Reconsidering the super-rich: variations, structural conditions and urban consequences

This chapter conducts a critical review of the existing literature on the super-rich. We call for social science research to reconsider the super-rich in two interrelated ways. First, we highlight the need to examine the structural conditions that have led to the emergence and growth of super-rich wealth in certain cities. This entails examining how the super-rich has been discursively constructed and materially produced over the last decades. Second, we argue for a shift from focusing on the spaces of the super-rich to super-rich spatiality. We suggest four potential research inquiries: (1) the influence of the super-rich on the production of space; (2) the situated connections of the super-rich within and beyond cities; (3) the various real estate investment strategies of the super-rich; and (4) the discursive construction of the super-rich and their agency by diverse groups in the city.