Oprah and a USD 68 Million Home in New Jersey...

I must confess, I have watched the Oprah Winfrey show more than a few times. I will probably continue to watch it every now and then, particularly now that she is honouring me by coming to my country, Australia, to do a few "live" shows. So, perhaps, I am guilty of contributing to her billion-dollar fortune and the possibility that she is going to buy a USD 68 million home in the Alpine Estates in New Jersey.

Oprah Winfrey has worked hard and she has worked hard for a long time to develop Harpo Productions and to make the money she has. I do not begrudge her her wealth, her fame or anything else that she has. I am wondering though, "why does she need to spend 68 million on a house with 19 bedrooms and 12 bathrooms spread out over 30,300 sq. ft of home?" After all, she has a partner, Stedman Graham, no kids and a few dogs, if I recall correctly. So, why does she need quite so much space? Is it just because it is there?

Even if her really, really, really good friend Gayle King was to move in and share some housing space, there are still more bedrooms than there are people.

Oh, if you are wondering the house also includes a carriage house, a library, a ballroom, a movie theater, sprawling English gardens, a salt-water pool, and a tennis court. As I said, a lot of space for a small family.

But, when it is all said and done, to each their own. Perhaps, if I had USD 68 million spare then I might be tempted to buy a little bigger than we probably need. And. let's face it, it is a pretty awesome looking spread that she is thinking of purchasing.

Sweet Home Obama

This is news that has made headlines around the world and is likely to continue to do so until the US Presidential election process concludes on 4 November.

Now, if Obama wins, then it is likely to be news for a while yet. And, the question will always be will President Obama visit one of his childhood homes when he makes a visit to Indonesia (photo is of the home).

The story is an interesting one in its entirety however a long story short. Obama spent a couple of his childhood years living in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta.

Now some 35 years later a Dutch businessman with extensive business interests in the bar and cafe scene in Jakarta and Bali has decided that a good cafe might be just the thing to capitalize on Obama mania.

It would be a cafe and not a bar. The products of choice would be a Barack blend of coffee mixing Kenyan and Indonesian beans. The other product would be Dutch inspired stroopwaffles. The place is also likely to become a bit of a museum decked out with Obama memorabilia (some might say a shrine). Yet, in a business sense it really needs Obama to come through and win the election. Simply, a coffee joint for a junior senator from Illinois is probably not going to pay the bills.

It is being reported that Bartele Santema is offering USD 500 a month as rent. This is unlikely to get the deal done with rumors floating around of a solid offer for USD 3 million for the whole property and other rumors suggesting that in the event the world sees a President Obama then the value of the property could be as much as five time the 3 million supposedly already on offer.

There is little doubting in terms of the value of the Obama brand should he become President of the USA and leader of the free world.

Good luck to all involved and may your hopes, dreams, and prayers for financial success be realized this 4 November.

You can find news of this momentous event at Bugil News, The Wall Street Journal, AP, and CNN.