At some point, after a lot of reading about the consumption habits of the very wealthy, I thought I’d lost my ability to be shocked by luxury prices. Six figures for a vintage Birkin? Sure, there’s a healthy market for those. $950 for sushi? I can picture that kind of diner. But when one of our freelancers, Ben Ryder Howe, sent me a pitch recently about the going rate for Svalinn dogs — a highly coveted animal bred in the remote mountains of Montana — I was genuinely startled. A hundred and 50 grand for a dog? Ben’s feature today on Svalinn is a terrific glimpse into the White Lotus economy, where even the family pet can be made into a Veblen good. |
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