‘The four-pack’: Today’s mega-rich chasing a portfolio of homes

IT ISN’T enough to just be rich anymore. There is only one way to cement your status in the upper echelons of society.

IT’S called “the four-pack” — but it’s not what you might be thinking.

People in America are using the term to describe a whole new level of uber rich, setting the benchmark at such unobtainable heights that even the upper echelons of society barely stand a chance of qualifying.

The simple test? Count the number of homes you own. If the number is any fewer than four — whether or not the value of properties one, two and three add up to tens of millions of dollars — you’re simply run-of-the-mill wealthy.

If that sounds like a bullsh*t aspiration for those with more millions in the bank than they know what to do with, you’re on the money.

The New York Times recently ran an article on the migratory habits of the rich, saying today’s ultra-wealthy are “often looking for ‘the four-pack’ — a pied-à-terre in New York, a beach house in the Hamptons, a ski villa in Aspen and a winter condo in Miami”.

The publication subsequently was slammed by readers for their “obsession with the perverse lifestyles of the filthy rich” and had people responding on Twitter with their own versions of the four-pack.

The NY Times obviously went to the three UES social climbers who came up with “wife bonus” to source “four pack.” Future divorcées all.

— TED (@EpicureanDeal) March 6, 2016

"The four-pack" — rental apartment, bus seat (avoiding man talking to self), office desk, & bathroom stall to cry in https://t.co/6zedxRuGPv

— Alex Alvarez (@soalexgoes) March 6, 2016

That feel when you want a 'four-pack,' but realize that to @nytimesbusiness, that means owning four homes: pic.twitter.com/scBGWGVuuJ

— Greg Greene (@ggreeneva) March 6, 2016

Skyscrapers for days in Miami.

Nevertheless, it’s a term that has captured the attention of minted individuals looking to spread their wings with some serious real estate investing.

News.com.au spoke to the man who coined the term, Oren Alexander, a Miami-based real estate agent to the rich, who explained why his clients are fixated on having a year-round circuit of luxury residences.

“I mostly work with high net worth individuals who tend to purchase properties in multiple markets, with New York and Miami being the main markets but I also operate in the Hamptons, and LA,” Mr Alexander told news.com.au.

“Those four markets have a large number of people who own homes in all four, probably more than any other four markets in the world. The reason being is it supports this ultimate American lifestyle with your home being New York City — arguably the capital of the world — with your winter getaway being Miami for the warm weather and Aspen for the ski season, and then summer time being the Hamptons,” he added.

Quite simply, they’re all chasing the sun, the seasons, and the VIP social scene.

Today’s super wealthy all want stops on ‘the big circuit’, which includes the Hamptons.

According to the 2016 Knight Frank Wealth Report released this month, the population of multi-millionaires in major cities around the world now changes radically from month to month. New York City is currently home to 320,000 millionaires. That includes 5,600 people worth $US30 million or more, “up 32 per cent from 2005, and the number is expected to grow by nearly a third by 2025”.

Mr Alexander, a broker with Douglas Elliman, says there’s no real trend with who’s chasing “the four-pack”, as long as they’ve got the big bucks to back it up. “I’ve sold through everyone from celebs, music, film, top models, to some of the biggest hedge fund and private equity guys in the world, to art collectors, some athletes — it really varies. The only common denomination between them is money.”

Last month, he took care of a Chinese billionaire “looking to spend more time in America, so he decided to buy a property in New York, the Hamptons and Miami, all at the same time”.

But just how many individuals fall into the category of being able to roll with the mega-rich on the “big circuit”? “It’s far less than one per cent of the world’s population,” Mr Alexander admitted. “We’re talking about a group of less than 10,000 people.”

To put it in perspective for any Aussies in the market, the Australian “four-pack” would consist of something like a townhouse in Sydney’s Paddington, a beach house in Byron Bay, a luxury pad in Melbourne’s Toorak and a property in Perisher for the ski season.

Sound attainable?

A townhouse in New York City, most likely with an eyewatering price tag.

A modernist masterpiece in the Hamptons.