“A year ago, Bret Grebow, a 28-year-old who runs hedge fund HMC International, was taking cheap flights on JetBlue Airways and keeping a lid on his spending. But his fund’s investment portfolio surged nearly 40% last year, and Mr. Grebow says he’s confident that the market has regained its footing. So two months ago he bought a new $160,000 Lamborghini Gallardo. He says it was his first ‘treat’ in months,” writes Gregory Zuckerman, in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“These days when Mr. Grebow and his girlfriend travel between his Highland Beach, Fla., home and his New York office, he charters a catered plane with a bar, paying as much as $10,000 for the three-hour flight. Last weekend he spent more than $12,000 to fly himself and some friends on a Learjet 55 to the Super Bowl”

” ‘It’s fantastic. They’ve got my favorite cereal, Cookie Crisp, waiting for me, and Jack Daniel’s on ice,’ says Mr. Grebow.”

“Hedge-fund trader Kenneth Griffin last summer married another hedge-fund hotshot. They tied the knot at the palace of Versailles. Festivities in Paris included a party at the Louvre and a rehearsal dinner at the Musee D’Orsay. In Las Vegas last month, 10 Wall Street investment bankers dropped several thousand dollars renting a Ferrari, a Dodge Viper and a Hummer for the weekend to cruise the Strip. New York cigar shops, steak houses and five-star restaurants all report an influx of Wall Street business in just the past few weeks.”

“As financial companies start to pay out big bonuses for 2003, lavish spending by Wall Streeters is showing signs of a comeback. Behind the exuberance: a 40% jump in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in roughly 15 months and a return of big profits on Wall Street — $15 billion or so last year, more than double 2002’s profits, according to estimates by the Securities Industry Association. When the results are all tabulated, 2003 likely will be the third-best year on record for the securities industry.”

” ‘There was much more money spent at year-end parties than I would have thought,’ says Michael Holland, chief executive officer of Holland & Co., an investment firm. He says he was struck by the packed dining room recently at the ’21’ Club. ‘It’s an early warning sign about the return of the extravagant days.’ “

“One Wall Streeter recently spent about $30,000 to rent out the lower Manhattan restaurant Nobu for 150 guests. Not far away, Tribeca Grill has seen bookings for parties by Wall Street firms pick up in recent months after a long dry spell. Giles Priestland, director of sales at the ski resort The Lodge at Vail, says one Wall Street firm has booked 60 rooms for three nights in March, starting at $495 per night.”

“Wayne Duris, general manager of New Country Porsche of Greenwich, Conn., says that on one day late last month, he shipped new Porsches that sell for up to $120,000, to two Wall Street professionals. They paid cash. Sales doubled at the dealer this January compared with the year before, he says, thanks to interest from traders.”

“James Selwa, president of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, says one Wall Street pro recently was so eager for a $320,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom that he insisted on buying the Manhattan dealership’s only demonstration model.”