The rich list: Nita Ambani’s US$350,000 Hermès Birkin handbag, South Korea’s most expensive K-dramas, and the richest billionaires in fashion

Sep 25 , 2020

Bernard Arnault, Nita Ambani, Lee Min-ho. Photo: handout, Reuters, AFP

Who’s richest among the fashion moguls who launched names like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo, H&M and Gucci; just how much does it cost to make a K-drama series like The King: Eternal Monarch or Mr. Sunshine; and is Nita Ambani’s Himalaya Birkin the summit of handbags?

The pandemic may have ruined economies around the world, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end of wealth and glamour. In fact, there are plenty of people still living their best lives throughout it all, such as the newly revealed richest people in fashion, and of course, India’s Nita Ambani with her rare US$350,000 Hermès Birkin. Meanwhile, helping to keep us all entertained while we’re stuck at home, Korea has been splashing out on ever more expensive K-dramas.

Here’s what STYLE readers have been clicking on this week …

The most expensive K-dramas ever

The King: Eternal Monarch, Hotel Del Luna, Mr. Sunshine. Photo: SBS, TvN, Netflix/handout

It may be called the “small screen”, but television takes big budgets when it comes to producing the best K-drama series. That’s down to the elaborate sets, filming in exclusive locations and casting well-known (and rather well-paid) hallyu celebrities.

From Arthdal Chronicles to Criminal Minds and Vagabond, these highly produced K-dramas have put the Korean entertainment industry on the map – but do the expensive production costs pay off and translate into high viewer ratings? Find out below:

The 11 richest people in fashion

Amancio Ortega is the owner of the Zara fashion business. Photo: handout

Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Uniqlo, H&M and Gucci are fashion brands we all know, and perhaps desire. But someone, somewhere, started those brands and grew them into the labels we know today. Collectively, these entrepreneurs and creatives have turned fashion into a US$2.5 trillion global industry – and made themselves unimaginably rich in the process. Read on to discover …