The trend swept through Paris, landing in New York, where Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton asked Cartier to create a tiger of her own.

WSJ: The Sublime Cats of Cartier

Arch-gigolo Porfirio Rubirosa was married first to the daughter of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo, later to tobacco heiress Doris Duke and then to Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton.

FORBES: For Love or Money

Barbara Hutton, the heir to the Woolworth fortune and one of the richest women in the world, returned to London in 1945 to find the red brick mansion she had built for herself in decay (it had been used by the air force).

ECONOMIST: The nicest house in London