When you’re beyond nouveau riche

Ever since I read this article, Old Nantucket Warily Meets the New, the other day, the term "hyper-rich" has been rolling off my tongue. It's only fitting since I'm on Nantucket right now and signs of the hyper-rich abound — such as the Hummer loaded for a beach assault with stacks of beach chairs and fishing rods on its roof and a cooler mounted to its front grill. During a visit to France, a friend told me that the kids were using "hyper" and "giga" (pronounced with French accents, of course) as superlatives, e.g. "hyper bon" for really really good. My mother knows this, so today as I told her how I keep using the term "hyper-rich", she proposed "hyper-riche" as an alternative. I plan to pronounce it as Frenchly as possible (eee-pear reesh) as the Hummers drive over me on their way to the beach.