Imagine walking into a room full of businesspeople. Could you tell who the wealthiest person is just by looking at them? Twenty years ago, you might have looked for the most expensive suit, the biggest watch or the flashiest car parked outside. Nowadays, however, the richest person in the room might be the one wearing a plain T-shirt and a watch you do not recognise.
What is even harder to believe is that some wealthy people are now spending more to hide their wealth, not out of fear of the evil eye, but to stand out from the crowd. As luxury products become available to more people, they lose some of what makes them special.
This was explored in a 2025 study titled The Hidden Signals of Luxury, published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. The study surveyed 425 consumers who each spend more than $20,000 a year on luxury goods. It found that some prefer expensive products with simple designs and no obvious logos. Instead of showing off their wealth to everyone, they choose brands that only a small group of people can recognise.
What is interesting today is that people who always seem busy and have no time for anything somehow give off an aura of wealth, as if having no free time is a sign of success. This is not just my own observation. A 2017 study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that busy people are often seen as having a higher social status, as their busy schedules suggest success and being in high demand at work.
There are also other signs of wealth that I personally find more positive, as they reflect a shift from showing off to investing in ourselves and our quality of life — something that others may not even notice. This is what researcher Elizabeth Currid-Halkett explored in her 2017 book The Sum of Small Things, published by Princeton University Press. She discussed how some wealthy people are moving away from showing off their wealth and spending more on education, healthcare, good food and services that improve their lives and give their children better opportunities.
Perhaps the traditional symbols of wealth have not disappeared. Luxury cars, expensive jewellery and mansions still matter to many people, but the ways people show their wealth have become more varied. Some prefer to show it through travel and exclusive experiences; others hide it behind simple but expensive clothes, while some spend their money on things that nobody can see, such as education, healthcare and time with their families.
Perhaps the biggest irony is that many signs of wealth can now be bought, rented or even faked, while having the freedom to choose how we live our lives, without being limited by money or the expectations of others, may be a different kind of luxury worth thinking about.
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