As it seems, there are not secret underground millionaires-only stores where the 1% does all its shopping. According to a new survey from Millionaire Corner, rich people are right there in line with you stocking up on $19 knockoff UGG moccasins at Target.
The wealth management news site recently polled 1,200 investors, asking them where they drop coin. Among respondents with a net worth of $5 million or higher, the top retail destinations were Home Depot, Lowe’s and Target—with 61, 44 and 41 percent reporting, respectively, that they like to shop there. Nearly half the well-heeled respondents also said they liked to shop at Costco, and a full third admitted to setting foot in Walmart.
On one hand, where else are even the rich going to get the practical things like laundry detergent and PVC pipe? Still, can’t us 99 percenters have anything to ourselves? I do understand because Target is what I imagine heaven to look like—only heaven would have better lighting. But people who can afford to buy more than a single tube of mascara at Saks should just enjoy that thrill and not try to get in on the bliss of a good Target sale.
Millionaire Corner president Cathy McBree of course points out that many wealthy people got that way by being smart and thrifty with their money. She also adds that the rich aren’t really spending their money anywhere, let alone high-end stores.
McBreen added that one reason the affluent aren’t throwing money around in high-end stores is because they’re not throwing money around, period. “When asked how much they spend on clothing annually, most of them will indicate that they spend less than $2,500 annually,” she relates. “How much can you buy at Neiman Marcus for that amount?
Clearly Millionaire Corner has not been polling the “Rich Private School Kids” of Snapchat. Or perhaps, like Hillary Clinton, the rich just don’t realize that they are, in fact, rich.
It would be interesting to see a breakdown of the average amount of money wealthy individuals spend at these stores. Because if even I can accidentally drop $120 on a single Target trip, I’d probably buy up the whole damn store if I was worth $5 million.
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