It’s not news that the pandemic has changed the way we live, but a new report on how the wealthy spend their money around the world gives us some new, and perhaps surprising, details about where they’re spending now. It also spells out about the differences among people who buy private jets, yachts, and art.
All this is in a new report, the Wealth-X Global Luxury Outlook 2020. Wealth-X has been publishing data on the wealthy since 2010. It defines wealthy as people with at least $5 million, and it has a separate category, called ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) for people with at least $30 million. Wealth-X is part of Euromoney Institutional Investor, which is listed on the London stock exchange and specializes in providing data and intelligence on the global wealth market.
This year’s report is the first time Wealth-X has looked at how the wealthy actually spend their money, and it found that the pandemic has caused some changes, with people moving toward intangibles, such as extra passports or concierge health care.
“The wealthy’s mindset around what luxury is has changed – their priorities have shifted towards their families,” Jaclyn Sienna India, CEO of Sienna Charles, a luxury travel company, said in the report. “Luxury now includes a second passport, access to health care and the freedom to go when and where they feel safe and secure.”
“Quite a few wealthy people are looking for exclusive safe havens in the form of second homes – safety has become a priority for them,” said Alistair Brown, CEO of Alistair Brown International Real Estate. “But with this purchase, they expect access to established locations often via residency and additional passports as well as access to medical help.”
The report spelled out differences in demographics among owners of private jets, yachts, and art collections (each worth more than $5 million).
Most private jet owners (52.7 percent) are between the ages of 50 and 70, and two-thirds of them are in the ultra-high-net-worth group, with an average net worth of $345 million.
Yachts owners are older – 48.7 percent are between 50 and 70, but a full 43.4 percent are over 70. They also are richer, with an average net worth of $510 million.
Art collectors include more women (22 percent), they’re older yet (most are over 70), and they’re richer, “close to the demi-billionaire range,” the report says.
In its section about yacht owners, the report says yachts are still largely for the very wealthy. “Used for family, social and business functions, private yachts remain the preserve of the upper tiers of the ultra-wealthy – such individuals have an average net worth of $510 million, the highest of the three cohorts.
“Luxury yacht prices start in the millions of dollars, and the maintenance and management of such boats brings a not insubstantial ongoing cost, not to mention a yacht’s depreciation in value with age.
“Ultimately, a yacht is not a financial investment but an emotional one, an evocation of lifestyle and declaration of status. Inheritance as a source of wealth is slightly higher among yacht owners than among the general UHNW population – a nod to the long-standing culture of yachting among the wealthy in many parts of the world.
“Owners with hospitality and entertainment as their primary industry, as well as shipping itself, are more highly represented in this cohort.” Read more:
https://www.wealthx.com/report/global-luxury-outlook-2020/#downloadform
