“Controlled Access” Is One Of The Hottest Trends Among America’s Ultra-Wealthy Elite

This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. 

One of the things that America’s ultra-wealthy elite want more than anything else is spaces where access is very tightly controlled so that they can remain separate from those of us in the general population.  When I was growing up, getting into the right club or the right neighborhood was considered to be a status symbol, but these days, the primary purpose of “controlled access” institutions is to keep the wrong people out.

The ultra-wealthy elite can see what is happening to the general population as a whole, and they simply do not want to interact with it.  As a result, our society is increasingly being segregated according to wealth.  Those who have lots of money get to live the high life, while most of the rest of us are deeply struggling.

Have you ever been to Fisher Island?

Unless you have plenty of money, you probably have not.

The island covers about half a square mile, and it has become the most expensive zip code in the United States…

While the rich and famous are busy flocking to Indian Creek Village’s Billionaire Bunker, that one-half-square-mile isle still falls behind the even smaller (0.27 square miles!), ultrarich enclave of Fisher Island off Miami Beach when it comes to the most expensive zip code in Florida.

According to a report by the Robb Report, Fisher Island is not only the most expensive zip code in the Sunshine State but also the highest-priced of any in all of the 50 states nationwide. The luxury lifestyle magazine compiled the report using median home listing price and median square footage drawn from Realtor.com. The median home price in Fisher Island’s 33109 zip code is a cool $12.45 million, and the median square footage is only 3,842 square feet. Luxury condos on the island are valued as high as $85 million.

Since it is entirely surrounded by water, it is very easy to control access to Fisher Island.

Security on the island is extremely tight, and unless you live there or were put on the guest list by someone who lives there, “you cannot come in”…

“It’s an island that everybody wants to have access to see. The security over there is very tight,” said Toledano, who expects to complete the newly built Residences at Six Fisher Island next year. “Unless you live on the island, unless you’re invited as a guest of someone on the island, and you’re on the guest list, you cannot come in.”

The homes on Fisher Island are not that big.

And there are other areas in South Florida that are probably nicer.

But it is the controlled access that makes Fisher Island so appealing.

Controlled access is also being used by certain retailers to make themselves more appealing to the ultra-wealthy.

For example, America’s most luxurious grocery store is coming to New York City, but the initiation fee and the annual dues will make it impossible for anyone from the general population to shop there…

Sundberg reviewed the pitch deck for the exclusive club, revealing that those who want to step foot inside will have to fork over a $36,000 initiation fee plus $7,000 in annual dues.

The plans revealed that the Erewhon will be situated next to a cold plunge and treatment rooms.

The club will also have a living room, a gym, a boutique, locker rooms, and a relaxation room, according to the floor plan shared by Fieg.

This is segregation based on wealth.

And for now, it is perfectly legal.

On the other end of the spectrum, government-owned supermarkets are starting to open up in major cities across the nation.

In fact, the city of Atlanta just opened up its very first government-owned supermarket…

• Atlanta opened its first municipal grocery store, Azalea Fresh Market, inside the historic Olympia Building.
• The project is designed to bring affordable, healthy food to a USDA-designated low-income, low-access area.
• Mayor Andre Dickens says the next city-run grocery store will open on Campbellton Road.

These projects always sound nice at the beginning, but they always end up being total dumps.

Personally, I have absolutely no interest in shopping at any of the “Soviet supermarkets” that are starting to pop up around the country.

But this is where our society is heading.

The ultra-wealthy get to enjoy the best that America has to offer, and the rest of us are being pushed out.

In the 1970s, everyone could afford a day of skiing at Vail.  But now only the wealthy can afford it…

The numbers are enough to make dedicated ski bums reconsider their life choices.

Deer Valley Resort in Utah will charge up to $329 for peak-day lift tickets this season, while Colorado resorts Vail and Beaver Creek have also hit the $329 mark.

Utah’s Park City joins the $300-plus club at $299 for peak days. Back in 1972, a day at Vail cost $9. That represents a 3,600% increase over a couple generations of skiers.

Today, close to two-thirds of the U.S. population is living paycheck to paycheck.

But the good news is that we now have more than 1,000 billionaires…

“Billionaire” evokes tech founders such as Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates, but there is a large and growing group of people worth at least $1 billion in small towns and big cities that rarely make the headlines.

There were 1,135 billionaires in the U.S. as of 2024—up from 927 in 2020, according to data from Altrata, a wealth intelligence firm. The biggest concentration, 255 of them, is in California. But the super rich are also behind businesses in places such as Ridgeland, Miss., and Waunakee, Wisc.

The primary reason why the ultra-wealthy are doing so well is that the stock market has been booming…

Stocks are coming off an impressive run: The Dow and S&P 500 just recorded four consecutive months of gains. The S&P 500 has notched 20 record highs this year, and the blue-chip Dow in August hit its first record high since December.

I hope that the ultra-wealthy enjoy this boom while they can, because it will not last.

What goes up must come down.

And right now the Buffett Indicator has reached a level which is deeply alarming many experts…

Legendary investor Warren Buffett’s favorite market indicator, which compares a measure of the total value of the US stock market to the value of US economic growth, is also flashing a warning sign. The Buffett Indicator is at 217%, a historically high level that signals the stock market might be strongly overvalued.

“On the face of it, the US market is expensive,” Arun Sai, senior multi-asset strategist at Pictet Asset Management, said. “There are no two ways about it.”

It is inevitable that this bubble will burst, too.

But for now, soaring stock prices are allowing the richest 10 percent of all Americans to control 60 percent of the wealth…

The top 10% of wealthy Americans now control 60% of the nation’s wealth, while the poorer half of the country holds only 6%, according to a report from the Congressional Budget Office.

Left-leaning think tanks produce regular updates on growing wealth inequality in America. This analysis, though, comes from a nonpartisan federal agency, one whose findings regularly inconvenience both Democrats and Republicans.

The new report, released this month, illustrates the role of Social Security in shoring up the wealth of middle-class and working-class Americans. If you subtract Social Security from the equation, the top 10% control nearly 70% of the nation’s wealth, and the bottom half holds only 3%.

The gap between the wealthy and the rest of us is even worse in left-leaning states such as California…

The richest 0.1% of Californians had an average income of $12.9 million in 2022 (the most recent year for which data are available) — about 250 times the average income of middle-income Californians ($51,300). The top 0.1% earn in just over a day what the average middle-income Californian makes in an entire year. The richest 1% of Californians, with an average income of $2.6 million in 2022, can make in about one week what the average middle-income Californian earns in a year.

The rich have piled up wealth in these very troubled times.

They may think that it will protect them as society falls apart.

But of course, the truth is that money will not insulate anyone from what is coming.

In fact, when things really start hitting the fan, I have a feeling that rich neighborhoods will be specifically targeted by unruly mobs.

So hopefully the wealthy are enjoying living the high life for now, because it won’t be too long before conditions dramatically change.

Michael’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book, entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next,” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.  He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com, including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”.  When you purchase any of Michael’s books, you help to support the work that he is doing.  You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter.  Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.