He collects vintage cars, especially American marques, in both Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Rome. His 21-acre facility in Allentown houses 125 cars in seven warehouses. He has 85 or more cars in Rome, including the faster Models, and flies them to Allentown when they need repairs. His favourite marque is Buick and he has many from 1940 and 1941, coincidentally the year he was born.
Nicola Bulgari was born in Rome in 1941, the third son of Giorgio Bulgari (1890–1966). His brother Gianni was born in 1935 and Paolo in 1937.
His first wife was Anna, and they were married prior to 1981, until at least 1994.
In 2013, after allegations of tax evasion, the Guardia di Finanza (tax police), raided the Bulgari office in Rome's Via Condotti, as part of a Euro 46 million seizure of assets. In May 2015, Paolo and Nicola Bulgari and 11 others were ordered by an Italian judge to stand trial on charges of tax evasion. Both deny the charges.
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2015.
In January 2017, Forbes estimated the net worth of Nicola Bulgari at US$1.31 billion.
