Jorge Gomez leaves his company in a Porsche truck. He does not manage to cover 300 meters when a car cuts him off, armed criminals get out and point at him. Since the vehicle is armored, the industrialist does not get too upset, he reverses and escapes. “Like those I have a hundred stories,” he tells NOTICIAS.
The anecdote did not change him. In fact, instead of lowering his profile, he became famous on Instagram by posting photos of his cars, watches from the most exclusive brands, and telling stories of improvement. “My children ask me all the time not to show so much,” he confesses. But he ignores them: throughout his 63 years he had a dozen ferrarisbought the first Pagani in South America for 340 thousand euros and uA $200,000 Richard Mille watch. Everything is posted on their networks.
But Gomez is not alone. A group of rich people in Argentina show shamelessly a lifestyle for few. Mansions, luxury cars, private planes and world travel. Millionaire influencers, in a country besieged by poverty who, however, do not receive messages of hate, envy or resentment among their followers. As an oasis from society, there is little room for haters in his world.
EXHIBITIONISTS
It is estimated that in Argentina there are only about 350 Ferraris, the Italian brand that is, like few things, a status symbol. For that reason, whenever any Prancing Horse is seen by some porteña street catches glances. oscar fernandez (@torofz on Instagram), an international logistics entrepreneur born in Chaco, garnered more than 50 thousand likes by showing one of the last ones that arrived in the country.
Embraced to the importer of Malek Fara luxury vehicles, Fernández put his 2020 yellow Ferrari Pista on display for all. “Toro”, as his friends call him, has more than 400 thousand followers and there he shows his vehicles, trips and contact with celebrities. “I don’t have haters. They value the effort, even though they know that one has money. I came out from below,” he says. And he adds: “There are people with money who don’t show anything, they have their cars stored in the garage. One tries to be friendly because, ultimately, I have the same vice as the one who comes to see the Ferrari. We are all irons”.
A similar case is that of the young businessman and car collector Augustine Trajtenberg. He usually shows up in imported cars and piloting private planes, but the jewel in the crown is a Lamborghini Spyder with Ohio license plate which he has already moved to Punta del Este on several occasions. “Since I was very young I have always been a fan of cars and having a convertible was my dream. When I had the opportunity I did not hesitate. It is my happiness beyond what they can tell me, ”he comments to NEWS.
But being a luxury exhibitionist in Argentina entails several more risks, in addition to the latent danger of insecurity. This is attested to by Malek Fara, who, after protesting against having the vehicles he brought to sell in the country detained at customs, decided to move his enterprise to Uruguay. He had 47 cars, between Ferrari, Maserati, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghiniwhich he was never able to nationalize.
BUSINESS
The textile entrepreneur Federico Alvarez Castillo he also turned his passion for luxury cars into a business. He started as a hobby, importing vehicles that he dedicated himself to restoring in the country. Aston Martin, Porsche and Mercedes Benz, among other brands, are part of his collection. “We have incredible artisans here, unlike any other country. I bring the cars in my name and we are accommodating them, ”she says.
Álvarez Castillo, husband of former model Lara Bernasconi, He partnered with country Pilará in the Cars & Oficce venture, a place where he dreams of collectors making their hangars to display their jewelry and do business. “I don’t receive bad comments on networks, people take it with good vibes,” adds the owner of Black Label.
for the psychologist Harry Campos Cervera, the absence of haters is explained in the idea of the mirror: “The followers of these people identify with the desire of the other. They see their life and they would like to have it”, comments the professional of the Argentine Psychoanalytic Association.
As for the wealthy showing off their luxury items amidst a climate of social tension, Cervera Fields adds: “There is a need to reaffirm what one has, before the gaze of the other. On a small scale, it happens when someone takes a picture of what they are going to eat, waiting for their friends to reply. On a large scale, a rich man shows off his goods.”
The answer is unanimous, among these and other rich people who accumulate hundreds of thousands of followers on Instagram: “We show it because we earned it,” says one of the millionaires who prefers not to be identified. And he adds: “Many politicians could also buy a Ferrari, but they could not go out on the street.”
In a context of economic crisis, they dare to defy the usual ostracism of the wealthiest and expose themselves to insecurity. They are famous for being rich. “I don’t like to rub things in with people. I want to tell you that if I could, anyone can”, concludes the industrialist Jorge Gómez, who revealed on networks that he is preparing to buy another Pagani, one of the most expensive cars in the world.
