Economic Downturn Affects Even the Wealthy

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Portfolio, a business magazine, reports on the changes in spending among the "beautiful people." According to Siegel Magness, the founder of a contemporary-sportswear company, “Intellectually, it affects you—the fact that you know the economy is not doing well. Your conscience won’t let you do certain things. There have to be people that spend in this economy to keep it afloat, but most are cutting out wasteful things, like $12,000 dresses.” Unlike the swarming masses who are increasingly pinched by the price of everyday necessities like food and medicine, these are people who can spend according to their version of “conscience.”

“I spent $450 on a car service for two hours, $2,000 a night for a junior hotel suite, and at dinner, an entrée with tea was $130. I bought nothing except from a designer who doesn’t sell in the U.S. Going to Paris right now is just stupid money,” says Magness. Quite right. Everybody has to do their bit for the economy, even if it means making a few sacrifices.

Clementine Brown, a spokeswoman for Quintessentially, a high-end concierge service, is seeing a shift in client spending. “Instead of sinking their dollars into flashier, more fleeting items, clients are gravitating toward purchases that will last, such as wine, art, and estates, she says. “If they took a holiday in Antigua last year, maybe this year they’re investing in an estate in the Caribbean, which is popular because of the weak dollar.”

How do you save on airfare when times are tough? You buy your own private jet, of course. Several families sharing one plane brings the cost down even more. The move to private jets is so popular that some companies are reporting double-digit growth, and Todd Rome, president of Blue Star Jets, says “once you start flying privately, you can’t stop.”

But you really know times are tough when personal-care clients start going to the salon instead of having the salon come to them. Salon owner Rita Hazen notes that “Instead of having a stylist come to their house for a daily blowout [at $500 a pop, plus tip], women are coming to the salon.” That’s a savings of $400. But don’t worry for her financial security. Hair-highlighting still costs $500. and that service is almost fully booked.

If you wonder why people with bottomless pockets even bother to save, you might also ask why profit never ceases to be a motive even when an individual or a business is pulling in more than enough money for a long lifetime of luxury. The answer is simple: you can never have too much money.