"For the wig, it's as you like."

In the 1920s when the economy was sizzling and rich people could afford to splurge on small cottages by the sea, and a Rembrandt or two, A Spanish baron started buying some paintings. His son inherited them and then bought even more paintings. And then in the 1980s the son married a former Miss Spain and the dynamic couple founded one of Madrid's top art destinations, the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza.

Carmen Cervera, the beauty-queen-turned-art-aficionado demanded that the walls of the museum be painted salmon-pink and that her portrait be painted so that she would look like a woodland fairy wearing a pantsuit, in true Palm-Beach Princess style.

Of all the things to invest in, paintings are a sure bet. At least if you lose all your money you can sleep soundly, knowing that you helped the careers of some starving artists, or some well-fed Sotheby's auctioneers.