The new rich have developed their own annual migration pattern. While the wealthy of the past traveled mainly for leisure and climate — the ocean breezes of New England in the summer and the sunny golf greens of Palm Beach in winter — today’s rich crisscross the globe almost monthly in search of access, entertainment and intellectual status. Traveling in flocks of private G5 and Citation jets, they have created a new social calendar of economic conferences, entertainment events, exclusive parties and art auctions. And in the separate nation of the rich, citizens no longer speak in terms of countries. They simply say, “We’ll see you at Art Basel.”
An analysis using data from NetJets, the private-jet company, and studies from Wealth-X, the wealth research firm, offers a look at the annual flight path of this elite traveling circus. It starts in January in St. Bart’s, with the New Year’s Eve party thrown by the oil billionaire Roman Abramovich on his 70-acre estate, with top celebrities and business and media titans in attendance, and performances by bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After that, it’s on to the World Economic Forum in Davos, then the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, where this year politicians like Tony Blair and Wesley Clark, along with billionaire hedge fund and private equity chiefs like Ken Griffin and Leon Black, chatted about the global economy.
More here – The New York Times
Just let me grab my calendar …