For Ziad El Chaar, CEO of luxury developer DarGlobal, the future of the luxury industry isn’t measured purely in financial returns—it’s about emotional capital. While ROI is a return on investment, he said at the Fortune Global Forum in Riyadh on Monday, “In the luxury segment, we always say we’re giving you a lot of ROE: A return on ego.”
That “return on ego,” Chaar explained, is what drives buyers toward exclusivity and identity-defining purchases. Whether it’s a limited-edition watch, a supercar, or what he calls the “limited edition of real estate”—co-branded luxury developments that partner with prestige brands including Aston Martin, for example—today’s affluent consumers are chasing rarity and recognition as much as yield. “We first identify demand before we build,” he said. In the Gulf, this demand has manifested as aspirational and rare goods, which DarGlobal’s co-branded product aims to deliver.
