Luxury items

Exotic pets - extraplanar critters, midget wyvern, caged fairies, magical birds...some extraordinarily wealthy noble could even boast a garden with his own captive nymph 'but he never goes there as not to spoil the garden's beauty' heh. While it gives PCs an opportunity to gain cash or favor, it can also present an obstacle - do you dare to sneak into that lord's mansion through the nymph's garden? And when you run, and hear 'Hasso, fetch!' you don't expect a poisonous lizard trying to bite your butt...

special perfumes and cosmetics, for example Dragon Musk: that scent of dominance, exquisite! (perhaps only the royalty would be allowe to use this); or Tree of Unity Pollen, gives the skin a golden hue that does not rub off! Sphinx milk - softens the skin, and the scent drives men insane, as one of the riddles would!

If there are spells to permanently improve appearance, or the body as a whole, or even delay age, the rich will surely invest into those.

Betting on adventurers - '3:1 that Bornholm Axebiturr and Lathain Lilienfeldt don't come back from questing to defeat the Archliche!'

Rare foods - how much is that hydra steak again? Cockatrices might grow scarce if one finds out that the flesh is delicious, and one pound fetches 300 gp! PCs might get involved as hunters or protectors of the wild...

Entertainment and shows. Objects which are flashy and give an impressive effect (think Gandalf's fireworks (or the recently posted Phoenix Food)). Some very wealthy people may keep an illusionist as part of their staff, just as they might keep a court bard, to provide spectacles at gatherings. Some wizards could make quite a good living by providing spectacular and showy (if temporary) 'exhibits' for rich people's parties.

Extreme sports. Anyone up for a bit of wyvern riding? How about climbing sheer cliffs with the aid of certain magical spells? Naturally, these activities will have enough safeguards that they will not actually be that risky (compared to real adventuring), but of course accidents do sometimes happen. Probably most popular amongst the younger generation.

Continuing the rare foods/endangered monsters theme: other items from rare beasts. Clothes made from their hide, ornaments made from their horns; the rarer and more dangerous the beast the better. Would make a challenge to adventurers to kill the beast without slashing up the hide or burning it to a crisp with a fireball. Another thing could be medicines and things made from these creatures. Unlike in our world, the efficacy of these medicines wouldn't be just superstition: the powedered horn of a magical creature might well have wondrous effects of one kind of another.

Personal transportation. Tame gryphons, magic carpets, winged horses: whatever you have in your world. Unlike some of the luxury items, this would have a very practical use; however, it could also be a status symbol and luxury item: rather like a private jet or personal helicopter.

Form changing: maybe a rich nobleman commissions a performance of a historical play in which the entire cast is polymorphed to look like the characters they are playing. Maybe the rich would pay to be transformed in to an eagle for a day to experience flying. For comedy value, maybe there are a group of people who are in to LARPing and are rich enough to pay some wizards to provide the realism (transforming them in to characters, providing illusions of the monsters, etc.)

Mind affecting spells: people could pay to have spells cast on them to make them happy; give them pleasing hallucinations, etc. Maybe this is frowned upon, in the same way that drugs are.

Magically created toys: not just toys for children (though there are these too), but the equivalent of desk ornaments. Any kind of gadget with a wacky effect, or that looks pretty.

Art: many a noble has gained a reputation amongst his peers for supporting art, and thus gained at least a semblance of class:

With magic, the artwork can become even more elaborate - light sculptures, statues that change between forms (how else do you make the statue of a werewolf?) or paintings and tapestries that are moving, or even semi-sentient through bound spirits.

Golems - nobody said it was impossible to elaborate a golem's character - it could be programmed to act as a trained servant or a babysitter or...

In my campaign, a wizard has discovered a way to cover golems with a layer of living skin, fed by the golem's enchantments, and programming them to excel at a variety of tasks, thus making the ultimate servant - immensely strong, loyal, tireless and not as apparent as an eight foot tall monster of steel.

Porcellain golems are another option for the wealthy.

Or ones made of gems - a perfect way to show off (and let your money work for you!) + see the entry on orcish money about killing someone with your cash

Gardens - more than a few nobles would pay handsomely to have a garden like from a fairytale...

Chess - a chess game with illusions battling each other, or mind-controlled people fighting to the death (we're getting nasty, aren't we?) or small, animated ivory figures (it woud be a pity to break all those, though)

A noble could have a fantastic beast to execute criminals, or could have his wizard change him into something nasty to mete out justice himself.

Similarily, he could wander amongst his people like a predator, punishing the wicked...or anyone who catches his fancy...

Why are wizards the only one who keep a succubus handy? Quite a few people would pay a mage to keep one around for them too, when milady is in a bitchy mood...same true for noble ladies when monsieur is hunting again, or too drunk to know his wife from the clothes hanger.

In a similar fashion, nobles could have their ... entertainment ... polymorphed into anything they wish, there could even be guilds that provide shapeshifted entertainers for a hefty fee.

Likewise, champions in arenas could be shapeshifted into fantastic beasts.

(Ron Bytrhun is a wuss, but watch out should he be in the tiger form - he has a perfect control of that!)

Memory stones - what if one could contain the memories and experiences of one person inside a globe of crystal, letting anyone experience the same when they touch it? Venture anywhere, be anyone, all safely from your couch. Sounds a lot like VHS, but with all other sensory output blocked out...could be addictive.

Art can of course be extended to the arts, including music, plays, etc. Many a noble may wish to be seen as a patron of the arts (or may genuinely like them), thus spending large amounts of money supporting these things.

Piety: many of the churches in England were constructed in the middle ages by wealthy merchants. The rich may well endow or construct new temples for a number of reasons including genuine piety, the wish to give an appearance of piety and the wish to be seen to having constructed a large and impressive building which will last for many centuries.

Nobles may spend their money on large statues and monuments commemorating their deeds and victories. There's almost no limit to the amount they can spend on this, though being too ostentatious could invite the disapproval of those of a higher rank. In a high magic world these statues and monuments could potential be imbued with a spell that influences all who look on the statue respect and honour the person it is in honour of.

Alcoholism: Throwing parties not only allows you to meet other wealthy (& hopefully interesting) people, but increases their estimation of you.

Maintaining a power base: In addition to the normal means by which a wealthy person can gain power, in a role-playing game one can hire adventurous types. This can range from investing in a fledgeling guild, hiring a spellcaster for a certain spell or three, or having high-level thugs, each bristling with magic weapons. Even founding your own guild can grant a strong amount of power.

Correspondence: Sending messages in a fantasy setting is both time consuming and expensive, barring magic. By constantly sending & receiving messenges, you can keep in contact with distant friends, keep up on news from afar, control distant holdings, and manitain important contacts. This also allows the wealthy and popular person to while away a great deal of time with writing and reading letters.

Earning more money: This is the most popular way to spend one's wealth. This can be by expanding one's operations in scope or geography, buying-out a competitor, bribing officials for government contracts or favourable tax laws, and hiring the best employees... but not paying them too much.

Bottles of enchanted incense-When inhaled deeply,allows the user to enter a state where they live the life of someone else.For example,if they have always fantasised about being a great dragons slayer,they live an alternate existence as one in their incense induced trance.Thoughthis seesms to last an entire lifetime,it only endures for a few minutes.Gets rid of the big 'What if ?'regrets,eh?'

Potions...a love potion for the noble who wants to ensure that an arranged marridge runs smoothly, potions to reduce fatness, make the person feel happy,ect.

A ship to sail the ocean, which comes with it's own weather-mage as part of the crew.

Undead servants (illegal in most areas, but since when have the rich taken any notice of the law?)

Landscaping: Nothing says "I have more money than you" like cutting up the very world to suit your whims. Have a river dammed, redirected, or carved in the first place. Drain lakes or fill them with bottled water. Cut down trees & replant new ones that don't upset your allergies. Flatten hills & straighten curves. Reshape the map into a likeness of your face, even.

Exotic Clothing - If it's imported from far enough, it becomes a symbol of wealth, and is stylish regardless of how bad or silly it looks. Peculiar hats, robes twice as long as the wearer and other such things are perfect examples.

from Wikipedia entry on King Zhou of Shang...

'One of the most famous forms of entertainment Zhou enjoyed was the 'Wine Pool and Meat Forest'.

A large pool, big enough for several canoes, was constructed on the

Palace grounds, with inner linings of polished oval shaped stones from

the sea shores. This allowed for the entire pool to be filled with

alcohol. A small island was constructed in the middle of the pool, where

trees were planted, which had branches made of roasted meat skewers

hanging over the pool. This allowed Zhou and his friends and concubines

to drift on canoes in the pool. When they thirst, they reached down into

the pool with their hands and drank the wine. When they hungered, they

reached up with their hands to eat the roasted meat. This was considered

one of the most famous examples of decadence and corruption of a ruler

in Chinese history.'