“The New Sign of Wealth: Wasting Time”

Distance from economic necessity is a very real phenomenon, and it has been studied for decades. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu described it as the ability to live free from urgent material needs.

What happens when survival is no longer the primary concern? Time itself becomes a resource that can be spent, shaped, and (most importantly) displayed.

Last week I watched an interesting video by Rickie Ho (@maisonrickie) where he shared some thoughts on how the wealthy demonstrate conspicuous waste and conspicuous leisure in today’s world. These concepts were originally introduced by American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in The Theory of the Leisure Class. Veblen argued that wealth has always been a performance. Historically, that performance came through visible luxury goods. Today, it increasingly shows up more subtly: the public display of time (especially on social media).

Think about the last time you checked a celebrity’s social media. What kind of activities do they engage in? I immediately think of slow breakfasts, long hikes, elaborate hobbies, and multi-hour skin care routines. The message is not simply “I have money.” The message is “My time is not restricted.”

Activities that signal distance from economic necessity often share three characteristics.
First, they are challenging. Not necessarily physically difficult, but demanding in terms of time, learning, or dedication. Think of mastering ceramics, learning to sail, restoring vintage cars, or training for endurance sports. These activities require patience and repetition, luxuries unavailable to people whose schedules are tightly bound to sustaining themselves.

Second, they don’t serve a practical purpose. They do not increase income, reduce costs, or improve efficiency. In fact, they are often intentionally inefficient. A four-hour dinner preparation, analog photography, hand-made furniture, or growing a small garden instead of buying groceries.

Third, they are tailored to a specific crowd. Status signals only work when they align with the tastes, norms, and expectations of the people meant to notice them. Horse riding, wine tastings, and boutique fitness classes might seem ordinary or even unremarkable to outsiders, yet within certain circles they function as powerful markers of belonging. Simply trying a “high-status” activity once is not enough; what matters is the consistency and visibility of the performance. A 20-step skincare routine, for example, becomes a signal only when it is habitual and publicly recognizable. The message is not about the activity itself, but about the ability to embody the aesthetic, lifestyle, and expectations valued by the audience.

We are witnessing a shift in how wealth is displayed. In the industrial era, wealth was expressed through objects: houses, cars, jewelry. In the digital era, where access to many goods has become more widespread, the rarest resource is no longer material. It is an uninterrupted time.