Bad news - billionaires are now facing their own 'cost of living' crisis

Not every day is a bad day to be a billionaire - but today might be one of few, as new reports suggest it's more expensive than ever before to maintain a lifestyle where jets, yachts, and horses are all concerned.

Forbes recently unveiled their Cost of Living Extremely Well Index (CLEWI) for 2026, also known as a consumer price index for billionaires running since 1982, that tracks the cost items 'essential' to their lifestyles over time.

Or, if you're not quite a billionaire, it makes for a rather amusing read.

The 40 items on the list range from Gucci loafers, to private jets, to school fees, and even a case of Dom Perignon.

For context, there are currently 3,148 billionaires in the world, with a combined $18.7 trillion in wealth, so is this going to be their downfall? Well, probably not.

Among the most notable are of course Elon Musk ($342 Billion), Mark Zuckerberg ($216 billion), Jeff Bezos ($215 billion), and Larry Ellison ($192 billion).

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The report is split into a number of categories: entertainment and toys (up 9.6 per cent), fashion (up 5.2 per cent), food (up 8 per cent), household (up 4.9 per cent), services (up 0.8 per cent), and travel (up 3.5 per cent).

Among the findings this year are that 1kg of Ossetra caviar now comes in at $14,180 (a 9.2 per cent increase from previously), an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch with stainless steel case and bracelet averages $31,900 (an 11.5 per cent increase), and an Olympic-sized swimming pool will now set you back $5,816,000 (or 6.2 per cent higher than usual).

Similarly, there's been a 22.6 per cent increase in the price of thoroughbred horses (averaging $647,522), a 25.9 per cent hike on a matching pair of James Purdey & Sons shotguns, and a one-year concierge membership has rocketed 11.1 per cent to $200,000 per year.

It's thought some of the increases may have been spurred on by Trump’s proposed One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which would allow race horse owners to write off 100 per cent of their purchase in their first year of ownership.

But it's not all bad. Some things have stayed the same - or even cheapened slightly - like hiring an estate manager on a salary of $380,000 (-5 per cent), or having a face lift, which still comes in at a cool $100,000. Hopefully you'll only have to do it once, too.

In even more good news, the price of a 45-minute psychiatry session with an Upper East Side doctor has stayed the same at $500, should you need to vent your frustrations about the new cost of living.

As if Elon Musk's week couldn't possibly get worse - it probably just did.

You can read the report in full, here.

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