction trust in Syktyvkar, former USSR. Irina died from bacteremia as a result of a back-alley abortion when  he was one year old. His father Arkady Abramovich was killed in an incident on a construction site when Roman was three years old.

As a result, Abramovich grew up in his uncle’s family in Ukhta and with his grandmother, Tatyana Semenovna in Moscow.

The Russian is popularly known outside of Russia as the owner of Chelsea FC in the English Premier League, however,  Chelsea is just the tip of the iceberg. The fortune of the Chelsea owner includes several properties that are worth more than “Chelsea” in different parts of the world, including Russia, Britain and France. Besides real estate and sports, Abramovich is known for his taste for all the finer things in life.

Abramovich started his multi-billion-dollar business during his army service. After a brief stint in the Soviet Army, he married his first wife, Olga Lysova. He first worked as a street trader and then as a mechanic at a local factory.

He attended the Gubkin Institute of Oil and Gas in Moscow, where he sold retreaded car tires on the side and traded commodities for Runicom, a Swiss trading company.

In 1988, Abramovich got a chance to legitimise his old business. He and Olga set up a company making dolls. Due to his business acumen, within a few years his wealth spread from oil conglomerates to pig farms and he also started investing in other businesses.

Abramovich was the governor of Russian Far Easter region of Chukotka, from 2000 to 2008.

However, Abramovich’s source of wealth has been mired in controversy. In 1992, he was arrested and sent to prison in a case of theft of government property. The case was later closed but by 1995, he and former business colleague, Berezovsky, acquired a controlling interest in the giant Soviet oil company, Sibneft, under controversial circumstances.

In 2008, The Times  reported that Abramovich admitted that he paid billions of dollars for political favours and protection fees to obtain a big share of Russia’s oil and aluminum assets as was shown by court papers obtained by the media house.

Currently, Abramovich is divorced. His first marriage to Olga lasted three years- between 1987 and 1990. Abramovich remarried in 1991 to Irina Malandina, but was divorced again in 2007. Irina was paid a settlement of $300m (N48bn) following the divorce. He is now with girlfriend, Daria Zhukoya, who has had two children with him.

However, Abramovich is regarded as the world’s greatest spender on luxury yachts, having been linked to five yachts in what the media have called “Abramovich’s Navy’.

Until early 2013, Abramovich was the owner of the world’s biggest yacht, named, Eclipse, which stood at 533ft. He was knocked off the top of the super yacht league table, a position he held for three years, by United Arab Emirates President and Emir Of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, 65, who recently acquired a 590ft vessel, Azzam.

Eclipse was said to have cost the Russian billionaire around $30m in 2010. The Eclipse takes close to $50m (N8bn) each year to keep it running and single re-fueling costs around $650,000 (N104m) each time. With a crew of up to 60 persons, two swimming pools, two helipads, the Eclipse is considered as a giant of the sea.

The yacht is fortified with advanced technology and has been embedded from all possible angles with the armor plating, bullet proof windows, advanced missile detection system and a provision to escape via submarine located at the bottom end of the yacht.

Abramovich also has a Boeing 767, called ‘The Bandit’ and was the first owner of a private Airbus A340, largest personal plane ever built. His plane is reported to have a gym, Turkish bath, conference rooms, Jacuzzi, bar and a restaurant.

He also owns three Eurocopter helicopters EC-145, EC-135T1 and EC-155B. One of these helicopters is found on one of his yachts and another at Blackbushe airport. He has homes in London, France, St. Barts, Colorado and Los Angeles.

In 2003, Abramovich bought Chelsea FC for over $200m (N32bn), with an agreement that covered the club’s debts.

With Cars like Ferrari FXX, Porsche Carrera GT (Modified), Bugatti Veryron, Maserati MC12 Corsa, Maybach 62 limousines, Ferrari 360 in his garage, Abramovish easily qualifies as a lover of suoer luxury cars.

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH YACHT ANTI-PAPARAZZI PHOTO LASER SHIELD

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH YACHT ANTI-PAPARAZZI PHOTO LASER SHIELD, According to the Times, who reported the story back in September, Abramovich can turn the laser “shield” on whenever he wants.  It scans the surrounding area for camera CCD sensors (src ). Once it detects a camera, it can obliterate any photograph by disrupting the light exposure.  It literally shoots a beam of light directly at the camera’s shutter.

In other words, Abramovich can render his yacht invisible to the gaze of both pesky paparazzi and (possibly) traffic enforcement cameras. There have been questions about the legality of destroying photographs from a distance.  But according to Wired, London lawyers have not yet arrived at a conclusive answer (src).