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If you’ve managed to accumulate some wealth, showing it off can often be tempting. After all, what’s the point of success if you can’t indulge in it?
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However, a growing cohort of ultra-wealthy Americans are trying to conceal their wealth rather than flaunt it openly.
Here are five reasons why stealth wealth or quiet luxury lifestyles are gaining traction and why you should consider concealing the true extent of your fortune.
Privacy and security
Being publicly wealthy could make you a prime target for thieves, fraudsters and criminal gangs. A study by Silicon Valley Bank found that identity theft is 43% more common among the wealthy.
Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton, as well as top NBA and NHL professional athletes have been targeted by criminal gangs. Even Warren Buffett once narrowly avoided a kidnapping in the 1980s.
With this in mind, downplaying your fortune could be the best way to safeguard your privacy and protect your family.
Another effective way to safeguard your wealth is by diversifying your investments across a range of asset classes. Gold, in particular, is considered a classic safe haven. During times of economic uncertainty, investors tend to flock to the asset — since it isn’t tied to any currency or economy.
One way to invest in gold that also provides significant tax advantages is to open a gold IRA with the help of Priority Gold.
Priority Gold is an industry leader in precious metals, offering physical delivery of gold and silver. Plus, they have an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau.
If you want to convert an existing IRA into a gold IRA, Priority Gold offers a 100% free rollover, as well as free shipping and free storage for up to five years. Qualifying purchases can also receive up to $10,000 in free silver.
Broken relationships
Money undeniably affects personal relationships, particularly when loved ones are not on the same page about finances.
While it’s generally unwise to conceal your financial situation from a legal spouse, being more discreet with new friends or certain family members might be beneficial. According to a 2023 finance survey, around 57% of Americans admit to feeling envious of someone else’s financial status.
In some cases, keeping details about your income and wealth private could actually help preserve harmony in your relationships.
That said, it’s even more important to have a will and a revocable living trust in place. This creates clarity and removes the guesswork around how your assets will be distributed after you’re gone.
However, getting started can feel overwhelming. That’s probably why over 72% of Americans lack a valid will, according to Planned Giving.
With Ethos Will & Trust, you can create both a will and living trust online from the comfort of your own home in as little as 20 minutes. All documents created on the platform are vetted by experienced estate-planning attorneys — giving you complete peace of mind.
You can also make unlimited updates forever as your life changes, helping you protect your family without the price of an attorney.
You can create a will starting at just $149 and a living trust starting at just $349. And if you’re not happy with the results, you’re covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Read more: Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich in America — and that ‘anyone’ can do it
Avoid lifestyle creep
One of the downsides of flaunting wealth is that it can be hard to stop. After purchasing a luxury home or fancy car, scaling back might feel humiliating, creating pressure to maintain that lifestyle.
In effect, you’ve locked yourself into golden handcuffs — trapped by the need to keep up appearances. A smart way to avoid this kind of lifestyle creep is to live below your means and work with a financial advisor. A trusted, pre-screened financial advisor can help you develop a solid retirement strategy.
According to research by Vanguard, people who work with financial advisors see a 3% increase in net returns. This difference can be substantial over time. For instance, if you start with a $50,000 portfolio, you could potentially retire with an extra $1.3 million after 30 years of professional guidance.
Finding the right advisor for your needs is simple with Advisor.com. Their platform connects you with experienced, qualified financial professionals in your area who offer personalized guidance and support in managing market fluctuations and optimizing your portfolio mix.
Social isolation
Wealth can be isolating, according to therapists surveyed by CNBC.
“They live in such a rarified place of the top 1% where there are very few people who share the realities of their world,” said Paul Hokemeyer, the founding principal of Drayson Mews clinic.
Living a modest lifestyle allows you to stay grounded, nurture meaningful relationships, and maintain a sense of humility and relatability. As a high-net-worth individual, this doesn’t mean denying yourself luxury; it simply shifts the focus. Instead of indulging in overt displays of wealth, you might choose quiet luxuries, such as investing in fine art, over more conspicuous spending.
Art investment has emerged as a substantial asset class. The global art market size was valued at $552.03 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $585.98 billion in 2025, according to Straits Research.
In the past, investing in fine art often required shelling out millions for a prized painting, making it challenging even for the ultra-wealthy.
Now platforms like Masterworks have opened the door to art investing, with over one million members now using the service.
Here’s how it works: Instead of spending millions on a single painting, you buy fractional shares of blue-chip paintings by iconic artists such as Pablo Picasso, Basquiat and Banksy.
All that’s left is to choose the number of shares you want to buy, and Masterworks handles everything else for you.
See important Regulation A disclosures at Masterworks.com/cd.
Better negotiating power
Whether you’re hiring a contractor, shopping for luxury goods or making a major real estate purchase, appearing wealthy can actually work against you. Sellers often assume you can afford to pay more, reducing your chances of scoring a deal or meaningful discount.
This approach — adjusting prices based on how much the seller believes a buyer can afford — is called price discrimination, a well-known concept in economics.
For that reason, keeping your financial status under wraps may offer a strategic advantage, helping you negotiate more effectively and secure fairer, more competitive pricing.
As a high-net-worth individual, maintaining discretion about your financial status not only enhances your ability to negotiate effectively and secure fairer prices but also opens doors to exclusive, institutional-grade investment opportunities.
As a high-net-worth individual, keeping your financial status discreet not only helps you negotiate more effectively and achieve fairer prices but also grants you access to exclusive, institutional-grade investments in real estate.
Real estate can be a solid way to build generational wealth. For the 12th year in a row, Americans have ranked real estate as the best long-term investment in 2024, according to a new Gallup survey.
New investing platforms are making it easier than ever to tap into the real estate market.
For instance, Homeshares gives access to the $36 trillion U.S. home equity market, which has historically been the exclusive playground of institutional investors. With a minimum investment of $25,000, investors can gain direct exposure to hundreds of owner-occupied homes in top U.S. cities through their U.S. Home Equity Fund — without the headaches of buying, owning or managing property.
With risk-adjusted target returns ranging from 14% to 17%, this approach provides an effective, hands-off way to invest in owner-occupied residential properties across regional markets.
Another avenue is commercial real estate. With the help of First National Realty Partners (FNRP), you can invest in necessity-based commercial properties and potentially create lasting wealth for yourself and your family.
FNRP specializes in grocery-anchored retail centers leased by major national brands like Walmart, Kroger and Whole Foods, providing investors with potential steady cash flow through rental income and long-term appreciation.
As an accredited investor with a minimum of $50,000, you can access high-quality real estate investments without the hassles of property management.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
