Posts Tagged ‘Dubai’

[lang_en]By Will Payne

Stars including David and Victoria Beckham, Michael Jackson and Brad Pitt are losing £80,000 A WEEK as their luxury Dubai villas crash in value.

Celebs who bought the properties in their droves over the last few years have seen prices halve, with pads worth £3.2million in October now on the market for £1.6million.

And with the world’s superwealthy cutting their losses and selling up, Dubai’s bubble has well and truly burst.

The oil-rich Gulf state courted the famous for its Palm and World Islands developments, a series of artificial peninsulas in the Persian Gulf.

Among those who bought there were Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, England cricketer Andrew Flintoff and ex-Formula 1 champ Michael Schumacher, who owns a £5million slice of “Antarctica” in the World Islands.

England footballers were some of the keenest buyers.[/lang_en] (more…)

[lang_en]David Beckham and the rest of the AC Milan team had their New Year’s Eve celebrations cancelled today by the ruler of Dubai following the violence in Gaza.

Becks joined British ex-pats in Dubai who were today planning alternative New Year’s Eve celebrations after all public parties were cancelled.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of the Gulf state, called off festivities late yesterday.

He said “all public New Year’s celebrations” should be stopped “in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are currently enduring death, suffering and destruction in Gaza”.

Many hotels have revised their entertainment offerings following the announcement, which has sent the plans of tens of thousands of British ex-pats into disarray.[/lang_en] (more…)