Indian ultra-rich invest 17% wealth in luxury items

The report was released in a virtual press conference and it focuses on the investment habits of Indian Ultra-high Net Worth Individuals (UHNWI), defined as those with a net worth of $30 million and above.

The joy of ownership is the primary reason for these investments, the report states. Among the luxury items, watches are the most sought-after, followed by art and jewellery. Classic cars rank fourth, trailed by luxury handbags, wine, rare whisky, furniture, coloured diamonds, and coins.

Shishir Baijal, Chairman & Managing Director of Knight Frank India, in a company statement, said, “India’s affluent class has long shown a fondness for collectibles spanning various categories. With both domestic and global markets offering significantly higher returns for such items, India’s ultra-wealthy are actively pursuing investment opportunities in areas aligned with their passions.”

The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which tracks the performance of 10 popular investments of passion, revealed that art was the best-performing luxury asset class with prices rising 11% in 2023.

However, despite record-breaking sales in the luxury investment market, the KFLII declined by 1% in 2023. Over 10 years, rare whisky has maintained its premium value, registering 280% returns, despite a 9% depreciation in the last 12 months.

Andrew Shirley, editor of the KFLII, said, “The priciest bottle of Scottish whisky, the most expensive Ferrari 250 GTO, the costliest blue diamond, even the dearest sword – in 2023, the major auction houses achieved a string of record-breaking sales. However, the KFLII reveals a less positive picture. Some of the losses are simply down to the froth coming off markets, according to the experts who supply the data for KFLII.”