The 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air did more than move families from driveway to drive-in. It crystallized a moment when American ...

In the decade after World War II, a new kind of American prosperity rolled onto the streets on four chrome trimmed wheels.

Once a status symbol, now worthless junk A nostalgic look back at the decade of excess, the 1980s, reveals a time when conspicuous consumption reached new heights. Technology promised to revolutionize ...

In any given year, there are obvious signs that someone is wealthy, like flashy cars and giant houses. But there are also subtle signs that indicate a positive financial well-being. Those little ...

Silvia Bellezza is an Associate Professor of Business in Marketing at Columbia Business School. Her research focuses on status signaling in consumption. Whom do you hold in higher regard: Jimmy Carter ...

Just like any other collective belief or cultural norm, status symbols change and evolve over time, characterizing financial comfort and stability in ways that make sense for newer generations of ...

Travel has overtaken luxury vehicles as the primary symbol of having "made it" among mass affluent Americans, according to the Forbes Research 2025 Mass Affluent Survey. We polled more than 1,000 ...

Healthy -- and pricey -- snacks from Erewhon are among the new status symbols for Gen Z. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Young Americans are hungry to assert their social dominance — and they’re ...

Did you ever meet someone who seemed to fall for almost any little trick in the book? In the world of status symbols, that seems to be the case all the time. Most of us average people tend to snap up ...