How the Beckhams and Peltzes compare – from £70m mansions and ‘rags to riches’ dads David & Nelson to model mums
THEY are among the world’s wealthiest and most famous families.
And later this year, the Beckhams and Peltzes will become one big, mega-rich clan when Brooklyn Beckham and his US heiress fiancée Nicola Peltz tie the knot.
Brooklyn’s parents David and Victoria last week rang in the new year with their son’s future in-laws after jetting off to Florida with all the family.
A source said Posh and Becks spent “some lovely quality time” with the billionaire Peltzes, who own a £70million oceanfront mansion in the Sunshine State.
They had flown by private plane on Christmas Day, with Goldenballs said to be on a work trip for his soccer team, Inter Miami.
And with England now in a third national lockdown, the parents-of-four have reportedly decided to stay put for the time being – and home-school their three youngest kids remotely.
Here, following the Beckham-Peltz New Year celebrations and with Brooklyn and actress Nicola’s wedding on the horizon, we compare the two families’ fortunes, sprawling property portfolios and glittering careers:
Wealth
The Beckhams are one of Britain’s biggest power couples thanks to football-related revenue, lucrative endorsement deals and fashion, make-up and skincare lines.
In 2019, David and Victoria reached £700million – or a billion dollars – in their joint accounts.
However, the Peltzes are even richer. Nicola’s dad Nelson, an American businessman and investor, is thought to have racked up a $1.7billion (£1.3billion) fortune.
To protect their wealth after they marry, lovebirds Brooklyn and Nicola – the daughter of former fashion model Claudia Heffner Peltz – have drawn up a prenuptial agreement.
The couple, who first started dating 15 months ago, are due to wed this year, with Brooklyn’s brothers as his best men. Yet they may be forced to change their plans due to the pandemic.
Property portfolios
Both the Beckhams and Peltzes are spoiled for choice when it comes to relaxing at home – thanks to their enviable (and continent-spanning) property portfolios.
For Posh and Becks, their options include a £20million apartment in a lavish Miami skyscraper, complete with its own helipad, luxury pool and gym.
David, 45, splashed out on the five-bedroom pad after taking ownership of Inter Miami.
Back in the UK, the family own a swanky seven-bedroom house in London’s Holland Park, which they bought for £31.5million in 2013.
It reportedly boasts two dressing rooms and a catwalk-style runway – perfect for fashionista Victoria, 46.
They also own a stunning £6.1million barn conversion in the Cotswolds, where they isolated together during the March and November Covid lockdowns.
And they’ve previously bought two homes in Dubai – including one in the famous Burj Khalifa skyscraper.
The Peltzes also have no shortage of luxury accommodation.
Nelson, 78, and wife Claudia live in a 27-bedroom mansion on the outskirts of New York, complete with an ice hockey rink, a lake and a huge art collection.
According to Fortune magazine, there’s even a flock of albino peacocks outside.
The couple – who have been married for more than three decades – count Hollywood star Bruce Willis and actress Glenn Close among their neighbours.
They also own their $94million (£70million), 44,000-sq-ft estate in Palm Beach, Florida.
Personal staff
Perhaps unsurprisingly given their enormous property empire and hectic work schedules, the Beckhams have taken on a number of domestic staff over the years.
They’ve forked out on nannies, housekeepers and personal chefs – with one cook required to make gourmet meals to store in the family’s freezer for when he wasn’t working.
In 2017, a former butler of the Beckhams described the clan as “lovely”.
“They were laidback people because this was their downtime, they were relaxing. Good people,” celebrity butler Barry Fairhurst told the Birmingham Mail.
Across the pond, Nelson Peltz is also said to employ a large number of domestic staff at his New York pad, including house-keepers, bodyguards, maids and gardeners.
Luxury vehicles
Since rocketing into the spotlight as a footballing talent, Becks has been pictured driving some VERY impressive cars – shelling out an estimated £3million on his collection.
But he’s also managed to get embroiled in a fair few controversies on the road – from nasty crashes and parking on double yellows to being caught using his phone behind the wheel
David’s first supercar was famously a 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera, in which he was often pictured with then-new girlfriend Victoria.
He has since driven Rolls-Royces, Ferraris, an armour-plated Hummer and a Lamborghini Gallardo, thought to be worth around £149,000.
And he’s been spotted in three BMWs and at least four Audis over the years.
Nelson, however, has gone one step further than supercars: the Peltz family are reported to have helicopters and two private jets – with their fondness for flying even getting them into hot water.
Back in the 1990s, neighbours grew tired of Nelson’s use of helicopters to commute from the family home to his office in downtown New York.
They filed a lawsuit complaining about noise and safety, which the billionaire fought for five years before finally admitting defeat.
Bride & groom
As the eldest child of a football legend and a business-savvy fashion icon, Brooklyn was always destined for success.
And despite being just 21, the London-born star has already made a name for himself in the worlds of modelling and photography, landing a string of high-profile jobs.
He has modelled for glossy magazines, shot a campaign for Burberry and even interned for renowned photographer Rankin. And last year, the amateur photographer filmed dad David’s new sunglasses advert.
His actress fiancée, 25, has achieved huge success, too.
Since her breakthrough role as Katara in the 2010 film The Last Airbender, Nicola has starred in Transformers: Age of Extinction, Bates Motel and the Marvel show Inhumans.
The happy couple announced their engagement last July.
Romantic Brooklyn proposed with a ring he designed himself – worth between £150,000 and £350,000 – after asking Nicola’s dad for his blessing.
He later told his bride-to-be: “I will always take care of you.”
Model mums
Brooklyn and Nicola’s mums won’t have struggled for conversation during their New Year celebrations – as they’re both into fashion.
Former Spice Girl Victoria is now a top fashion designer, having launched her own clothing labels and netted high-profile collaborations with other brands.
In 2017, the mum-of-four – who is designing Nicola’s bridal dress – even received an OBE from the Duke of Cambridge for her services to fashion and charity work.
Friends said she was “delighted and humbled for the recognition”.
Nicola’s mum Claudia, meanwhile, was an American fashion model.
Today, the 65-year-old- who has eight children with father-of-10 Nelson – stays out of the limelight and is happy being a housewife.
‘Rags to riches’ dads
They can afford to buy just about anything.
Yet neither Becks nor Nelson grew up in famous families.
David was born in Leytonstone, East London, to his hairdresser mum and kitchen fitter dad, but has gone from rags to riches during his dazzling career.
As a youngster, he attended state school – unlike his four children, who have reportedly been educated at private schools (and in Harper’s case, a top London stage school).
In a 2007 interview, Becks – whose first starter home with Victoria was a £150,000 Manchester pad – recalled telling his schoolteachers that he wanted to be a footballer when he was older.
“They’d say, ‘No, what do you really want to do, for a job?’,” he said. “But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do.”
Unlike Becks, Nelson was privately educated as a child.
But in later years, he dropped out of university and ended up driving a delivery truck for his family’s small wholesale food distribution business – reportedly for “a hundred bucks a week”.
Today, however, Nelson is a founding partner of Trian Fund Management and the non-executive chairman of popular American fast-food chain Wendy’s Company.
The billionaire, born in Brooklyn, New York, is also a director of numerous businesses.
Famous siblings
Brooklyn and Nicola will likely have more than a handful of proud siblings watching them tie the knot – including chief bridesmaid Harper.
Brooklyn’s little sister, and his two younger brothers Romeo, 18, and Cruz, 15, are all well-known faces thanks to their A-list parents.
While Romeo drives a £45,000 Jeep, enjoys playing football and has modelled for luxury fashion house Burberry, Cruz is a talented singer who dreams of collaborating with Calvin Harris and Ed Sheeran.
As for Harper, she appears to be following in both her mum and dad’s footsteps – with an eye for style and a passion for football. Victoria has also claimed the mini fashionista is a “natural” at ice skating.
While Brooklyn is one of four, his fiancée has seven siblings.
Nicola has one sister and six brothers, including actor Will, 34, who stars in the Netflix hit Sierra Burgess Is A Loser, and ice hockey star Brad, 31.
The other Peltz children have remained out of the public eye.
Lavish holidays
With millions in the bank, it’s not surprising the Beckhams have been on a string of amazing holidays – from indulgent ski trips and Italian getaways to winter sun breaks.
They’ve travelled to a chic part of Puglia, the posh French resort of Saint Gervais and an extravagantly-decorated hotel in Morocco, as well as holidaying in Greece last year.
And they’ve proved they’re just like any other delighted family on holiday – with David filmed taking an “embarrassing dad slide” off a giant inflatable swan in Croatia in 2018.
Though little is known about the Peltzes’ holidays, it’s likely they’re no strangers to lavish getaways – with Nicola having previously shared pictures of sun-soaked beaches and stunning scenery on Instagram.
‘£1.6m’ celebrations
If Brooklyn’s 21st birthday bash is anything to go by, his wedding will be a huge – and spectacular – affair (providing Covid restrictions have eased by then, of course).
Posh and Becks splashed out £100,000 on the star-studded bash last March – which saw rapper Stormzy perform for the crowd and revellers party until 6am under a sparkling disco ball.
In lieu of a birthday cake, Brooklyn was treated to a doughnut tower – with pictures showing he also got an ice sculpture in the shape of a camera, honouring his love of photography.
His was far from the first envy-inducing Beckham birthday, though.
For her sixth birthday in 2017, little Harper had tea at Buckingham Palace with Princess Eugenie. And the following year, she was reportedly gifted a £7,000 pedigree pony by her doting parents.
However, the Beckhams’ spending pales in comparison to what the Peltzes have allegedly forked out on Bar Mitzvah celebrations.
In 2016, Nelson hit the headlines after reportedly throwing a $2million (£1.6million) Bar Mitzvah for his twin sons Zachary and Gregory, complete with stilt walkers and two bands.
And if that wasn’t enough entertainment for the celebration’s hundreds of guests, there was also a hockey rink, a basketball hoop and some video games.