Nicholas van Hoogstraten Says Today’s Billionaires Like Trump and Musk Don’t Have “Real Money”
British property tycoon Nicholas van Hoogstraten, known for his controversial career and vast real estate empire, recently claimed that the ultra-wealthy of today cannot be compared to the richest individuals of the past.
In a rare interview, the 80-year-old billionaire dismissed the idea that modern figures such as Elon Musk and Donald Trump truly represent wealth. He argued that their fortunes are largely tied up in shareholdings and debt, rather than tangible, lasting assets.
Hoogstraten, who owns the sprawling Hamilton Palace estate in Sussex, rejected rumors that the massive mansion project has been abandoned. Modeled partly on Buckingham Palace and valued at a potential £100 million once completed, the estate was designed to house his collection of antiques. He says he still intends to finish it, though without a set timeline.
Comparing old money with new, Hoogstraten lamented that the homes of today’s wealthy lack enduring treasures. “You’d be hard pushed to find any Louis XIV furniture anymore,” he remarked, pointing out that historical collections once defined genuine wealth.
On Musk, he was blunt, noting that his fortune exists almost entirely on paper, tied to Tesla and SpaceX stock. He was equally dismissive of Donald Trump, claiming: “Donald Trump has everything mortgaged up to the eyeballs. People who have mortgages are just bluffing.”
For Hoogstraten, the decline of what he calls “real money” began in the 1970s. Walking through parts of London in his youth, he recalls being able to identify households with genuine wealth just by glancing at their first-floor windows. Today, he insists, such displays are gone.
When asked if any modern individual is building anything comparable to Hamilton Palace, his response was simple: “No, because nobody has any real money anymore.”
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