http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdecarlo/2011/09/26/cost-of-living-extremely-well-index-the-price-of-living-large-is-up/Cost of Living Extremely Well Index: The Price of Living Large Is Up
The goods and services tracked in this article are not life’s essentials–even for the ultra-wealthy. Home, family, health and one’s occupation are far more important. Yet our tracking of the price fluctuations of items that are affordable only to those with very substantial means provides a useful barometer of economic forces at the top end of the market.
The rich are spending more on luxury goods these days. According to the research service MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, the luxury category has posted 10 consecutive months of sales increases compared with the year earlier. In July, the luxury segment had an 11.6 percent increase, the biggest monthly gain in more than a year. Luxury good prices are on the rise as the Forbes Cost of Living Extremely Well Index (CLEWI) is up 4.5%, while the Consumer Price Index is up 3.6% over the same time period. The % increase in the price of our basket of goods is the highest since 2008.
In 1976, we created the index, which is based on a selection of 40 goods and services reserved to very rich customers. This index is set to 100 in 1976 and had been continuously increasing since then.