Have you joined Netropolitan yet?

An absolutely fabulous day to you! May your Bentley never get bent and your racehorses die of old age. Apart from that, what's happening? Glad you could guide your private Lear (or is that leer?) down in time for a porcelain mug of gourmet coffee and a virtual parfait! Sound high-faluting? Read on...

‘Netropolitan’ is a new social networking website that caters exclusively to the ultra-rich. Described as ‘the online country club for people with more money than time’, the website costs a whopping $9,000 to join. And that’s just the initiation fee; there’s also an annual membership fee of $3,000.

That sounds like an exorbitant amount, considering the fact that popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter are free of charge. The whole thing almost sounds like a prank, but Netropolitan founder James Touchi-Peters assures us that the service is quite real.

“This is 100 percent real, and I believe there is a need and an audience for this service,” said Touchi-Peters, 48, a composer and former conductor of the Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra. He got the idea for Netropolitan when he had trouble relating to the people he met on other social websites.

He's probably right. The ultra-rich move in slightly different circles from the rest of us. Closest I've ever come to hobnobbing with them was one time when I was in a bar in Loews Monte Carlo (working on setting up a convention) and the owner of the hotel came in with his entourage. I happened to be standing close to one of several beautiful young ladies in the group and asked her, "And what do you do?" to which she replied, "Oh, I don't do anything?" Conversation over.

I don't think I'll be signing up for Netropolitan anytime soon - even when we win the lottery!

See ya, eh!

Bob