A long time ago I read that to buy a new Ferrari there's a waiting list (unless you buy a lot of Ferraris then you kinda get bumped up). Which bummed me out 'cause if I ever have the means to procure one, I don't want to have to wait for my 599GTB Fiorano.
Well, the Wall Street Journal "Wealth Report" blog reports (free, I think) that it's getting worse:
[T]he waiting list for a new Ferrari has grown from the standard 12 months to 24 months or more in Hong Kong, the U.S., Australia and England.
The reason: huge demand for Ferraris among the new rich in Russia, the Middle East and Asia.
And apparently wondrous cars (that most of those nouveau riche wouldn't even know how to take an apex correctly with) aren't the only baubles of wealth that are in a shortage due to a millionaire glut. ("Millionaire"? These days it would take tens of millions--more likely hundreds of millions--to live the lifestyle of what used to be called a "millionaire.")
Try commissioning a new 250-foot yacht these days. You’ll find yourself on a waiting list of at least a year, sometimes two. Want to buy one of Gulfstream’s new top-of-the-line G550s? Prepare to wait at least a year.
So the solution. The Wealth Report offers:
[T]he rich have to realize that the economic forces that are making them rich — liquidity, globalization, technology — are making lots of other people rich too. And as more and more people get rich, they can’t all have the same luxury goods. Or if they can, they’re no longer luxury goods.
Like, oh, Mercedes. A fate Ferrari doesn't want to suffer, so they hold production down: only 5,700 cars this year.
So how do you stand out in a crowd of billionaires? Dunno. Buy a national monument?
Meanwhile, I guess I'll just have to settle on a Corvette Z06 (yellow). Not the cachet of a Ferrari, but faster.
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