Rubber Meets the Road

Despite paying a world-record price of $38.1 million six years ago for a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, which formerly belonged to British racing driver Stirling Moss, Montecito-based cellular phone billionaire Craig McCaw seems to have made a good investment.

A similar model of the same year – one of just 36 in existence – just sold for a record $48,405,000 at a Sotheby’s auction in Monterey during Pebble Beach’s Concours d’Elegance.

The car is one of the earliest models, being just the third off the Maranello production line. It goes from zero to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds and has a top speed of 174 mph, dominating the motorsport scene in its heyday.

It contested 20 races in 1963 and 1964, completing all of them unscathed.

Ferrari fans say similar models could go for up to $100 million in due course.

Sweet Hereafter

The late Michael Jackson, whose Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos is still on the market, despite the sale price for the 2,698-acre property being slashed by owner Santa Barbara Polo Club patron Tom Barrack from $100 million to $67 million in February, 2017, is raking in more money since his death in 2009 than he did while he was alive.

Since his untimely demise from a drug overdose at the age of 50, the singer has grossed more than $900 million.

Jackson, who would have celebrated his 60th birthday last week, raked in $74 million in 2015 alone.

His estate, now renamed the Sycamore Valley Ranch, was bought by Barrack in 2008 for $22.5 million and includes a 12,598-sq-ft 6-bedroom Normandy-style mansion and three guest houses.

The Grape Escape

It’s the kind of marathon only the French could devise.

The 26.2-mile Marathon du Medoc in Bordeaux runs through some of the world’s finest vineyards, with vintage wines available at every one of the 23 drink stops.

Not to mention oysters, foie gras, cheese, entrecôte steak, and ice cream.

It goes without saying that diet is not high on the agenda.

Some 8,500 runners participate each year, 90 percent in fancy dress, with the picturesque route passing through more than 50 chateaux.

The race on Saturday, September 8, has more medical support than any other marathon in Europe, unsurprisingly.

Sightings: Dennis Tito, the first self-financed American astronaut, lunching with Robert and Robin Fell at the SB Polo Club… Comedian Steve Martin checking out Jeannine’s on CVR… Francois Delahaye, head honcho of the Sultan of Brunei’s Dorchester Collection, lunching at the Coral Casino

Pip! Pip!