Urban and cultural geographies of elites

Diliara Valeeva
KU Leuven
Guest lecture at the 'Economic and Financial Geography' course | ULB, 11 May 2022
1. Urban Geographies
Number of billionaires

Source: Statista and Forbes


Prime property


House on the British Virgin Islands
1. First-tier global cities
London, New York, Tokyo
2. Second-tier global cities, cultural centres
Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin
3. Luxury tourist locations
Davos, Courchevel, Portofino
(Fernandez et al., 2016)
Prime property
Quiz
You have 100 billion euro.
You can buy any house you want. Where would you like to buy a house and why?
Quiz
You have 100 billion euro.
You can buy any house you want. Where would you like to buy a house and why?
5 bedroom flat in Paris. It would be my vacation house. I would visit all cultural venues in the city.
A castle on a Caribbean island. Nice tropical climate, I can hide there from everyone and swim every day.



Mayfair real estate in London, owned by the Qatari investors
Cornwall Terrace, owned by the Qatar royal family
Al Thani family meets the Queen of England


P. Thiel, a German-American billionaire and venture capitalist
Types of houses
Trophy: the most exclusive and expensive residential properties
(Paris, 2016)

Types of houses
Trophy: the most exclusive and expensive residential properties
Strategic: in global touristic cities, undergoing gentrification processes
(Paris, 2016)

Types of houses
Trophy: the most exclusive and expensive residential properties
Strategic: in global touristic cities, undergoing gentrification processes
Bolthole: political or environmental risk management, often tend to be unoccupied
(Paris, 2016)


(Source: Knight Frank Wealth Report, 2020)

Super yacht and
private jet mobilities
Summary:
Urban geographies
Concentration of wealthy in cities
Real estate trends
Global mobilities
2. Cultural geographies



Luxury investments



Events
Auctions
Private sales
Fashion weeks
Art events
Fundraising dinners


Chistie’s auction
Paris fashion week
"How to sell multimillion-dollar art at Christie's"
Youtube link: https://bit.ly/394siGP

Family and social ties
Rothschild family, the European banking dynasty


Faber-Castell family, German industrialists dynasty
International education


Elite boarding school in England
Elite boarding school in Malaysia
Summary:
Cultural geographies
Consumption and luxury
Network of experts and organizations
Role of family and education
Urban and cultural geographies of elites

Diliara Valeeva
KU Leuven
This presentation online: slides.com/diliaravaleeva/geoelites
www.diliaravaleeva.com
@diliara_valeeva
Urban and cultural geographies of elites
By Diliara Valeeva
Urban and cultural geographies of elites
Guest lecture at the 'Economic and Financial Geography' course. Free University of Brussels, 11 May 2022.
- 194