economie

8 weird status symbols across the country, from $150,000 dogs to $10 tomatoes

August 4, 20240
Expensive tomatoes are, apparently, a thing.

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If a $10 tomato sounds absurd, why not stop there? How about $29 guacamole, $35 chicken tenders, or $30 berries? How about $120 per pound for lobster salad, or tuna salad for $35 a pound?

These are all prices you might pay if you visit the Hamptons this summer, according to a recent report in The Wall Street Journal on the expensive goods sold at the favorite getaway spot for New York City elites.

$20 smoothies
Expensive martinis, some ranging upwards of $40 each, are a new symbol of loud luxury.

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Among the latest loud luxury trends is the $40 martini, which has been popping up in cities like San Francisco and New York for bar patrons who want to flex their spending power.

Some maximalist martinis are even served with fancy accouterments and presentation, like the $52 martini at Dante in Beverly Hills, which comes on a pretty silver tray alongside some caviar and blini. [← the old martini example I had here is no longer served (they said it was a winter drink) so I updated to this one, which I tried]

$540 moisturizer
Apparently this tool for picking up dust can set you back more than a grand.

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BI’s reviews team dubbed Dyson vacuums “a household status symbol for those who love to keep their home spic and span” — and the company’s $1,049 Dyson Gen5outsize model may be the creme de la creme, according to social media influencers.

The cordless vacuum boasts a laser to reveal hidden debris and has a display that tells you how much dust you’ve removed from your home. Lifestyle TikTokers have racked up millions of views showing it off — it’s still just for picking up dirt, though.

$6,000 sleepaway camps for kids
A $150,000 Svallin-trained protection dog.

Sweetgrass Studios / Svallin

You’ve probably heard of people spending a few thousand dollars on designer dog breeds, but how about a few hundred thousand?

Folks are shelling out $150,000 for guard dogs bred and trained by Svalinn, a Montana-based company that told BI’s Katie Notopoulos they actually expect the price for their dogs to go up.

The so-called “protection dogs” are a mix of German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, and Belgian Malinois, and they’ve become a new status symbol for the ultrawealthy, according to a recent New York Magazine piece.

$200,000 secondary passports
Americans are increasingly seeking secondary passports amid election concerns and rising antisemitism.

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There has been a surge of Americans seeking secondary passports, BI previously reported — and the service comes with a hefty price tag.

The cost varies by country, with the Caribbean carrying the lowest cost at $200,000 per applicant, according to Judi Galst, who manages the New York office of the global citizenship firm Henley & Partners.

Other countries, like Malta, require a 750,000 Euro donation to the local economy, so the fees for a couple to have the option to relocate there “can be at a million plus,” Galst previously told BI.