Status, networking, and longevity: Why Wall Streeters love expensive gyms and workout classes

Matthew Peyton/Getty Images for Equinox

• High-end gyms offer networking and social status for finance professionals.
• Expensive gym memberships reflect a shifting focus on health.
• Fitness classes sometimes even replace happy hours.

It's no secret that expensive gyms and fitness classes are filled with people who work in high-paying industries like finance and tech.

But why? Does that sauna really warrant paying an extra few hundred bucks a month in membership fees?