Before the turn of the century, Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker wrote "The 500 Year Delta", and I recall the mention of "Downward Nobility"

Checking on that, it really refers to products, not people. Insane ostentation is still the rule, with mega-yachts and buying up most of Hawaii, the "norm".

I thought it would be more like myself, wanting not to be a prince, and certainly not wanting to look like one, but to live like one. That hasn't exactly worked out, but my slobbovian clothing is genuine.

Wolves in sheep's clothing.

Maybe because they are selling a digital "drug," quite likely the most potent we humans have ever crafted