Luxury Habits Beyond the Ultra‑Rich

Spending patterns that look like 'luxury' (e.g., frequent $100 meals) are spreading to people far below the ultra‑rich, driven by income concentration, credit, and cultural signaling. That diffusion masks how much wealth is actually concentrated at the very top and alters public perceptions of prosperity and policy priorities. — If luxury consumption becomes commonplace among upper‑middle cohorts, political pressure for redistribution may soften even as inequality rises, changing the terrain for tax and welfare policy.