The latest Forbes analysis, published January 10, 2026, shows that living like a billionaire got pricier in 2025 even after the tax wins conservatives fought for in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill. Forbes’ Cost of Living Extremely Well Index rose 5.5% in 2025, well above the broader Consumer Price Index of 2.7%, proving that even the ultrawealthy feel inflationary pressure—albeit from a very different starting line.
Put plainly, this isn’t a national crisis; it’s a reminder that wealth creation works. The same Forbes piece notes there are now a record 3,148 billionaires with $18.7 trillion in combined wealth, and the average billionaire is worth $5.9 billion—figures that should make patriots proud, not resentful. Conservatives delivered pro-growth policy so success could be rewarded, and those policies helped expand opportunity and wealth creation across industries.
Yes, some of the specific price jumps are eye-popping—average yearling prices at Keeneland climbed to nearly $650,000 and private jet prices ticked up—yet those are niche markets driven by demand and tax incentives, not signals that everyday Americans are losing ground. Forbes even points to tax provisions that let buyers write off racehorse purchases as one reason for surging prices at equestrian auctions, which is how markets respond to predictable, lawful incentives. If anything, this shows tax relief spurs activity, not stagnation.
Left-wing pundits will try to weaponize these numbers to stoke class warfare, but most Americans know the difference between envy and fairness. Luxury spending worldwide hovered around $1.7 trillion, concentrated among a shrinking global consumer base, and that spending supports real jobs—from shipbuilders to chefs to estate managers—many in small towns and conservative states. Celebrating entrepreneurs and their customers is how communities get built and sustained.
Let’s be honest: billionaires can absorb price hikes that would crush ordinary families, and the right response is not punitive taxation or theatrics, but policies that expand opportunity. Greater wealth among creators and investors translates into more capital for startups, hospitals, and universities, and the Forbes data show that wealth gains continued in 2025 even as certain luxury costs rose. Conservatives should keep pushing for lower barriers to success, not punish prosperity because it makes headlines.
What matters for hardworking Americans is inflation in the grocery cart, the gas pump, and rent—not whether a caviar tin or a sporting shotgun costs a bit more this year. The CLEWI’s divergence from the CPI underscores that different inflation baskets exist, and policymakers must focus on controlling consumer price inflation for ordinary households rather than staging virtue-signaling attacks on the rich. Results-oriented policy, not performative envy, will deliver relief where it counts.
Finally, know this: success is not a crime and neither is spending the spoils of it. Forbes’ reporting is a useful snapshot of elite markets, but conservatives should turn the conversation to expanding prosperity for all Americans through tax fairness, regulatory common sense, and an unapologetic defense of free enterprise. If Washington learns anything from 2025, let it be that enabling growth beats redistributing it every time.
