Here are the top ways the world's ultra-rich spent their money last year, including pouring $455 billion into commercial real estate

• The world's rich invested $455 billion in commercial properties in 2022, according to Knight Frank's wealth report.
• Meanwhile, investments in luxury collectibles increased by 16%, with works of art as the top performer.

Despite 2022's outsized losses from worsening global economic conditions, the ultra-rich poured billions into commercial real estate and luxury goods.

Whether in a private capacity or through a family office, the world's wealthy invested $455 billion in commercial properties, according to Knight Frank's wealth report released on Wednesday.

While that's down from a record high of $493 billion in 2021, it still marked the second-strongest year on record and was 62% above the 10-year average.

Private capital also surpassed investments from institutions, which poured $440 billion in commercial property, down 28% from the year before.

"Despite the global macroeconomic and geopolitical headwinds that persisted throughout 2022, investment from private sources remained robust," the report said.

The ultra-wealthy stashed 32% of their total wealth in their residential properties, according to Knight Frank, parking another 26% and 21% of their funds in stocks and commercial properties.

Art and cars are 'back in vogue.'

Investments in luxury collectibles increased by 16% last year, according to the Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index.

Works of art came in as the top performer in the gauge, rising 29% annually. Single-owner collections, including pieces acquired by American investor Anne Bass and Microsoft founder Paul Allen, produced totals in excess of $2.5 billion.

Classic cars saw double-digit growth at 25% as well, its strongest in nine years. The Mercedes-Benz Uhlenhaut Coupé comfortably set a new record at $143 million for the most expensive car ever sold.

High-end collectors are back in the market as the COVID-19 pandemic saw the setback of many sales, Dietrich Hatlapa, founder of investment research firm Historic Automobile Group International, told Knight Frank.

"Broadly, the classic car market has neither a positive nor an inverse correlation with other sectors. In other words, the classic car sector generally marches to the beat of its own drum," the report said. "That's a feature which many collectors find attractive."

Other categories like rare whiskies managed 3% annual growth, though early investors averaged a 373% 10-year return.

Despite the increased investment, the world's ultra-rich ultimately lost $13.8 trillion, or 13.6%, of their wealth in 2022. This comes on the back of a rapid rise in inflation, which sparked central banks like the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates aggressively, sending stock and bond prices lower.

"The fall in wealth is unsurprising given the dramatic pivot in monetary policy that culminated in the worst performance for the traditional blended portfolio since the 1930s," Flora Harley, the executive editor of the report, wrote.

In fact, investors can make more money holding cash than a traditional stock-bond portfolio for the first time since 2001.

On Tuesday, the so-called 60/40 portfolio of US equities and fixed-income assets yielded 5.07%, a figure based on the weighted average earnings yield of the S&P 500, along with the Bloomberg USAgg Index of bonds. Meanwhile, yields on the six-month US Treasury bill rose to a high of 5.16%.