Though much wealth creation is taking place in the world’s new economic powerhouses, London & New York remain the most important cities for the super-rich
CONSUMERS
London & NYC Most Important Cities for Super Rich
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Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Though much wealth creation is taking place in the world’s new economic powerhouses, London & New York remain the most important cities for the super-rich
Though much wealth creation is taking place in the world’s new economic powerhouses, London & New York remain the most important cities for the super-rich
According to Knight Frank’s 2013 wealth report, the number of people with US$30m or more in net assets (referred to as HNWIs) rose by 5% in 2012, to 189,835 individuals, based to data prepared exclusively for the report by Wealth-X. The combined wealth held by HNWIs also grew by 2%, or US$566bn, to just over US$26tr in 2012.
As the world’s population nears seven billion, a consumer group of less than 200,000 individuals may initially seem like a limited audience for brands, and indeed for many it will be. But for the luxury industry, this elite consumer group presents significant opportunities not only for growth, but for sustained performance during times of economic crisis.
“ Over the next 10 years, 95,000 people are forecast to break the US$30m wealth barrier, a cumulative 50% rise ”
It was these very consumers that continued to splurge on luxury items at the height of the recession, whose fortunes continued to grow despite the woes of the greater economy. Over the next 10 years, 95,000 people are forecast to break the US$30m wealth barrier – a cumulative 50% rise – taking the total number of HNWIs across the globe to around 285,665.
Though much wealth creation is taking place in the world’s new economic powerhouses, London and New York are still considered the most important cities for the super-rich, with a billionaire population of 118 and 102 respectively. In ten years time, it is expected that London will still remain the top spot for the world’s wealthy, though Singapore is similarly expected to take over New York.
Here Knight Frank takes a look into the cities that are most important in terms of wealth concentration, and how that mix is set to change in the coming decade.
Join LS in London on Wednesday May 15th to Better Understand the UHNW Consumer, with our debut Luxury Society Keynote produced in association with Bloomberg.
We are proud to be investigating this coveted consumer segment with representatives from Fabergé, NetJets, Hervé Léger, Shangri-La Hotels, Aston Martin, Linley, The Jet Business, Louis XIII, MB&F;, Fraser Yachts, Maybourne Hotel Group and Roland Iten.
We invite you discover full details of the event here.
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.
