People who’ve never had real money think wealth is loud. People who have it learn that wealth is quiet. People who’ve never ...

Labubu dolls and Stanley cups are replacing luxury cars and designer clothes as status symbols, and that says something about ...

The ultra-rich are turning to new ways to signal wealth as luxury dupes, weight-loss drugs, and cosmetic procedures become more accessible to the general public. Now, new ways of flaunting wealth have ...

What a difference a few decades makes. Elon Musk, the wealthiest person on the planet, portrays himself as a workaholic, working 80 to 100 hours per week. Celebrities brag about their busyness and ...

Digital flex matters just as much as physical ones these days. Crypto wallets have completely transformed - they're not just storage solutions anymore but full-on status symbols. The younger ...

From Trader Joe's totes to Starbucks Bearista cups, low-end items carry more meaning in the affordability era.

Travel has overtaken luxury vehicles as the primary symbol of having "made it" among mass affluent Americans, according to the Forbes Research 2025 Mass Affluent Survey. We polled more than 1,000 ...

Did you ever meet someone who seemed to fall for almost any little trick in the book? In the world of status symbols, that seems to be the case all the time. Most of us average people tend to snap up ...

While status symbols have almost always been characterized in a game of "having what others can't," focused on material goods and consumerism, recent shifts in the collective experience and perception ...

Silvia Bellezza is an Associate Professor of Business in Marketing at Columbia Business School. Her research focuses on status signaling in consumption. Whom do you hold in higher regard: Jimmy Carter ...