F ancy a McLaren P1 GTR race car, or a pair of Nike Air Max 2011 from Back to the Future , signed by Michael J Fox? These rare items are available on a new online marketplace, House of Assets. Like eBay, but for the super-rich, all manner of collectables are sold via the “Buy now” buttons and the timed online auctions, with a handful of private behind-the-screens sales. The former superyacht captain James Ballard was inspired to (virtually) open the House of Assets after decades of living in close, albeit spacious, quarters with high-net-worth individuals.
He booked taxis and restaurants and bought anything else that spontaneously occurred to his clients — Ballard assisted one in purchasing a castle they had sailed past in Montenegro, and an island in the Caribbean for another..
