Why robbery victim Kim Kardashian West and super-rich celebs like Rihanna spare no expense on privacy and security
The reality star, held up by gunmen in 2016 who stole US$10 million worth of her jewellery, is among the celebrities who have stopped flaunting their wealth
Perhaps nothing conjures up an image of wealth quite like American rapper Nicki Minaj in her US$400,000 pink Lamborghini, or American billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, stepping out of his US$40 million private jet.
Yet in an age of constant connection, some of the world’s super-rich are reeling in their ostentatious behaviour in the name of safety.
“Privacy and safety are inextricably linked,” says Gary Howlin, senior vice-president at Gavin de Becker & Associates, which provides executive protection for wealthy people, including clients in the US Supreme Court and the Central Intelligence Agency, the American foreign intelligence service.
“There was a time when privacy concerns were primarily about financial loss, such as bank wire or credit-card fraud.
“Now, particularly with personal information readily available via internet and social-media sources, people are using what was once private information to learn where clients live – or information about their activities to seek personal encounters with them.”
As a result, the wealthy are proceeding with caution when it comes to grand displays of wealth.
The US socialite and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian West, known as the “Queen of Selfies”, had a reputation for flaunting her diamonds on Instagram and on the reality television series Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
However, after being held at gunpoint and robbed of more than US$10 million in jewellery in 2016, she has become more discreet about showing off her wealth – toning down her social-media photographs, no longer wearing lots of jewellery in public and employing 24-hour security guards.
