Six days, two historic properties, and countless ways to experience the best of Ireland from idyllic County Mayo to bustling Dublin

By Michael M. Clements

Ireland is green, but not in the cliché lucky four leaf clover way. Literally, it’s green – everywhere: the trees, the rolling hills, the countryside. The scene is particularly emerald driving northwest from Ireland’s Atlantic Coast gateway, Shannon International Airport, through Galway into County Mayo. Known for its wide-open spaces and dramatic cliffs that extend finger like into the brooding Irish Sea, County Mayo is the ideal location to experience country luxury at its finest, starting with the magnificent Ashford Castle on the shores of Lough Corrib, which cuts like a jigsaw through the heart of the pastoral landscape.

On the northeast shore of Ireland’s second largestlake, Lough Corrib, stands Ashford Castle, the ultimate in Irish country opulence. Presiding formidably at the peninsula where the lazy River Cong meets Lough Corrib, and hidden deep within over 350 acres of wooded parkland, this 13th century castle hotel is a monument to a fascinating history of a bygone age. Once the estate of the Guinness brewing clan, the property opened its doors as an exclusive hotel in 1939 and is currently a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Read the full story

Who has it… and who gives it away.

By Beth Farnstrom

Robert and Marion Rosenthal

“I go to Washington – if only to be near my money,” comedian Bob Hope once quipped. But forget about taxes pouring into federal coffers: With cash to flash, members of Washington’s growing mega-millionaire’s club (50 Million Plus) like to show their green in perhaps, sometimes ritzy, but mainly philanthropic ways.

Buy a baseball team? No problem. Accessorize with megawatt Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes? Ditto. Underwrite productions at the Kennedy Center? Done.

Washington’s wealth – sparked by the dotcom boom of the ’90s and fueled by the ever-rising real estate and stock markets – has “put a lot of money in people’s pockets and created a new level of wealth in Washington,” says developer Ed Asher of the Chevy Chase Land Company. While ten Washingtonians made the latest Forbes 400 list with fortunes in the billions, wealth is spread far and wide these days. Fortunes have been built on the backs of new technology, media, sports, real estate, government contracts and, of course, Washington’s original industry: politics. In just three years, the number of Washington area families with liquid assets (that is, not counting residential property and 401Ks) grew a whopping 60 percent, from 88,000 in 2003 to 140,000 in 2006. Similarly, in a slightly higher stratosphere, those with $5 million plus in liquid assets grew 53 percent, from 15,000 to 23,000 families, according to Phoenix Marketing International.

Where the money goes, the charity flows and, yes, luxury follows, and how!

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