You buy less in a recession, you save up more money and those who are rich invest. Some say recession is a wealth transfer from poor to rich. The rich are going to be buying everything from those who get bankrupt, lose their jobs, their houses. The real estate, gold, bitcoin don't lose value, but there can be a wave of people who need to survive and those people can flood the market with all their luxury goods and savings: cars, stocks, houses... they're going to be exchanging the house for a 50m apartment. Their v8 car for a family van and selling their bitcoins to pay the loan before their bank takes them to court. If it goes that far you better make sure you have enough savings to survive a year or two without having to sell any of your stuff and you'll do better than 99% of people.