What’s the most obscene display of wealth you’ve seen?

That’s the question we asked on X recently, and the answers didn’t disappoint. From the materialistic, to the funny, to the downright cynical

Luxury has always been part of the family office world (highlighted in the Living Large section of Family Office Buzz every week). Luxury is also a by-product of liquidity, optionality, and time freedom.

But recent family office research shows a clear tension: wealth creators want to enjoy the upside of success, while family offices are more aware of excess, drift, and the effect of unchecked spending on long-term stewardship.

The UBS Global Family Office Report 2025 notes that while UHNW consumption remains resilient, more than half of family offices cite “lifestyle inflation and intergenerational expectations” as a growing governance risk.

Similarly, Campden Wealth’s North America Family Office Report 2025 highlights a renewed focus on spending frameworks, with many families introducing explicit policies around private aviation, trophy assets, and luxury real estate to avoid what one CIO described as “death by a thousand indulgences.”

This isn’t quite austerity. In fact, Bank of America’s 2025 Family Office Study shows that next-generation principals still value luxury. But they want it to feel intentional, experiential, and aligned with identity, rather than performative.

Which brings us to the internet’s favorite spectator sport: watching how the ultra-rich actually spend their money.

From jaw-dropping displays of excess and spending so absurd it borders on art, to moments that are genuinely funny, the tweets capture the full spectrum.

Not how family offices say wealth should be used, but how it sometimes is.

Materialistic
First up, the extravagant purchases of luxury items, properties, or possessions that are all about status and opulence over practicality.

Stupid spending
And then there’s the stupid: the wasteful, the frivolous, the unnecessary.

Tongue in cheek
X delivers up the flippant and funny too. Not serious, but worth sharing.

Cynical
As always, there’s the cynical. Responses critiquing wealth used for power, influence, or unethical purposes, like buying platforms or elections.

Real value of wealth
And the final category gets philosophical. The tweets emphasizing non-material riches like family, relationships, and meaningful time over possessions.

Wealth should buy optionality.

Sometimes it buys a Bugatti on a yacht. Sometimes it buys double guac. And sometimes it buys the one thing money can’t replace: time.