There's more to life when you're ultra wealthy than yachts, mansions, sports cars, and flashy designer bags.
These days, cadres of well-heeled and health-obsessed clients are flocking to longevity clinics: centers that offer everything from genetic testing to cocktails of supplements to personalized treatment plans that purportedly help people live longer.
That's because the ultimate status symbol right now might just be a longer and healthier life.
"The best longevity advice is something only the rich have access to today," Matt Fellowes, an advisory council member at the Stanford Center on Longevity, and cofounder of health insights platform, BellSant, told Business Insider by email.
Consumer spending on wellness products and services has risen since the pandemic, contributing to a $5.6 trillion wellness market, according to the Global Wellness Institute. The unfortunate reality, however, is that many people could be wasting time and money on products or services that will never materially help them, Fellowes contends.
One of the few exceptions, he said, are high-end longevity clinics that offer science-based and highly personalized guidance — even though they're inaccessible to most people.
It's worth noting that the longevity space — even at its priciest tiers — is not totally regulated, and even top clinics can offer experimental treatments in addition to medically proven methods.
Still, these clinics might be an option for figuring out how to extend life by a couple of years. From Switzerland to Costa Rica — take a look at some of the world's most elite longevity clinics.