A kilo of caviar, a Rolls Royce Phantom: Forbes has tracked the cost of the good life for 40 years.
It costs a lot to live rich—and it’s only gotten pricier over the past year. Forbes has been keeping tabs on the cost of the good life since 1982, tracking a basket of ultra luxury items—think thoroughbred yearlings, custom-made shoes and an estate manager to oversee multiple homes—to compute our Cost Of Living Extremely Well Index (CLEWI).
This year, CLEWI is up 10.1%, the biggest jump since 2008. That’s nearly twice as much as the U. S. Consumer Price Index, which rose 5.3% over the same period. Pushing up prices are the usual suspects: increased demand (despite the pandemic), the rising costs of raw materials and manufactured goods, and labor shortages (thanks to the pandemic). It’s a combination of all three factors that drove up the cost of an Olympic pool more than 50%, from just over $2.1 million in 2020 to $3.25 million today. Not that The Forbes 400 members have anything to worry about— their $11.1 billion average net worth is up 39% this year, more than triple the increase in prices.
HOW THE COST OF LIVING EXTREMELY WELL INDEX COMPARES
Over the four decades Forbes has tracked the CLEWI, the price of the ultra-luxe life has outpaced inflation but grown much slower than The Forbes 400 members’ fortunes.
Entertainment and Toys +6.1%
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Jack Vartoogian/Getty Images
OPERA
$5,760/0%
Two tickets, six Saturday night performances, Center Parterre Premium seats, Metropolitan Opera, New York
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PIANO
$187,100/+3.0%
Ebonized Model D concert-grand, Steinway & Sons, New York
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MOTOR YACHT
$6,855,000/+11.2%
Viking Yacht 75, New Jersey
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Assistance to survive, bailout, life rescue equipment and survival gear concept with lifebuoy isolated on white background with clipping path cutout
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SAILING YACHT
$3,400,000/+30.8%
Oyster 595, United Kingdom
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SPORTING SHOTGUNS
$336,620/+3.9%
Match pair of James Purdey & Sons 12-bore side-by-side, Griffin & Howe, New Jersey
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Four thoroughbred racehorses standing in line by a fence
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THOROUGHBRED
$421,444/NEW
Average price for a yearling, Keeneland September sale, Kentucky
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TRAIN SET
$200.00/0%
Thomas and Friends Lionel Christmas set with Bluetooth, North Carolina
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CIGARS
$877.50/0%
25 Davidoff Dominican Aniversario Double ‘R’, New York
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MAGAZINE
$20.00/0%
Forbes, one-year subscription, New York
Fashion/+10.8%
(SECTION 2 OF 6)
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Female mannequins with stand retro style. 3D graphic
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COAT
$87,000/0%
Russian sable, Nieman Marcus
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SHOES
$6,803.40/+12.8%
Men’s black calf wing tips, custom-made, John Lobb, United Kingdom
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DRESS
$2,7000/0%
Black jersey with horsebit trim, Gucci, Italy
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SHIRTS
$9,360/+12.2%
12 cotton bespoke, Turnbull & Asser, United Kingdom
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LOAFERS
$790/+5.3%
Horsebit leather, Gucci, Italy
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PERFUME
$340/NEW
No. 5, 1 oz, Chanel, France
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WATCH
$23,900/+34.3%
Royal Oak by Audemars Piguet, stainless steel case and bracelet, Switzerland
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HANDBAG
$9,050/NEW
Hermes 2002, calfskin leather, 20 cm, France
Food & Drink/+12.2%
(SECTION 3 OF 6)
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Chefs cook spaghetti in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant.
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CATERED DINNER
$9,800/+16.7%
40-person meal from Ridgewells, Maryland
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CAVIAR
$12,900/0%
Kilo of Petrossian Special Reserve Ossetra, California & New York
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The street in the Champagne region in France where the monk, Dom Pierre Perignon (1668-1715), a Benedictine monk, lived. He is now recognised as making a significant and important contribution to the production and quality of the Champagne making process as it is produced today.
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CHAMPAGNE
$2,639.40/NEW
Case of 2010 Dom Perignon, Sherry-Lehmann, New York
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CHATEAUBRIAND
$910/+30%
7 pounds of tenderloin, Lobel’s, New York $629.86 / 8.4%
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DINNER
$413/+2.1%
La Tour d’Argent tasting menu, per person, excluding wine and tip, France
Household/+15.7%
(SECTION 4 OF 6)
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Buttercups are herbaceous plants, annual or perennial, of the family Renonculaceae. The name “Golden Button” is often attributed to several species of buttercups with yellow flowers.
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FLOWERS
$9,262/+10%
In season arrangements for 6 rooms per month, Jerome Florists, New York
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SHEETS
$3,200/+8.5%
Queen-size cotton sateen Ultimate, Frette, Italy
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STERLING SILVER FLATWARE
$13,980/NEW
Acorn pattern, 5-piece dinner set for 12, Georg Jensen, Denmark
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SAUNA
$19,500/+2.7%
8-by-10-by-7 feet, eight-person in Nordic Spruce, Finnleo Sauna, Minnesota
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Set of three 3D rendering Pink Flamingo inflatable pool ring in different angles isolated on white background
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SWIMMING POOL
$3,250,000/+52.9%
Olympic-size, Mission Pools, California
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TENNIS COURT
$58,960/+4.4%
Har Tru (crushed stone), Putnam Tennis and Recreation, Connecticut
Services/+11.5%
(SECTION 5 OF 6)
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One stylish bright fashionable yellow open backpack isolated on white. Concept school, accessory.
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SCHOOL
$59,140/+1.5%
Year’s tuition, room and board at Groton School, Massachusetts
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UNIVERSITY
$78,568/+3.0%
Year’s tuition, room & board, fees and insurance at Harvard, Massachusetts
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© 2021 Jay Radhakrishnan
FACE-LIFT
$32,500/+51.2%
Experienced plastic surgeon, New York
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ESTATE MANAGER
$380,000/NEW
Minimum salary San Francisco area, British American Household Staffing, New York
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PSYCHIATRIST
$450/+12.5%
45 minutes Upper East Side doctor, New York
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LAWYER
$1,250/0%
Hourly fee for estate planning by partner, Schlesinger Lazetera & Auchincloss, New York
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Pyramid of the stones isolated on white background
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SPA
$9,950/+1.0%
Coed weekly rate, Golden Door, California
Travel/+4.1%
(SECTION 6 OF 6)
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English singer-songwriter David Bowie (1947-2016) at the Carlyle Hotel for a press conference.
Art Zelin/Getty Images
HOTEL
$4,850/NEW
One-bedroom suite, Central Park views, The Carlyle, New York
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AIRPLANE
$9,900,000/0%
Learjet 75 Liberty, Bombardier, Canada
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CONCIERGE
$180,000/NEW
One-year bespoke membership, Pure Entertainment Group, Canada
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CAR
$545,000/+1.9%
2021 Rolls Royce Phantom with extended wheelbase, United Kingdom
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TRAVEL BAG
$2,100/+10.5%
Louis Vuitton Keepall Bandouliere 55 with strap, France
Image Credits: Getty Images/Jack Vartoogian/Vittoriano Rastelli/Corbis/Art Zelin
