According to a survey conducted as part of Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2025, luxury cars are the preferred aspiration for a significant portion of the next generation of Indian high net-worth individuals (HNWIs). The report indicated that 46.5% of this demographic expressed a desire to own a luxury car.
High-end real estate emerged as the second most sought-after luxury asset, with 25.7% of the surveyed next-gen Indian HNWIs expressing interest in owning a luxury home. Other categories mentioned as preferred luxury investments include art collections, private jets, and superyachts.
Knight Frank’s Next Generation Survey, a pioneering global study focusing on individuals aged 18 to 35 with an income exceeding $125,000, provides fresh insights into the priorities and preferences of this new generation of wealth. Globally, high-end real estate is the top pick (29.8%), followed by luxury cars (27.8%) and private jets (15.1%).
Aspirations of Next Gen Indians to Own Luxury Assets
Source: Knight Frank’s The Wealth Report 2025
Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director of Knight Frank India, commented on the findings: “The next generation of wealthy individuals will play a pivotal role in wealth creation and economic growth. Therefore, their aspirations will be of paramount interest to the global luxury industry. As India’s ultra-high-net-worth population continues to expand, new opportunities will emerge for global luxury brands to establish a stronger presence in the Indian market. Sectors such as superyachts, in particular, remain largely untapped and hold significant potential for growth in India.”
Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index
The Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII), which monitors the performance of ten popular investments of passion, indicates that handbags were the best-performing luxury asset class, with prices increasing by 2.8% in 2024. Despite the strong performance of financial markets in 2024, the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index (KFLII) experienced a decline of 3.3%, marking a negative growth for the second consecutive year. This situation presents collectors and investors with the challenge of navigating a shifting landscape where scarcity no longer guarantees returns.
Full Results of Knight Frank’s Luxury Investment Index 2024
Source: Compiled by Knight Frank Research using data from Art Market Research, Fancy Color Research Foundation, HAG, Rare Whisky 101 and Liv-ex
While five out of the ten collectibles sectors tracked achieved growth in 2024, the increases were modest even for the top performers. Classic cars showed a modest increase of 1.2% in 2024. The modest growth in handbag values disguises real strength in the market. As noted in The Wealth Report 2024, “the ultimate classic handbag, the Hermès Birkin in black Togo leather, is now more valuable than ever when sold on the secondary market.”
Liam Bailey, Global Head of Research at Knight Frank, emphasized the long-term returns of luxury collectibles: “Luxury collectibles have delivered for investors over the long term. If you had invested $1 million in 2005 and tracked KFLII, your investment would now be worth $5.4 million. The same amount invested in the S&P 500 would have been worth $5 million by the end of 2024. Unsurprisingly, the luxury sector weathered the global financial crisis better than financial investments, and with the ability to leverage these investments through financing, the boom for collectibles lasted for well over a decade from 2008. While it took equities several years to catch up, the past decade, and the past five years in particular, has seen a consistent pattern of stronger returns from the financial sector.”
The fine art, wine, and whisky sectors were the weakest. Art saw a significant decline of 18.3%, with a total reversal from the double-digit growth of 2023, even underperforming during the Covid-19 crisis period, when values fell 17%. Fine wine followed with a decrease of 9.1%, affected by changes in consumption patterns. The fine wine market benefited from low-interest rates during Covid, which spurred speculative price growth, especially for Champagne and Burgundy. Furthermore, the absence of Chinese buyers contributed to the market’s challenges. Rare whisky experienced its second consecutive poor year, with values down 9% in 2024, and 19.3% lower from the market’s peak in the summer of 2022. This outcome reflects the rapid growth in stock returning to the secondary market after a strong decade of growth.
