Inside the secret lives of the 'super-rich'

Super-rich is a term equivalent to that of 'Ultra High-Net-Worth Individuals' (UHNWI). Anyone with a personal wealth of more than $30 million is considered super-rich.

Elon Musk is one of the richest people in the world.

According to sources like Bloomberg and Forbes, there are around 200,000 super-rich people around the world.

The super-rich represent 0.003% of the world's population. They own 13% of the planet's wealth.

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Here comes the female factor. In a world whose rules are patriarchal, women are a minority among the super-rich population: about 40,000, according to Wealth-X. However, their number has grown in recent years.

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According to Knight Frank's 2019 Wealth Report, the city with the highest number of super-rich is London (4,944). Next would be Tokyo (3,732), then Singapore (3,598), and then New York (3,378).

Although Europe and the United States remain the privileged habitat for the super-rich, Asia is seeing most of the new super-rich emerge in recent years. Especially China.

This one may not surprise you: according to a Wealth-X study, the super-rich have golf as their preferred sports activity.

The super-rich are not so different from the rest of us in their recreational activities. According to Business Insider, people with very high purchasing power spend their money on travel to exotic places, dinners in good restaurants, luxury cars, wine, and clothes.

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An article in Forbes magazine identified five hotels as the favorites of the super-rich to enjoy: the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas (pictured), the Plaza Hotel in New York, the Mandarin Oriental in London, the Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc in Antibes, and the Raffles in Singapore.

The super-rich tend to have private jets. However, if for some reason they need to use commercial airlines, Forbes says, their favorites are Singapore Airlines, Qantas Airlines, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa Airlines, and Air France.

Rolls-Royce maintains its prestige among the super-rich. In fact, Autocar claims, the best super luxury car on the market is the Rolls-Royce Phantom. In its ranking for the super-rich the Mercedes-Maybach S650 comes next, then the Bentley Mulsane, Rolls-Royce Mullinan, Bentley Bentaiga, and Rolls-Royce Ghost.

According to Wealth-X, only 30% are super-rich because of an inheritance. The other 70% supposedly achieved their wealth by themselves.

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As we have mentioned, according to Forbes, in 2023 Elon Musk is the richest man on the planet. With more than 261 billion dollars, he has surpassed Jeff Bezos, who used to be number 1 in the ranking but is now number three below French businessman Bernard Arnault & family.

With the exception of those who have inherited their fortune, Forbes named Kylie Jenner the youngest "self-made" super-rich woman in history. She achieved her new worth of $1 billion in wealth at the age of 21. Even Facebook inventor Mark Zuckerberg entered the super-rich Olympus later than Kylie Jenner did. He was already 23 by that time.

Since the money of the super-rich is managed globally and at a high financial level, it often remains beyond the reach of national tax authorities. There is a worldwide debate about what the super-rich should pay in taxes. Some super-wealthy, like Warren Buffet (pictured) or George Soros, have publicly asked governments to raise their taxes.

We have already mentioned luxury cars or wine as products consumed by the super-rich. But when it comes to investing there are other options, like those included in Knight Frank's Wealth Report. An example is.... stamps. Some stamps are very expensive collector's items that may become more valuable over time. The most expensive stamp in the world, the Benjamin Franklin Z Grill, is valued at three million dollars.

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The Wealth Report also mentions jewelry as an investment of the super-rich. The most expensive stone purchased at an auction was the Pink Star, a diamond sold for a whopping $71.2 million at Sotheby's Hong Kong in 2017.

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In times of financial turmoil, gold continues to function as a safe-haven investment. The metal is not subject to inflation or possible damage like money or art. But it has lost some it its importance from the past.

The super-rich have a preference for islands where they can enjoy exclusivity. In some cases, they have their own island. If not, Business Insider reports after Candy GPS, their preferred destinations are Bermuda, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands, and Antigua.

The favorite places of the super-rich are often great temples of gastronomy. In a ranking by CNBC, the number 1 restaurant for the ultra-rich was the Alinea in Chicago. It is led by chef Grant Achatz, who is in the picture. The ranking also included Eleven Madison Park in New York City, and the Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy.