Wealthy people earn big and spend big on their lavish lifestyle. Some spend on cars and holidays, while others believe in collective rare items such as antiques, vintage cars or even rare whiskeys. The Wealth Report 2022 by Frank Knight makes some projections about the year 2022 as to where are these super rich likely to spend their wealth.
From cars to watches, art, rare whiskey and jewellery are some of the products which are on the spend-list of super wealthy population around the globe. Here we refer to the ultra-high net worth individual (UHNWI) as persons whose net worth is at least US$30 million or more, including their primary residence.
The report quotes Dietrich Hatlapa, Founder of Historic Automobile Group International (HAGI) as saying that early supercars or motorsport homologation road versions such as the Mercedes Benz 190 Evo II, Lamborghini Countach, Bugatti EB 110, Porsche 959, Ferrari 288 GTO and BMW E30 M3 will do well this year.
Hatlapa also said that younger generation of emerging collectors are gaining importance in the market. But examples need to be in perfect condition with the lowest mileage.
It is important to note that the number of super wealthy or UNHWI has risen by 7.2 percent in Asia alone to 1,69,889 in comparison to 12.2 percent increase in the US to 2,33,590, states the report. This number has increased by 9.3 percent. The report further states that over the ten years to 2026, the global UHNWI population will have more than doubled.
(Source: The Wealth Report 2022 by Frank Knight)
Watches & NFTs
As far as watches are considered, super wealthy this year might consider Rolex Daytonas as their potential purchase since “they continue to increase in value the most overall, closely followed by Explorers and Submariners,” said Sebastian Duthy, Managing Director, Art Market Research (AMR).
Mr Duthy also said theindependent watchmakers stole the headlines in 2021 with new records set for watches by George Daniels, Roger Smith, Christian Kiings and Philippe Dufour.
The report also quotes AMR’s Sebastian about the craze of non-fungible token (NFT) and how young people are taking it seriously as an art to collect and treasure.
“As a younger generation, already comfortable sharing much of their lives online, are embracing the reach and notoriety collecting NFTs can offer. Taking their cue from other NFT marketplaces, Sotheby’s new Metaverse encourages collectors to create public profiles, listing their purchases and detailing their collecting habits,” says Sebastian.
Yellow diamonds
As far as diamonds are concerned, demand for yellow diamond is on a rise, stated the report. “At the most recent Sotheby’s Magnificent Jewels Auction held on 7th December in New York, a 12.24-carat Fancy Intense Yellow Radiant VS1 diamond, which had a high auction estimate of US$20,424 per carat, sold for US$32,941 per carat,” said Miri Chen, Fancy Color Research Foundation.
These were the most expensive sales of 2021
| Antiques | Amount ($ million) |
| First printing of final text of US constitution | 43.2 |
| Pablo Picasso's painting - Femme assise près d’une fenêtre | 103.4 |
| 1995 McLaren F1 car | 20.5 |
| 15.81 carat Sakura diamond | 29.3 |
| Last gold coin by US mint (The unique 1933 Double Eagle) | 18.9 |
| Pair of Michale Jordan's Nike Air Ships | 1.5 |
| The Colt single action revolver used by Pat Garrett to kill Billy the Kid | 6 |
A new trend relating to diamonds that is being projected is the use of blockchain to track diamonds as they are bought and sold. For example, when a diamond trader puts a diamond on the blockchain, it signs the transaction with its private key.
The signature can be verified by anyone using the matching public key. This means that the trader cannot later deny that it was the source of the diamond.