How was your Covid lockdown?
Did a loved one die? Did you struggle with mental health issues? Did you live in fear? Did you buy a Rolls-Royce?
I’m guessing the answer is one or possibly all of them, except buying a car for an eye-watering sum.
However, during the pandemic the rich got richer, a lot richer. For example, the 400 richest Americans added $4.5 trillion to their wealth last year, a 40 per cent bump.
Nice work if you can get it.
So there was a lot of cash splashing around in the money stratosphere, well out of the reach of our grubby hands.
What do you do when you have a few million burning a hole in your pocket? Buy a Rolls-Royce, of course.
However, the boss of the luxury car firm chief executive Torsten Müller-Ötvös says the coronavirus is to thank for it.
He said the pandemic led many people to be reminded of their own mortality so they bought a car.
I had the same feeling and bought a bottle of gin.
Life is short
Müller-Ötvös told the Guardian: “Many people witnessed people in their community dying from Covid and that made them think life can be short and you’d better live now rather than postpone until a later date.
“That has helped Rolls-Royce.”
He added: “It is very much due to Covid that the entire luxury business is booming worldwide,” he said.
“People couldn’t travel a lot, they couldn’t invest a lot into luxury services…and there is quite a lot of money accumulated that is spent on luxury goods.”
Reactions
Well, the news of a bumper year for the company really put a spring into my step this morning, so I’m golden, but it seems I’m the only one…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Related: Fury at PM over BYOB party – but Micheal Rosen’s comment hits home hardest