Luxury Co. Chairman Afraid The Poor Will Rise Up Against Rich

(RTTNews) - Johann Rupert, chairman of luxury goods company Richemont, has warned that wealth inequality could lead to hatred against the affluent, and a social upheaval is very possible as technological changes create a huge underclass.

Speaking at the Financial Times Business of Luxury Summit in Monaco, the billionaire said that wealth disparities and the penchant for the well-heeled to show off their luxury jewels and watches could trigger envy and hatred.

"What keeps me awake at night is how society will cope with structural unemployment and envy, hatred and class warfare," the Financial Times reported, quoting Rupert. "The people with money will not wish to show it. If your child's best friend's parents are unemployed, you won't want to buy anything showy."

Rupert said inequality is a far bigger threat for the luxury goods business than e-commerce and clicks and bricks.

"We are destroying the middle class," Rupert was reported to have said. "It will affect us, and it's unfair."

Rupert said changes in labor technology could create a huge underclass, and expressed concern over Oxfam figures suggesting the top 1 percent of the global population owns more wealth than the other 99 percent.

While the luxury business is generally not subject to global economic vicissitudes, still the segment has had intermittent pressure amid decades of boom.

Also, there is the concern over some sluggishness in luxury goods sales in China, where the government has cracked down on corruption and vented its ire against conspicuous consumption among the elite.

Rupert said Richemont, which owns watch brand Cartier and jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels, will maintain focus on products with brand equity.

Rupert joins the list of billionaires who have a similar line of thinking. Warren Buffett, Jeff Greene and Stan Druckenmiller had all expressed concerns over a small section of society enjoying a major share of the global wealth.