Gifting for the Super Rich
by Brian Daniel for James Edition
When the UHNW are looking for holiday gifts for friends and family, the name of the game is to find something unique and extraordinary. Because, after all, what do you get for someone who already has everything? As a former personal assistant to millionaires, billionaires, American aristocracy and royal families, I have been involved in arranging a number of once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Celebrity personal appearances, for example, are popular; and it's not just about having the money to pay for it.
Sure, a high-profile family may have an extra $1,000,000 to drop on an appearance from an A-list movie star, but it's just not that easy. Having the money to spend is only the first hurdle. Having the "connections" to the right people is an important component as well. I was once involved in arranging, for example, a visit from one of the most world-renowned movie stars in history. That took about six months of negotiating with the star's management to pull it off.
Other than private celebrity personal appearances, another popular gift for the person “who has everything” would be something experiential. Several high-end concierge companies now offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences like visiting the Titanic in a submarine, eating dinner on an iceberg, or touring the Louvre Museum privately – so you can be all alone with the Mona Lisa.
Sure, a high-profile family may have an extra $1,000,000 to drop on an appearance from an A-list movie star, but it's just not that easy. Having the money to spend is only the first hurdle. Having the "connections" to the right people is an important component as well. I was once involved in arranging, for example, a visit from one of the most world-renowned movie stars in history. That took about six months of negotiating with the star's management to pull it off.
Other than private celebrity personal appearances, another popular gift for the person “who has everything” would be something experiential. Several high-end concierge companies now offer once-in-a-lifetime experiences like visiting the Titanic in a submarine, eating dinner on an iceberg, or touring the Louvre Museum privately – so you can be all alone with the Mona Lisa.
What are the trends for billionaire gift shopping?
I can’t really say that there are trends each year, per se, because that would defeat the purpose. If someone else is doing it, then why copy. Some of the UHNW families like “bragging rights,” so having something unique or doing something extraordinary is really the ultimate goal.
Quite often billionaires will compete and try to outdo each other; so if one person has the world’s largest yacht, then others will try to build the next biggest one. Just like countries compete to have the world’s tallest building, some billionaires compete to have the biggest, best, or most expensive of something.
While it is true that we are in a new “Gilded Age” of conspicuous consumption, some billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are more concerned with legacy and are giving money away. The American Billionaires, by far, are leading the way with charity, but they are inspiring more and more billionaires in the European and Asian countries to follow suit.
Quite often billionaires will compete and try to outdo each other; so if one person has the world’s largest yacht, then others will try to build the next biggest one. Just like countries compete to have the world’s tallest building, some billionaires compete to have the biggest, best, or most expensive of something.
While it is true that we are in a new “Gilded Age” of conspicuous consumption, some billionaires like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are more concerned with legacy and are giving money away. The American Billionaires, by far, are leading the way with charity, but they are inspiring more and more billionaires in the European and Asian countries to follow suit.
This article first appeared in James Edition and updated in 2024