Like most very rich people in the colony, he is a property developer, whose Henderson Land development has increased seven times in size in the last six years. Yes, it certainly hurts But no, it absolutely certainly does not work. Apologies to Brian Mawhinney and his chums at Conservative Central Office, but their disastrous slogan - suitably adapted - summarises as well as anything the resounding international verdict delivered on Thatcherism last week. Reports by three blue-chip international bodies - the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - have all roundly condemned rising inequality in Britain, now revealed as the most unequal country in the Western world.And they went on to explode the central rationale of policies pioneered here by Margaret Thatcher and exported, with the willing assistance of Ronald Reagan, to the rest of the world. "I cannot accept that this indicates the start of a boom," David Kern, chief economist for the Nat West Group, said.

"In the economy as a whole, the feel-bad factor has been replaced by the feel-flat factor. We are set for an acceleration in growth over the coming year, but it will be more in the nature of a 'boomlet' and would not explain such a surge in demand for expensive cars.". High street sales are also up in the first six months of this year, but by less than 2 per cent. They are as much a work of art as a feat of engineering - each car takes between eight and 10 weeks to assemble by hand.But, whatever the explanation for the soaring sales, economists do not think that it is any reflection of the mood in the rest of the economy. Even these prices look like the bargain basement against the pounds 222,526 cost of the top-of-the-range new Bentley Azure. And, in case you were wondering, there are still more expensive cars on the market - the Maclaren F1, for example, costs pounds 634,000.It is impossible to apply ordinary concepts of value-for-money to these cars.

Women buyers account for between five and seven per cent of the market, but their share is rising.Certainly, buyers need to be rich. A Bentley Brooklands costs pounds 106,866 and 25p while a Rolls-Royce Super Spur sells at pounds 135,242. The average new purchaser owns six other cars and enjoys declared personal wealth of pounds 1.5m. Average new buyers of Bentleys are in their mid-fifties, while buyers of Rolls-Royces tend to be older. It just so happens that, at this point in the economic cycle, as we are moving towards a general election, a growing number have decided to buy now."Nearly half this year's Rolls-Royce sales went to first-time buyers. "It is self-evident," he says, "that in general the people who choose to buy these motor cars are among the most astute financial brains in the country."Many of them are successful entrepreneurs who have made a great deal of money and are well aware of the car's value.

The manufacturers are starting to take on extra workers at their Crewe factory. At the offices of Jack Barclay Ltd Berkeley Square, London - official distributors for the cars - Graham Hawksworth, managing director, is confident that the surge in sales is highly significant. The sales of Rolls-Royce motor cars, a barometer of millionaires' confidence, are leaping ahead. Figures for 1996 show that 404 Rolls-Royces and Bentleys were sold in the first six months of the year, against 266 for the same period in 1995 - a 52 per cent rise. The rest of us may still need some convincing that the Tories' long-promised economic recovery is truly under way, but the very rich are apparently in little doubt. Walton (retail inheritance, US) $4.6bnJohn T Walton (retail inheritance, US) $4.6bnHenkel family (chemicals, Germany) $4.6bnFriedrich Karl Flick, Jr (investments, Germany) $4.5bnS Robson Walton (retail inheritance, US) $4.5bnHearst family (newspapers, US) $4.5bnLiem Sioe Liong and family (conglomerate, Indonesia) $4.5bnLan dolt family (pharmaceuticals, financial services, Switzerland) $4.5bnKirk Kerkorian (investments, US) $4.4bnRichard Marvin DeVos (Amway, US) $4.4bnDonald Edward Newhouse (publishing, US) $4.3bnSamuel I Newhouse, Jr (publishing, US) $4.3bnJay Van Andel (Amway, US) $4.3bnDhanin Chearavanont and family (various, Thailand) $4.2bnDavid Sainsbury and family (supermarkets, UK) $4.1bnBoehringer family (pharmaceuticals, Germany) $4.1bnMasatoshi Ito and family (retailing, Japan) $4bnIwasaki family (property, hotels, Japan) $4bn. He is one of the world's largest landowners, whose property interests stretch from China to Las Vegas.