from trendhunter.com

from trendhunter.com

With the desire to demonstrate one’s status growing stronger and wealth levels increasing, its becoming increasingly hard to “brand” oneself as “wealthy” I guess.  If platinum cards are becoming passe then what does one do?  Well Mastercard have come up with an option – a new diamond studded card.  Its inlaid with a 0.02c diamond and laced with real gold.  The card will also come with special designs based on the cardholder’s gender.  The female card will have a picture of a peacock while the man’s card will carry a picture of a winged horse.

The card will have a $1,000 annual fee and was launched by Mastercard and Kazhommerstsbank – the second largest bank in Kazakhstan where the recent oil & minerals boom have created a fresh crop of billionaires eager to show the world they’re rich.  The card has a credit limit of 50,000 which is $20,000 higher than the platinum card.

Its not dissimilar to a card launched earlier this year – the Royale Mastercard for Dubai First bank.  That too is diamond-encrusted.  The Royale Mastercard also gets you preferential access to the Burj Al Arab hotel, special yacht charters and a personal manager.  The biggest difference with this card I guess is that it reportedly offers an unrestricted credit limit providing your assets amount to at least Dh3.67 million and you have a monthly salary of at least Dh100,000.

The System You’re Inside (And Why You Can’t See It)

The System You’re Inside (And Why You Can’t See It)

Most people believe they are making independent decisions. In reality, they are responding to systems they cannot see. From algorithms to economic structures to social norms, the real driver of behaviour is rarely the individual—it’s the environment shaping what feels possible, reasonable, or true.