Several writers come to mind at once.
W. Somerset Maugham, P. G. Wodehouse and Vladimir Nabokov - the ones who wrote in English. Maugham's style is absolutely adorable. It is simple, yet it conveys layers of subtlety. Wodehouse is a great mix of high-flown phrases used to convey very simple and funny meaning. In my mind that's what makes him so hilarious. And Nabokov is a great compiler. I am very sceptical about the subject matter of his novels, in my mind that sobject matter is not worth writing about, but the utter beauty of his style! I remember reading "Ada" and walking around for days, repeating just one phrase he used to describe one of the characters. It was something like - his hobby was "collecting old masters and young mistresses". Beautiful, laconic, and descriptive. Nothing left to say of that person.
I do prefer writers whose language is concise and to the point, and who yet manage to describe very deep and complex things via that simplicity of style.
