Hello everyone,

Field Note 03 got an even bigger response than 02! Thank you to everyone who weighed in. Keep it coming.

If you tuned into Field Note 02, you’ll remember I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Prix Ball last week. Great cause, great crowd and yes, I recommend you snag a ticket next year if you fancy champagne and F1 royalty.

I ended up seated next to a lovely investment banker named Abigail, who was there with her partner. Not only did she meet him on Hinge, but they were matched by the app’s AI (!!). But…... I digress.

After the small talk and bubbles, we got onto a topic I’m hearing on repeat lately: the new generation of high-net-worth clients, and how to actually connect with them in a way that doesn’t feel like a 1990s sales pitch.

And as if I needed another sign on what to write about this week, on the front page of the FTWeekend on Saturday morning, served with my coffee, there was this:

From everything I’ve seen, heard and read so far, there are really two types of this next-gen wealthy crowd:

"Old Money" are those born into the plush life, now inheriting (or being gifted) serious wealth to avoid those juicy inheritance taxes (can we blame them?).

"Young Money" are the ones who came into their millions overnight thanks to crypto, AI, or some startup that blew up while I was still figuring out TikTok.

Despite arriving at the same bank balance via very different routes, they share a few big things when it comes to how they spend and how they want brands to show up.

Here are the top three that caught my interest:

Experiences Over Things​
The days of flashing a logo just to prove you can, are rapidly dying. Across the board, UHNW clients are voting with their wallets for experiences that create memories aka money-can't-buy experiences..

Bain & Company put it bluntly:

Translation: they’d rather drop €50k on a once-in-a-lifetime trip than another bag for the collection.

No More Old-Man Style Events (Thank heavens!)​
Black-tie galas with stale canapés? Hard pass. Whether they’re heirs or self-made, today’s wealthy want their experiences intimate, immersive, and culture-soaked. As one report summed it up:

Think less ballroom, more private island.

Side note: Yes, it's not lost on me that I was, in fact, having a discussion on this topic at a black-tie gala.

Sustainability Matters​
Turns out, values sell. This crowd actually cares about where their money goes and what it funds.

Capgemini found that:

If your offer doesn’t have a conscience, it’s not getting their attention.

Needless to say, I’m completely on board with this new direction of marketing and experiences that Old Money and New Money are into. And it’s exactly the work I’m doing with my clients through my company, NEON NAVY.

There’s tons to unpack on this topic, so expect plenty more where this came from in future Field Notes as I keep listening to the word on the street (and in the penthouses).

Meanwhile, have a look at what Capital Group and the Financial Times have to say about Boomers to Zoomers: Engaging the Next Generation of Wealth.

Upcoming Travel Plans:

12 & 13 July:

📍 Berlin, Germany for the Berlin E-Prix

If you’ll be there, let’s meet up over coffee. Or a beer (it is Germany afterall).

Thanks for reading.

Zantelle

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