There’s long been a theory that certain parts of the luxury goods market are recession proof. I guess not:
Britain’s millionaires, who more than doubled in number between 2003 and 2007 as property prices soared, have seen their wealth drop by almost a quarter in the past year, the CEBR said.
“It looks as though the experience for millionaires is relatively similar to that chronicled by the Sunday Times for their rich list, which showed a fall in the number of U.K. billionaires this year from 75 in 2008 to 43 this year,” the CEBR said.
The newspaper showed a 38 percent drop in the wealth of those on the list of the nation’s richest individuals, larger than the 24 percent decline estimated for the average U.K. millionaire in today’s report, the CEBR said.
The wealth squeeze has also hurt luxury goods sales. The CEBR cited reports saying that sales of Bentley Motors Ltd. cars fell by two-thirds so far this year, while Bayerische Motoren Werke AG car sales are down 35 percent.
But that’s just the UK: I’m sure the Galt’s Gulch Bentley dealership is doing just fine.