International prospect research news (November 21, 2011)

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Business and Finance

Yesterday, the Financial Times (subscription required) released a fascinating interactive graphic about 10 hedge fund “jumbo directors” – individuals who sit on multiple hedge fund boards. The data for the graphic comes from FT research on SEC Form D filings by funds based in the Cayman Islands, “where more than two-thirds of the worlds’ hedge funds are domiciled,” according to the FT. ” For each director, the graphic includes links to digital copies of the relevant Form D.

The Financial Times also released its annual list of Top 50 Women in World Business.

Real Estate

In Russia, the government plans to release a new online database of “all registered real estate deals since 1999″ by the end of December, according to Russia Briefing. You will not be able to search by owner, but other types of searches will be available for free.

“The new system will be searchable by the date and type (sale, privatization, rental) of the deal, type and purpose of the building, its area and other parameters. ‘The system’s features allow you to determine how much a square meter costs in a building or a cadastral quadrant at a certain time in particular city or region,’ [an official] said.”

More than half of foreign-owned real estate in Turkey is held by individuals from the UK and Germany, according to a recent article in the Hürriyet Daily.

Curbed profiled “some staggeringly sprawling, staggeringly expensive Caribbean getaways.”

Knight Frank released a new report on One Hyde Park, the London “super-prime” residential complex currently holding the title of “world’s most expensive residential development.” According to the report, prices there are expected to climb even higher next year. The report includes a comparison of One Hyde Park to other high-end properties in London. It also includes prices for comparable properties in the China, France, Monaco, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United States.

Rich List News

The FT’s beyondbrics blog ran a video summarizing the “world’s biggest ever private litigation case” involving Russia’s 9th wealthiest man, Roman Abramovich, and former Forbes-listed  Boris Berezovsky. According to FT reporter Daniel Garrahan, the case is “forcing a normally private individual [Abramovich] to talk about his rise to power in the Wild East of Russia in the late 1990s” and offering ”a fascinating picture of post-Soviet Russia.”

Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu, the world’s wealthiest man, has expanded his media holdings by purchasing a “3.2 percent stake in indebted Spanish media group Prisa,” which publishes the newspaper El Pais.

Other signs of wealth

Maintaining a yacht is expensive. Campden FO provides the stats.

Want to take a family of four into space on Virgin Galactic? An unidentified man from Singapore has just paid US$1 million for this service.

Social Media

In his China Wealth blog last week, Russell Flannery discussed the growth of Ushi, China’s professional networking site.

Coming Wednesday…

… is this week’s round-up of global philanthropy and fundraising news, a new weekly blog post series I launched last week. To be notified by email when that and future posts are available on this blog, please contact me with “email” in your message. Thank you!