The world's richest people spend $234 billion a year on luxury goods - here's how much they spend on yachts, private jets, wine, and clothes

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The world's richest people spend $234 billion a year on luxury goods - here's how much they spend on yachts, private jets, wine, and clothes

wealthy men

Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for Billionaire

If you had billions, what would you buy?

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  • Rich people spend money differently than the rest of us.
  • The value of $1 to the average person is the same as $1,355 to the typical billionaire.
  • The world's richest people spent $234 billion on luxury goods and services in 2016, with the largest share spent on travel, cars, and jewelry.

The world's richest people have incredible spending power.

In fact, the value of $1 to the average person is the same as $1,355 to the typical billionaire. For a person that rich, buying a new Tesla Model X (with Ludicrous Mode, of course) is like spending $100.

Rich people with at least $30 million - also known as ultra-high net worth - held about $30 trillion in combined assets as of 2016, according to data from Wealth-X and Camper and Nicholson featured in a recent report from Coldwell Banker.

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That wealth is held largely in private and public investments, while nearly 9% is parked in real estate and luxury assets. It may not sound like much, but that translates to about $2.7 trillion.

In 2016 alone, rich people spent a total of $234 billion on luxury goods and services, which includes private jets, clothing, jewelry, art, and cars.

Below, check out how much rich people spend annually in 12 categories.