My objective in presenting this data is to add some punch to the message of gross economic inequality that is a scourge on American society. Millions of working- and middle-class Americans should seriously think about these people and their big-spending ways. This Upper Class is doing everything they can to increase their obscene wealth at the expense of the vast majority of Americans. So, here goes - the following are the average amounts of money spent in 2005 by America's economic aristocracy, with the number of people reporting spending in a category given in parentheses:
Jewelry (588) $248,000
Watches (214) $147,000
Clothes and accessories (592) $117,000
Personal stays at hotels and resorts (432)$157,000
Events at hotels/resorts (485) $224,000
Spa services (381) $107,000
Cruises (136) $138,000
Villa/chalet rentals (183) $168,000
Experiential travel (109) $98,000
Home improvements (494) $542,000
Wines and spirits (563) $29,000
Luxury cars (104) $226,000
Fine art (200) $1,746,000
The report was careful to emphasize that all of its figures were probably too low, because the super-rich economic royalists are unlikely to know the specific amounts they spend on things. They just spend, without dwelling on costs.