How Do Silicon Valley Techies Celebrate Getting Rich in a Pandemic?

Sprinter vans

For Palantir, a data analytics company that went public in September, Feb. 18 was “giraffe money” day. That was the first day that current and former employees could cash out all of their shares after the company went public.

In a Slack channel for former employees called Giraffe Money — an apparent reference to wealth that can support casual giraffe ownership — many anticipated their windfalls by sharing links, mostly in jest, to absurdly expensive home listings and boats, one former employee said.

But in reality, techies are spending in very different ways.

Instead of fine art, they are buying NFTs, or nonfungible tokens that represent ownership in pieces of digital art, memes or artifacts of internet history.

Instead of round-the-world travel, they are piling into Sprinter vans, the pandemic vacation essential. Jackie Conlin, a personal style consultant to tech executives, said she had created “van wardrobes” consisting of “comfy clothes that look put together but are oozing with laid-back vacation vibes” for clients going on road trips.

Instead of designer dresses, they are hunting for new outfits that look good on Zoom calls, virtual makeup lessons for the camera and makeovers for their Zoom backgrounds. Ms. Conlin said she redecorates a client’s Zoom room “to make whatever the other meeting attendees see look more cohesive, stylish and pleasing to the eye.” Clients are also buying weekly “comfort” gifts for friends and family like cozy blankets and robes, skin care items, pajamas, and games.

And instead of luxury condos, they are after houses with outdoor space, home gyms and good “Zoom rooms.” In San Francisco, newly rich techies are migrating from modern “white box” apartments in the neighborhood of SoMa to traditional prewar “trophy homes” in more established areas such as Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Pacific Heights and Sea Cliff, said Joel Goodrich, a real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Global Luxury in the city. They are excited by historic mansions with elaborate moldings and architecture.