Anti-Wall Street Robinhoods Start Serving the Wealthy

Original Compilation: Chopper, Foresight News

Those trading apps that gained popularity with commission-free trades, fractional shares, and meme stocks, touting “financial democratization,” are now moving towards elitism.

Robinhood, eToro, Revolut, and Public.com were once stereotyped as platforms for “young people trading from their parents’ basements.” Today, these brokerages are offering investors airport lounge access, exclusive dinners, and F1 viewing privileges. They are launching premium credit cards with annual fees of $695, providing dedicated elite concierge services for clients with million-dollar account balances, and venturing into complex tax planning, wealth management, and even trust accounts to compete with traditional legacy institutions.

A few months ago, when 29-year-old David Easterwood used his hefty 17-gram Robinhood Gold card to buy a cowboy hat, the clerk told him, “You must be rich.”

And he is. The Phoenix-based retail trader signed up for Robinhood as soon as he turned 18 in 2019, starting with a few shares of Ford, followed by food company stocks like McDonald’s. He says his account “absolutely exploded” in 2023. According to account screenshots he provided to Bloomberg News, he had made over $885,000 in profits since September of that year.

In addition to the Robinhood credit card, Easterwood also uses Robinhood’s concierge service, available only to users with assets exceeding $1 million or those ranking high in platform activity.

“Whether I have a hundred bucks or a hundred million in my account,” he said, “I’m staying with Robinhood.”

David Easterwood used his Robinhood Gold card to purchase this cowboy hat

As their user base ages and accumulates wealth, this is precisely the atmosphere trading platforms are trying to cultivate. During the pandemic, platforms like Robinhood built a young, anti-establishment, anti-Wall Street image with low costs, “financial democratization,” and catering to retail investors.

The median age of Robinhood users has risen from 31 five years ago to 36. The company now has over 300,000 clients with assets exceeding $100,000, an increase of more than 250% since 2022.

Public.com says its invite-only concierge service for users with over $500,000 in assets or high trading activity continues to grow. eToro’s membership club program offers similar premium benefits, with membership surpassing 720,000 by the end of last year, up from 579,000 the previous year.

The evolution of these brokerage apps’ products illustrates how once-nascent startups are catching up with their maturing users and reflects the K-shaped divergence forming in many developed economies: those with limited funds receive basic services, while those holding substantial assets—even if their wealth began with meme stocks—are fiercely courted by financial institutions with various perks.

Public.com hosted a small dinner in New York in 2025, inviting members and content creators to discuss product updates and upcoming launches

“The core of our strategy is to ensure that users who build wealth on our platform don’t leave,” said Deepak Rao, Vice President and General Manager of Robinhood Money. These companies don’t want the clients they’ve nurtured to be poached by Wall Street’s large wealth management firms like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, or Citigroup.

Abigail Sussman, a professor of marketing at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, said this transition is challenging, especially as brokerage apps pivot upmarket, which contradicts their original “democratizing finance” brand image.

“It’s much easier for a brand to go from high-end to mass market,” Sussman said. While a luxury fashion brand moving downmarket dilutes its brand, it starts with established credibility. Conversely, a fast-fashion retailer moving upmarket faces significant hurdles. “Going the other way, building that high-end image and status is much harder.”

Nevertheless, these platforms are pushing forward with full force.

An invitation to Robinhood’s launch event for its Platinum card and other premium services read: “Experience our new products from a first-class perspective, designed to help every generation achieve their financial goals.” Held at the TWA Hotel at New York’s JFK Airport, the event unveiled a credit card with a $695 annual fee made of 99.9% pure platinum, along with custodial and trust accounts for children.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev unveiled the Robinhood Platinum credit card in New York in March

London-based fintech Revolut is aggressively expanding into private banking and plans to launch more products for high-balance users. The company is also hiring multilingual private bankers to serve high-net-worth individuals, cross-sell products, and provide financial advice.

Stephen Sikes, Chief Operating Officer of Public.com, said better data, content, and AI tools are making people more comfortable managing tens of millions of dollars on their own. The company has hired concierge specialists to engage with high-value clients, discuss trades, build relationships, and optimize their experience.

Meanwhile, eToro CEO Yoni Assia said the platform’s premium membership program is set for an upgrade. Currently, Diamond members—the top tier for users with over $250,000 in assets—receive access to select sporting event tickets, airport lounge passes, and a Visa card that rewards spending with stock.

“Ultimately, I want eToro to be your family office,” Assia said.

eToro CEO Yoni Assia

These emerging platforms face fierce competition from centuries-old Wall Street institutions that have long served the wealthy. The incumbents foster loyalty through one-on-one dedicated service, access to private investments, and estate planning, maintaining relationships across generations. At the same time, traditional banks, sitting on trillions in client assets, are improving their own apps, eroding a core advantage of digital-only platforms. In this industry, great experience and marketing are far less important than trust.

And trust has been a long-standing issue for these digital brokerages. Robinhood faced significant setbacks after its user base exploded during the pandemic. In 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority fined it $70 million for reasons including misleading customers and system failures. Robinhood neither admitted nor denied the allegations but stated it had made numerous improvements. In 2024, eToro agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges from the U.S. Securities and تبادلہ Commission that it operated as an unregistered broker-dealer and clearing agency.

The benefits of Robinhood’s new Platinum card are strikingly similar to popular offerings from American Express and JPMorgan Chase: 5% cash back on dining, a $250 annual DoorDash credit, 10% back on hotels and rental cars, a complimentary Robinhood Gold membership, and a $250 annual credit for autonomous ride-hailing.

Ted Rossman, a senior industry analyst at Bankrate focused on credit cards, said this premium card doesn’t surpass the competition.

“To be honest, this card isn’t as good as the Amex Platinum or the Chase Sapphire Reserve,” Rossman said. For instance, the DoorDash credit has many restrictions, making it less valuable than it appears.

But Nick Ewen, Senior Editorial Director at The Points Guy, pointed out that the Robinhood card offers a different kind of value: “Other points don’t grow, but Robinhood’s design is for you to invest and grow that money over time.”

This is also why 32-year-old Polish investor John Ostrowski sticks with his eToro card. He opts for the 4% cash back in Mercedes-Benz stock, valuing its dividends, and says the card brings a new sense of identity.

“It’s a conversation starter,” he said. “My dad uses Amex, I use eToro.”

An eToro members-only event held in Dubai

However, even with the premium halo, novelty isn’t enough for some users. Services intended to increase loyalty can sometimes backfire.

“They assigned me a CPA to help with my taxes,” said 42-year-old Jason Sabshon from New York, who qualifies for Robinhood’s concierge service. The platform’s logic is that proper tax planning can enhance investment returns, and handling taxes within the investment process can ease filing burdens. But Sabshon wasn’t convinced: “They said the person was from a company I’d never heard of. I wasn’t comfortable with that.”

Kai Schukowski, a 39-year-old man from Dubai with accounts at multiple brokerages, said none treat their top clients as well as eToro. A few months ago, he was invited to a high-end event the platform hosted at the Belcanto restaurant atop the Dubai Opera, bringing together top traders and executives for an open-air cocktail party with views of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

What impressed him was that the event was upscale and fashionable, and there were genuinely wealthy people present. He said, “They weren’t just influencers or people trying to be famous. They were real, wealthy people.”

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