This morning I (Steve Kraus) spoke at the Luxury Marketing Council of Palm Beach, Florida. Palm Beach is known as one of the last bastions of old wealth, and tremendous wealth as well. Several attendees were less interested in the “wealthy” (as we typically define it, a group having at least $500K+ in annual discretionary income, and averaging $8-10 million in assets). Instead, segments of $100 million or more in assets are often the target for luxury marketers in Palm Beach.
I saw the full breadth of Florida in one day. My speech in the morning was at the Polo Club in Palm Beach – from there I drove across the state to Tampa, passing through truly rural (and sometimes impoverished) areas.
Attendees at my Palm Beach presentation were seeing many of the trends we have seen elsewhere, particularly a heightening of the “stealth wealth” we have witnessed for several years. For lack of a better term, ostentatious displays of wealth seem particularly “gauche” these days. Some have called it “luxury shame, although I don’t think ‘shame’ quite captures the essence of the emotional response. Regardless of the subtleties, the phenomenon is certainly there. For example, one director of a well-known non-profit told me that donations are down slightly, but there’s been a real growth in anonymous donations, and they have cancelled their fund-raising galas as it just doesn’t seem the right time. Celebrations of wealth are difficult to maintain an enthusiasm for, even when they are well-intentioned and charity-related.
