A rise in discreet wealth is creating a new type of status symbol, and the elite are spending their money on 5 key lifestyle choices to keep up with it

• Rich people are investing less in material goods and increasingly in habits and lifestyle choices as a new way to signify their status.
• This rise in discreet wealth is part of a turn toward inconspicuous consumption.
• The rich are conveying their wealth subtly through five investments: education, business, health and wellness, customization, and privacy and security.

Luxury goods are out, and luxury lifestyles are in.

Intangible concepts like health and wellness are replacing Louis Vuitton handbags and high-end education is replacing a fancy set of wheels. 

That's because the ultra-rich are investing in immaterial means instead of material goods as a new way to signify their status. It's a result of the rise in "inconspicuous consumption," a term coined by Elizabeth Currid-Halkett in her book "The Sum of Small Things: A Theory of an Aspirational Class."

In an article last year, Currid-Halkett wrote that it's a contrast to how the elite used to spend their money — through conspicuous consumption, which refers to the concept of using material items to convey social status.

"This new elite cements its status through prizing knowledge and building cultural capital, not to mention the spending habits that go with it," Currid-Halkett wrote, adding, "Eschewing an overt materialism, the rich are investing significantly more in education, retirement, and health — all of which are immaterial, yet cost many times more than any handbag a middle-income consumer might buy."

See what forms of discreet wealth are becoming new status symbols.

SEE ALSO: From hiding their mansions on Google Maps to building $500,000 panic rooms, rich people are sparing no expense to keep their lives private and secure

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Education

According to Currid-Halkett, displays of  knowledge — such as referring to New Yorker articles — expresses cultural capital, giving a person leverage to climb the social ladder and make connections.

But it's not just knowledge for themselves that people are investing in: Parents are trying to reproduce their class position for their children, J.C. Pan wrote in The New Republic.

When it comes to education, they're equipping their children "with every educational advantage, from high-end preschools to SAT tutors to Ivy League tuition," he wrote. "In 2014, the top 1% spent 860% more than the national average on education."

Consider the rich families who are spending millions to live within walking distance of the country's best public elementary and secondary schools, or those paying as much as $60,000 for a college tour via private jet— they make such an investment in education in hopes of setting their children up for a successful, well-connected future.

Health and wellness

Vogue reported in 2015 that health and wellness had become a luxury status symbol.

The elite are investing in their well-being in a variety of ways: committing to pricey gym memberships like Manhattan's $900-a-month Performix House and the $200-plus membership gym chain, Equinox; eating healthy, shopping for organic foods in pricey stores like Whole Foods, and drinking $10 green juices; opting for apartments with wellness amenities; and taking wellness inspired escapes, like the $10,000-per-week Golden Door spa retreat.

"Wellness is increasingly regarded as a modern embodiment of luxury, and accordingly, an array of spas and studios offering treatments like cryofacials, weeklong retreats, and vitamin IV drips are delivering those experiences,"Business Insider's Lina Batarags wrote.

Parents are even buying boutique healthcare for their kids, Pan reported.

In an analysis last year, the Financial Times columnist Simon Kuper wrote that "the cultural elite splurges on exercise, because it thinks that bodies (like food) should look natural."

"The thin, toned body expresses this class's worldview: Even leisure must be productive," Kuper continued. "Instead of trawling shopping malls, class members narrate their family hikes on Facebook."

Travel

The ability to invest in travel is an overarching status signifier — and it's a multi-layered expression that extends far beyond the classic idea of a vacation.

Nowadays, the super-rich are taking months-long, multimillion-dollar trips to recharge or reconnect with family, Business Insider's Katie Warren previously reported. Often, it's because they're burnt out from overworking. Luxury travel agency Original Travel saw these sabbatical trips spike in 2018. Many clients are "looking for an escape," co-founder Tom Barber told the Guardian.

"For others, it's 'braggability,'" Barber said. "They want to use their money to open doors that normal people can't and to tell their friends all about it."

These trips range from extreme adventures to luxurious getaways, Warren reported. They can also take shape in wellness escapes and educational excursions. Rich parents take their kids on enriching trips to the Galápagos, according to Pan, thereby imbuing their travel with a subtly educational note.

And, on a not-so-discreet note, plenty of top-dollar, high-end boutique hotels are designed, as Business Insider previously reported, specifically to be photogenic — because taking to Instagram is the perfect way to display the access that wealth can buy.