As unfair as it may seem, the world counts a growing number of individuals who couldn’t care less about a 0.2% drop in economic growth or even a full- blown recession.

According to a June 2002 Merrill Lynch/Cap Gemini report, more than 7,000,000 people worldwide possess investable assets of at least US$1 million. Excluding real estate, thank you very much. The assets of THE NON-CYCLICAL RICH grew by 3% last year, which, by the way, was the smallest (!) increase since 1997.

The opportunities are endless: from selling new ludicrously luxurious goods (with equally ludicrous margins) to adjusting advertising lingo (for example by acknowledging their purchasing power and ignoring any talk of discounts), to setting up exclusive media channels (non-cyclical rich magazines) on a global scale, enabling other marketers to engage with THE NON-CYCLICAL RICH in trusted environments.

For a related trend description, see SYMPVERTISING.