Status Update

Technology means life’s luxuries have never been more accessible to the masses. So what’s a true status symbol for the super rich in 2017? GeorGina Safe asks the experts

In an era when anyone can rent a private island for their next holiday on Airbnb, a Vionnet gown for a night via Armarium.com or a chauffeur-driven Rolls courtesy of UberLux — with one click of the mouse — it’s fair to say the goalposts have moved, luxury-wise. Thanks to technology, you no longer have to be a billionaire to act like one — for a few hours, at least.

So where does that leave the genuine article — especially now there are so many more of them (hello, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel) who have made their fortunes through technology?

You could say the bar of “normal” has been raised for the super rich. Why buy a Maserati to drive to your bolthole on the Mornington Peninsula when you can bag a SpaceX spacecraft to fly to your private retreat on Mars? The sky is literally no limit when it comes to living large.

But don’t for a moment think you need to flaunt it as you spend it: conspicuous consumption is out and discretion is the new black. ‘Authenticity’ and ‘self-actualisation’ are the buzz words, and health and happiness the new status symbols — but that doesn’t mean you can’t also indulge in the odd triple-Michelin-star restaurant meal or collectable handbag along the way. The aim of the game now is extraordinary experiences that help you become an extraordinary person, because, to quote the adventurer and writer Ernest Hemingway, “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow men. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.”

We asked four luxury connoisseurs to gaze into their crystal (obviously) balls and define what a true status symbol equates to in 2017.

AARON SIMPSON

Co-founder of seriously luxe concierge service Quintessentially, whose latest project is the world’s biggest superyacht