The excesses of Russia's super-rich went on display last weekend when a "millionaire's fair" opened on the outskirts of Moscow, catering to the ostentatious tastes of the city's 88,000 dollar millionaires and 33 billionaires.

An estimated 7,000 ordinary Muscovites a day paid £20 to get a glimpse of the eccentric lifestyles of the minority who are drowning in oil money. On show were the trappings of the immodest: a helicopter, a Lamborghini, a diamond ring the size of a golf ball, a hair transplant and clothes made from dollar bills.

Yet the display was aimed at inspiring sales, not just envy: organisers said an island had been sold for $10m (£5.6m) that weekend. Many believed the fair was aimed not at established billionaires, but at "new Russians" - the nouveau riche of Russia's economy.