The rich keep spending

Everywhere you look, the economy is under pressure. Oil surged 8.28% this week amid escalating conflict in the Middle East, inflation continues to keep prices elevated, and companies from Albertsons to PepsiCo are warning that consumers are pulling back.

Yet spending has stayed resilient overall. So who’s keeping the economy afloat?

The answer lies in two seemingly unrelated corners of the market: auction houses and premium credit card companies. Both are posting record results, fueled by affluent consumers.

Black cards & dinosaur bones

Sotheby’s just reported its best first half ever, with $4.4 billion in sales, up 58% from a year ago. Rival auction house Christie’s also posted a record six-months, with sales jumping 71%.

Buyers are opening their wallets for ultra-expensive collectibles. Eight lots sold for over $50 million in the first half of 2026, none of which had sold in the past two years. One buyer spent $181 million on Jackson Pollock’s “Number 7A,” 1948. Another paid more than $50 million for “Gus,” a 67-million-year-old T. rex skeleton. Even Jensen Huang’s signature leather jacket recently fetched nearly $1 million at auction.

Premium credit cards are telling a similar story: the wealthy aren’t afraid of a little spending spree.

American Express’ second-quarter revenue rose 10% year over year, while spending on its cards increased 9%—the fastest growth in that metric in three years. On top of that, retail spending climbed 13% and restaurant spending rose 10%, with demand for AmEx Platinum cards remaining especially strong.

The kids are loaded

Taken together, the results point to the same conclusion: Wealthy consumers are still spending and still propping up the US economy. There’s another trend emerging, too: Those big spenders are getting younger.

47% of Christie’s new buyers in the first half of the year were millennials or younger, while roughly three-quarters of new American Express Platinum and Gold cardholders are millennials or Gen Z. One reason for the shift may be where wealth is being created today. Years of strong stock market returns combined with easier access to investing through apps have helped create a new generation of affluent consumers.

That said, it’ll probably take a few more bull markets before they start shopping for dinosaur skeletons.—SY