British travelers loved historic trains and they loved Venice. Why not refurbish the Orient Express, run it from London to Paris to Venice and lure passengers to stay at the hotel?

That "crazy" idea paid off.

Today his company operates six revived luxury trains, including the British Pullman, and more than 50 luxe hotels where A-list guests seek discreet comfort.

"I think there is a demand for the best," Sherwood told Britain's Telegraph newspaper, when his autobiography was published in 2012.

"In life today we are confronted with so much mediocrity. In an age when everyone is deluged with homogeneous brands, I have liked to create the special. There is a real unfulfilled need and desire to experience it."

Sherwood began by tracking 25 other original cars that had escaped the Fuhrer's clutches. One had been used to transport racing pigeons. Another had been used as a brothel in Limoges.

Sherwood spent $31 million restoring their original Art Deco grandeur.

The Lalique car, for example, had lost its stunning glass creations, but the Lalique studio still had the original molds and made replacements that sparkle with authenticity.