It wasn't all alcohol-fueled good times back in the early days, though. "I went belly-up a couple of times," Frank says. "But you learn from that. It took me 60 years to have enough knowledge to bring out a Grey Goose and in seven years sell it for over $2 billion."

Most of that $2 billion went straight to Frank. Thanks to the sale, he made the Forbes 400 list of the world's richest people in 2004. The magazine estimated his net worth last year at $1.6 billion. "One of the things I've found is that it takes a lot of time to invest a billion dollars," Frank says. He's bought a lot of things - hog bellies, oil futures, euros, Travel Savvy magazine, and a golf course in the Bahamas.

That last one isn't so much an investment, per se, although the course will be open to the public. It's more of an obsession for Frank. Golf is his game. But because he has bum feet and balance issues that keep him from playing his favorite sport, he now ponies up a reported $500,000 to $1 million a year for a staff of full-time golfers - a group of about eight professionals and amateurs who take turns playing in foursomes. They play for his amusement, and at his direction, nearly every day, no matter where he is in the world. Actually, the way Frank puts it, "We play 18 holes."

Indeed, Frank is no passive observer on the course. "It's like he's playing when he watches them," says Gene Borek, who coaches all of Frank's players. "He's giving them tips, telling them what clubs to hit and what shots to play. He always says, 'We don't pay off on effort.' "

But he does pay off. In addition to their salaries, Frank pays cash bonuses to his professional players during games. They'll get, say, $100 for a birdie, or $500 to win a round.