Capitalising on vanity - an industry worth €3.4 trillion

Do you know what vanity capital is? It’s an industry based on selling us things that we don’t need, but which make us feel better — and its worth €3.4 trillion says Suzanne Harrington

What do you spend money on to make yourself feel good — a lipstick? Gym membership? A Picasso? Because while we all spend money to boost our self esteem and status to varying degrees — what we spend it on depends on how much we have. Even if you have very little disposable income, some of it will invariably be spent on what is called vanity capital.

From buying organic food instead of bog standard non-organic, to the purchase of a vintage Ferrari — chosen not just for its insane price tag but also its history, because this signifies that you are not only minted, but interesting to boot (or at least your car is, which should reflect on you) — global spending on vanity capital is currently worth more than the GDP of Germany.