• In a recent interview with NewBeauty magazine’s Liz Ritter, supermodel Miranda Kerr said she grew up with “the philosophy that health was wealth.”
  • She said that she and her husband, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, practice that philosophy by mopping the floors of their $12 million home with hot water and eucalyptus oil and turning off almost all the electricity in the home at night.
  • Kerr’s comments show just how seriously the wealthy view wellness and further solidify wellness as a status symbol.
  • A segment of the interview garnered a lot of attention and questions after The New York Times’ Taylor Lorenz posted it to Twitter on September 24.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Supermodel Miranda Kerr and Snap CEO Evan Spiegel have a combined estimated net worth of nearly $3.75 billion.

Kerr, who now runs her own organic skincare company, is estimated to have a net worth of a cool $45 million. Her husband, Spiegel, is one of three self-made billionaires in the world under the age of 30, according to Forbes.

In 2016, Kerr and Spiegel bought a $12 million Los Angeles mansion together, but the power couple also exercises their wealth by prioritizing health and wellness.

In an interview for the summer edition of NewBeauty magazine that’s currently making waves on Twitter, Kerr said she was always interested in health and wellness: “I grew up that way – there was always the philosophy that health was wealth. I grew up in a tiny country town in Australia called Gunnedah in a family that was, and still is, very health-conscious.”

And if the interview is any indication, she takes her household's health seriously indeed. Kerr told NewBeauty she likes picking the pH of their water ("You don't want to be going to alkaline because you do need a little stomach acid to digest your food"); diffusing essential oils throughout the house; and mopping the floors with hot water and eucalyptus oil ("It's good for the wood and it's antibacterial. It also smells really nice").

The couple goes as far as turning off the power in their home at night, eliminating WiFi and electricity during sleeping hours. As Business Insider's Nick Bastone previously reported, they also limit their 7-year-old's time in front of screens, a practice many Silicon Valley parents are now favoring.

Kerr also noted in the interview that she has an electromagnetic field detector, and had their home inspected by a professional who looks for EMF waves. The World Health Organization has deemed this health practice excessive, concluding that "current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields."

Wellness is the ultimate status symbol in 2019

Reactions to the interview clip that New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz posted to Twitter on September 24 ranged from the concerned to the incredulous.

Some people said they hoped the couple didn't have a pet.

https://twitter.com/nycneets/status/1176576522808909824?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Others couldn't get past the part of the interview where Kerr likened the state of her home at night, with most of its power turned off, to "going camping."

https://twitter.com/rachelmetz/status/1176621153281961984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Others questioned the part of the interview where Kerr talked about mopping the floors.

Representatives for Kerr didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider on the couple's wellness practices.

But whether or not people are buying into Kerr's professed wellness habits, the lifestyle she has described is part of a larger trend. As Business Insider's Hillary Hoffower previously reported, "Luxury goods are out, and luxury lifestyles are in." These lifestyles are largely marked by discreet wealth: Rather than spending money on fancy cars and logo-ridden accessories, the wealthy are investing in education, security, and wellness.

And Spiegel and Kerr are far from the only wealthy Silicon Valley residents who are known to have extreme habits when it comes to health, wellness, and diet.

Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is said to eat only one meal a day during the week and to abstain from eating almost all weekend, only eating a meal on Sunday evening. Tesla founder Elon Musk is said to work out twice a day. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg avoids cluttering his thoughts by wearing the same outfit of jeans, sneakers, and a gray T-shirt every single day.

These health practices all fit into the trend of health serving as a status symbol, and it doesn't stop at Silicon Valley. Millennials are pouring their money into expensive gym memberships and dishing out serious cash for boutique fitness classes.

Meanwhile, developers too, are taking note: New luxury apartment buildings across the US are foregoing flashy amenities like car-carrying elevators and instead focusing on amenities that promote healthy lifestyles, like outdoor yoga decks, private parks, and so-called tranquility gardens.