While the rest of the world struggles to bounce back from the global financial crisis, China’s billionaires are living large, snapping up luxury products at a breathtaking pace.

Beijing’s Jinbao Street is the must-visit address for billionaires with yuan to burn.

Once a maze of alleys, the 800-metre (yard) stretch of road is now home to Rolls-Royce, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Gucci, Cartier, the exclusive Hong Kong Jockey Club and several five-star hotels.

India’s richest man took a 66 percent pay cut to “set a personal example of moderation” after India’s government called for austerity in salaries of executives

Mukesh Ambani, the head of Reliance Industries, said he would cap his pay at 150m rupees ($3.3m) this year. He received 440m rupees in 2008.

With a net worth of $19.5 billion, Mukesh Ambani has been ranked seventh in the global list, topped by Microsoft founder Bill Gates ($40 billion).

Castles in France. Islands in the Caribbean. With a collective $1.27 trillion at their disposal, the members of The Forbes 400 could buy almost anything.

How about a country? A quick glance at the CIA Fact Book suggests the individual fortunes of many billionaires are as big as some of the world’s economies.

Bill Gates, America’s richest man with a net worth of $50 billion, has a personal balance sheet larger than the gross domestic product of 140 countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Bolivia and Uruguay.

Today, Hurun Report released the names of the Top Two Richest Individuals from the 2009 Hurun Rich List, a ranking of the 1000 richest individuals in China.

Wang Chuanfu of BYD is the richest man in China with wealth of US$5.1 billion, followed by Zhang Yin of Nine Dragons Paper with wealth of US$4.9 billion.

The number of known US Dollar billionaires in China has grown to 130, up from 101 in 2008. The full list is to be released later in October.

One of Australia’s richest men, Clive Palmer, has drawn criticism for buying his teenage daughter a yacht worth AU$5.3m.

Child experts say that giving multi-million dollar gifts to teenagers is dangerous because it gives them unrealistic expectations about money.

Psychologist Renee Mill says that whilst it is commonplace for many wealthy parents to give expensive gifts like this, it amounts to irresponsible parenting.

Roman Abramovich, has spent $89million on a luxurious Caribbean estate in one of the most expensive private home sales of all time.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the property has Balinese bungalows with ocean views, tennis courts, swimming pools and music and dining pavilions.

“It’s very open bungalows, and it’s like you’re basically living on a beach,” the former owner says.