Why living like a billionaire is more expensive than ever

From Gucci loafers to opera tickets to sailing yachts, here’s how much more expensive it’s gotten to live like the ultrawealthy.

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Every year it gets pricier to live rich. This past year is no different. For more than four decades, Forbes has been tracking a basket of ultraluxe items and services–including thoroughbred yearlings, Chanel handbags and custom floral arrangements for your home–to create our Cost of Living Extremely Well Index (CLEWI). This year CLEWI increased by 4.7%, a bit below last year’s 4.9% bump and notably less than the 10.1% jump in 2021. Inflation for the super-rich is easing. Still, CLEWI outpaced the Consumer Price Index, which measures the broader economy and eased to 2.7% this year.

Though CLEWI is a barometer of the top end of the market, prices for luxury goods are affected by similar forces as the rest of the economy, such as higher raw materials and labor costs. A 60-foot Oyster 595 sailing yacht now comes with a price tag of $3.9 million, up 25% from last year. A week at California’s Golden Door spa runs 8.4% more and a pair of Gucci loafers will set you back $1,050, a 14% jump. But not everything is more expensive this year. A kilo of Ossetra caviar from Petrossian and a 45-minute session with an Upper East Side psychiatrist haven’t budged, at $12,980 and $500, respectively.

Of course, while rising prices are a concern for ordinary Americans, members of The Forbes 400 list of richest Americans don’t have such concerns. Their collective net worth hit $5.4 trillion this year—a 20% increase over last year, making CLEWI’s 4.7% increase easily affordable for this lucky bunch.

All prices are in USD.

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Tracking The Cost Of The Luxe Life

For the more than forty years Forbes has tracked CLEWI, the price of the super-rich life has outpaced inflation. But it has also grown at a much slower rate than the aggregate net worth of The Forbes 400 richest Americans.

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ENTERTAINMENT AND TOYS

+5.4%

Opera

$5,940 | 1%

Two tickets to six Saturday night performances, Center Parterre Premium seats, Metropolitan Opera, New York

Piano

$223,900 | 3%

Ebonized Model D concert-grand, Steinway & Sons, New York

Motor Yacht

$63,000,000 | 0%

Amels 60, Netherlands

Sailing Yacht

$3,890,000 | 24.9%

Oyster 595, United Kingdom

Sporting Shotguns

$371,289 | 8.9%

Matching pair of James Purdey & Sons 12-bore side-by-side, Griffin & Howe, New Jersey

Thoroughbred

$528,194 | 2.1%

Average price for a yearling, Keeneland September sale, Kentucky

Train set

$250 | 0%

Thomas and Friends Lionel Christmas set with Bluetooth, North Carolina

Cigars

$1,112.50 | 9.1%

25 Davidoff Dominican Aniversario Double ‘R’, New York

Magazine

$20 | 0%

Forbes, one-year subscription, New York

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FASHION

+8%

Necklace

$122,000 | 2.5%

Vintage Alhambra long necklace, 18K, white gold, diamond, Van Cleef & Arpels, France

Shoes

$7,000 | 7.4%

Men’s black calf wing tips, custom-made, John Lobb, United Kingdom

Dress

$3,700 | New

Black wool crepe, Gucci, Italy

Dress Shirts

$11,940 | 19.2%

12 cotton bespoke, Turnbull & Asser, United Kingdom

Loafers

$1,050 | 14.1%

Horsebit leather, Gucci, Italy

Perfume

$370 | 4.2%

Chanel No. 5, 1 oz, France

Watch

$28,600 | 2.9%

Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet, stainless steel case and bracelet, Switzerland

Handbag

$10,800 | 5.9%

Chanel Maxi 2.55 black, aged calfskin, gold-tone metal, France

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FOOD

+2.1%

Catered Dinner

$13,320 | 0%

40-person 3-course meal from Ridgewells, Maryland

Caviar

$12,980 | 0%

Kilo of Petrossian Special Reserve Ossetra, California & New York

Champagne

$2,940 | 5.3%

Case of 2008 Krug Vintage Brut, Astor Wine & Spirits, New York

Chateaubriand

$1,120 | 0%

7 pounds of tenderloin, Lobel’s, New York

Dinner

$505 | 5.2%

Le Bernadin tasting menu, per person, with wine pairing (excluding tip), New York

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HOUSEHOLD

+4.9%

Flowers

$11,750 | 3.1%

In season arrangements for 6 rooms per month, Jerome Florists, New York

Sheets

$3,700 | 0%

Queen-size cotton sateen Ultimate, Frette, Italy

Sterling Silver Flatware

$14,400 | 3%

Acorn pattern, 5-piece dinner set for 12, Georg Jensen, Denmark

Sauna

$25,550 | 5.2%

8-by-10-by-7 feet, eight-person in Nordic Spruce, Finnleo Sauna, Minnesota

Swimming Pool

$5,474,000 | 15%

Olympic-size, Mission Pools, California

Tennis Court

$65,685 | 3%

Har Tru (crushed stone), Putnam Tennis and Recreation, Connecticut

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SERVICES

+2.8%

School

$60,895 | 1.5%

Year’s tuition, room and board at Groton School, Massachusetts

University

$87,0686 | 4.2%

Year’s tuition, room & board, fees and insurance at Harvard, Massachusetts

Face-lift

$100,000 | 0%

Experienced plastic surgeon, New York

Estate Manager

$400,000 | 5.3%

Minimum salary San Francisco area, British American Household Staffing, New York

Psychiatrist

$500 | 0%

45 minutes Upper East Side doctor, New York

Lawyer

$1,250 | 0%

Hourly fee for estate planning by partner, Schlesinger Lazetera & Auchincloss, New York

Spa

$12,950 | 8.4%

Coed weekly rate, Golden Door, California

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TRAVEL

+2%

Hotel

$9,500 | NEW

New York Skyline Suite, Mandarin Oriental, New York

Airplane

$78,000,000 | 4%

Global 7500, standard equipment, certified, Bombardier, Canada

Concierge

$180,000 | 0

One-year bespoke membership, Pure Entertainment Group, Canada

Car

$595,000 | 2.1%

2025 Rolls Royce Phantom with extended wheelbase, United Kingdom

Travel Bag

$2,620 | 1.9%

Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandouliere 55 with strap, France

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