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Tue, Nov 18, 2025 | Jumada al-Awwal 27, 1447 | Fajr 05:17 | DXB 
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Why the ultra-wealthy are paying fortunes for longevity
The new luxury for the ultra-high-net-worth individual is not a product but time, driving a trillion-dollar global wellness market
A week at Clinique La Prairie in Switzerland costs upward of $50,000 (Dh183,625). At Lanserhof in Austria, a single regenerative wellness programme can set you back nearly €40,000 (Dh193,440). And at the famed fasting retreat Buchinger Wilhelmi, guests happily pay small fortunes to consume little more than herbal teas and broths. These aren’t indulgences for the faint of wallet – they’re the new playgrounds of the ultra-wealthy, where the currency isn’t just money, but time itself.
For much of the last century, luxury was about objects. The rarest handbag, the fastest sports car, the largest yacht – possession was the game. But the pandemic, combined with breakthroughs in medical science, has shifted the equation. For billionaires, the scarcest luxury is no longer a product but longevity. The global wellness economy is already estimated at $5 trillion, with the premium segment projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2027. Once, “wellness” was a weekend spa trip with massages. Today, it is a world of DNA sequencing, stem-cell rejuvenation and circadian rhythm optimisation.
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Clinique La Prairie, set beside Lake Geneva, remains the undisputed crown jewel of longevity luxury. Guests check in for week-long or fortnight-long programmes that blend cutting-edge medical science with five-star hospitality. DNA testing, bespoke nutrition, neurocognitive diagnostics and stem-cell treatments are combined into protocols that could rival a hospital’s research wing. Yet, the setting is pure indulgence – private suites with lake views, Michelin- level menus, and spa facilities that feel more like an art gallery than a clinic.
Lanserhof, with outposts in Austria and Germany, reimagines the clinic as a temple of silence and regeneration. Minimalist architecture by Europe’s finest designers creates a sense of purity. Guests submit themselves to fasting regimens, sleep labs and detoxification therapies. For many CEOs and celebrities, this isn’t a retreat, it’s an annual reset. Buchinger Wilhelmi, meanwhile, is perhaps the most paradoxical of all: billionaires paying tens of thousands to eat almost nothing. Under strict medical supervision, guests consume broths, teas and juice, while participating in yoga, meditation and art therapy. The deprivation becomes the luxury a moment of discipline in lives defined by abundance.
VIVAMAYR, nestled by Lake Wörthersee in Austria, is another icon. Based on the Mayr Method, a century-old Austrian medical philosophy, it emphasises gut health as the foundation of vitality. Guests are put through highly disciplined regimens of strict diets, abdominal massages and food re-education. The luxury here is subtle: lake views, modernist interiors and an atmosphere of serene discipline. VIVAMAYR has built a loyal following among royals, Hollywood stars and tycoons who swear by its results – from sharper energy to radiant skin. Unlike some of the flashier longevity labs, it represents a return to foundational wellness: the belief that health begins in the gut.
SHA Wellness Clinic, founded in Alicante in 2008, has long drawn A-listers for its East-meets-West approach: acupuncture alongside ozone therapy, meditation next to genetic consultations. Its Mediterranean flagship feels like a minimalist luxury resort, where personalised health plans are designed around nutrition, regenerative medicine, emotional wellbeing and physical performance. The brand announced its first overseas expansion into the UAE, with an ambitious project at AlJurf between Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Marketed as the “world’s first healthy living island,” the development promises a SHA Wellness Clinic alongside private residences and curated lifestyle experiences.
When it opens, it will bring longevity luxury to the Gulf’s doorstep, eliminating the need for regional UHNWIs to travel to Europe for SHA’s unique brand of transformation.
The menus at these sanctuaries read more like NASA experiments than spa brochures. Cryotherapy chambers plunge bodies into –110°C temperatures to trigger circulation and collagen boosts. Ozone therapy infuses oxygen-rich blood to “supercharge” cellular function. Stem-cell rejuvenation promises to repair joints, organs, even skin at a cellular level. Sleep architecture labs analyse and reset circadian rhythms. Epigenetic reprogramming aims to switch off the genetic markers of aging. Even dining has evolved into a form of biotech.
Why are the wealthy so obsessed with wellness sanctuaries? The answer lies in status differentiation. In a world where every billionaire can buy the same yacht or watch, true exclusivity lies in vitality itself. To look, feel, and perform younger than one’s peers becomes the ultimate quiet flex. There’s also the cultural shift among younger ultra-high-net-worth individuals. For Gen Z inheritors, experiences outweigh possessions. Whispered stories of “I’ve just come back from Switzerland” carry the same cachet once reserved for a new Birkin.
The Gulf is rapidly positioning itself as the next hub for longevity luxury. Dubai already hosts a thriving spa culture, but the region is now investing in science-driven sanctuaries. Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 includes massive wellness tourism projects, with resorts in the desert promising genomic testing under the stars. This regionalisation matters. For Middle Eastern billionaires and UHNWIs, the days of jetting off to Europe for a wellness reset may soon be over. Instead, the most advanced clinics will be available in their own backyard, blending Gulf hospitality with global medical expertise.
Wellness retreats are also a new form of cultural capital. Just as collectors once boasted of their rare art, today’s elites trade stories of fasting clinics and ozone therapies. To have “done Lanserhof” or “reset at SHA” is a marker of both wealth and cultural sophistication. This is wellness as narrative. A watch you can wear on your wrist; vitality must be demonstrated in subtler ways – radiant skin, sharper focus, youthful energy. The absence of illness becomes a performance of privilege.
Critics rightly point out that many longevity treatments remain unproven or controversial. Stem-cell therapies are not universally regulated; ozone therapy divides medical opinion. Fasting programmes can be risky. Yet luxury has never been solely about proof – it has been about possibility. For billionaires, the cost of failure is negligible. A six-figure gamble on a treatment that might extend vitality by even a year is more compelling than another Ferrari in the garage.
The next decade will likely see longevity merge with mainstream luxury brands. Imagine Dior Longevity Retreats in Provence or a Louis Vuitton Biohacking Spa in Tokyo. Already, groups like LVMH are investing in wellness startups. Technology will also accelerate access: AI-powered health twins, wearable diagnostics as jewellery, even VR wellness sanctuaries designed by fashion houses.
Luxury has always been about possessing what others cannot. In the 19th century, it was pearls from distant oceans. In the 20th, it was Monte Carlo villas and Gstaad chalets. In the 21st, it was superyachts and sneaker collaborations. Today, it is time. The ultra-wealthy are no longer asking, “What can I buy?” They are asking, “How long can I thrive?” And as longevity sanctuaries rise, the answer is clear: tomorrow’s luxury won’t be measured in carats or horsepower, but in decades of life lived well.
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