Abstract
Drawing upon a wider ethnographic study of superrich lifestyle mobilities, I reflect upon my experiences of working as an assistant within a yacht brokerage during a superyacht sales show in West Palm Beach, Florida. Specifically, I examine the role of dress and appearance in guiding (and at times misguiding) my identification of potential superrich clients during the yacht show. In turn I outline the four-step process utilized by yacht brokers both to qualify the wealth status of a potential client and to successfully engage with legitimate clients. In doing so, I reflect upon some of the constraints of conducting an empirical study of the superrich, including the need to demonstrate sufficient cultural capital of luxury leisure practices and material goods.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 314-328 |
Number of pages | 15 |
Journal | Annals of Leisure Research |
Volume | 19 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 21 Dec 2015 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2016 |
Keywords
- superrich
- superyacht
- dress
- cultural capital
- yacht show
- luxury