An IMGlobalWealth.com News and Editorial Feature
Luxury used to be simple to spot. It had a label, a showroom, a waiting list, perhaps a discreetly heavy bag. Those signals still matter. But among the affluent, a quieter status symbol is gaining ground: the ability to arrange life beautifully.
“It is a way of structuring life across borders (…)
A second residence, a good airport, a safe street, reliable healthcare, international schools, a civilised tax environment, restaurants, culture and climate now sit in the same mental folder”
The numbers suggest a market in transition, not decline. Bain expects personal luxury goods to grow by 2 – 4% in 2026, to €365–373bn, after two leaner years. Yet the same research points to a telling imbalance: experiences are still outpacing things. The handbag is not dead. It is merely being asked to compete with the villa, the retreat, the family holiday and the table one cannot easily book.
“affluent families are increasingly building “sovereign portfolios” of residence rights, citizenships, investments and business interests”
That shift is sharpened by the growth of wealth itself. Capgemini estimates that global high-net-worth wealth rose 8.7% in 2025 to $98.3trn, while the millionaire population grew by nearly 2m to 25.3m. This is the audience most able to turn pleasure into strategy. For mobile citizens, luxury is not a purchase category. It is a way of structuring life across borders.
A second residence, a good airport, a safe street, reliable healthcare, international schools, a civilised tax environment, restaurants, culture and climate now sit in the same mental folder. Henley & Partners says affluent families are increasingly building “sovereign portfolios” of residence rights, citizenships, investments and business interests. Its 2026 framework even weighs quality of life alongside tax treatment, rule of law, family inclusion and geopolitical stability. In short, lifestyle has become infrastructure.
The travel industry is catching the same current. American Express Travel says 40% of global respondents plan to spend more on travel in 2026, while 74% of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed describe travel as a non-negotiable expense. It also found that 76% of travellers believe skills gained on a trip outlast material souvenirs. That is a neat expression of the new luxury: not owning more, but returning changed.
Then there is “inheritourism”. Hilton reports that 66% of travellers say their parents influenced their hotel choices, 73% say their travel style was shaped by them, and 44% of parents travelling with adult children pay for the entire trip. Wealth transfer, then, is not only happening in law firms and family offices. It is also happening over long lunches, in hotel lobbies and on multi-generational holidays.
This is why the subject matters beyond travel. UBS notes that more than $83trn is expected to pass between generations over the next two to three decades. The next generation will inherit assets, but also habits, loyalties and ideas of what makes life worth living.
Luxury’s future, therefore, may belong less to those selling expensive objects than to those selling ease, memory, safety, taste, mobility and time. The richest consumers are not necessarily spending less. They are becoming harder to impress.
