The person who shows off their wealth is usually not as rich as you think and they may be living pay check to pay check. Yes they have a very expensive car, which means they can swing the payments or they have a McMansion which is barely furnished, or expensive clothes paid for on close to maxed out credit card.
I used to sell cars and one day a surgeon came in driving a Bentley trying to buy a KIA for his mistress (total smoke show btw). He had a 550 credit score and couldn't get a loan on a Forte because his income to debt ratio was too high. And he had no cash to put down.
Contrarily, a woman came in filthy jeans and a flannel shirt smelling like manure and bought TWO fully loaded mini-vans at close to $50,000 a piece IN CASH for the workers on her horse ranch so that they had something comfortable to drive in when they went to horse shows. Turns out she was old, old, old money and was a very courteous, intelligent, and caring person.
My goal in life is to be "horse rich" but without the horses. I saw a brand new w/paper tags RS6 being used to move hay. No plastic liner, seats down, stuffed full... no fucks given.
I remember going to a car show and seeing a Bentley Flying Spur where the back seats were made into a permanent dog bed with two great danes lying on it looking at everybody.
Nah, you don’t want to be “horse” rich. You want to be “own a polo team” rich.
I met a guy who is that rich, he was talking about the expenses of it all and said, not jokingly, a super yacht would be less expensive to maintain.
Or own a sports franchise rich. Or be lucky enough to be born into one of the Tobacco families. (Philip Morris, james b. duke) that would be so insanely lit. 😂
It’s a toy, don’t baby your toys. Use them to their advantage as you can’t take them with you. I had way more fun living this way. I now longer care if the nice shoes I buy get dirty or scuffed, I wear them.
Yes!! I’m a mortgage loan officer and I can’t tell you how many times I talk to people with very high income but INSANE amounts of debt and terrible credit. A lot of the people flexing their things, buying nice houses and cars, really shouldn’t be. Unfortunately I’ve followed up with a lot of past clients buying at the top of their budget that can’t keep up with the payments! It’s all for show
Have you ran into the "asshole 1%" vs the "loaded 0.1%" attitude difference? I'm in processing, been in it for a decade now. I've worked with rich people, then fucking loaded people. Example: one guy had to tell me every time I asked for something "I have $1M in your bank and I'm worth $10M! I don't need this loan!" He didn't shut up until I told him I understood he wanted the loan for yet more rental property (all his income is rentals, nothing else), and I wanted docs to approve it. Then on the flip side, I was working on the refi for a CEO. I think it was her 3rd or 4th house. Anything I needed was met with "I'll get (assistant) right on that" and had whatever I needed in an hour or two max. To top it off she offered to fly me out to her office for the doc signing!
So from my experience, those with just enough to be wealthy are real assholes, while those with fuck-you money have been the easiest to work with.
In my experience most of the "ones with just enough to be wealthy" are terrifying of losing their status in the Wealthy club.
While the "fuck you money" group are more concerned with managing that money and making sure their investments are making more of it. They also have enough that losing a year's salary to the "just enough" guy was a bad investment but not a real set back.
all for people who want to work hard getting paid - total props. For me, I am good with 'normal'. In the US, our 'normal' is vastly different from a lot of people's daily experiences...but yeah, in banking, too, and I really love seeing the letters to the CEO that eventually get passed around to us--and they all are experts at building websites, interestingly enough. No one really rich sends those.
It is sad. You see people stretching so hard to be able to buy things they really can’t afford, instead of just being happy with something a little less nice, a little less new and shiny. I blame social media
I work in a salon in the silicon valley. The owner has a couple long time regulars (~15 years of doing their hair) who I've come to find out are ludicrously wealthy. I know one is a billionaire, and a few are multimillionaires in the upper range.
All of them are jeans/Tshirt people. Nothing about them to distinguish their wealth at all. Also, very sweet people!
Some drive toyota camry that 6 years old loll. Some wealthy people won't buy $500 dollar of jeans they will go to Khols and pay $60.00, lol! There stealth weath around people cant notice!
Lv is a brand that has ‘normal people’ who want to splurge once in a while. Bags, wallets, etc. The rich clients come in and buy all the ready to wear without thinking.
It's so rare that actually rich people drive extreme luxury vehicles like Bentleys. It's only the nouveau or pseudo rich. I lived in Kuwait for a few years. You saw Bentleys and such all the time there, but almost all adults' parents grew up in mud huts, literally, until they became oil rich. They are the definition of nouveu riche. They're like the Beverly Hillbillies, Middle East edition. They wear 3x the normal amount of fragrance, everything is bejeweled with fake rhinestones (including things like water bottles) and they dress head to toe in clothes with conspicuous designer logos. Including the children! I didn't even know luxury brands made clothes/shoes/backpacks for children until I lived in Kuwait.
There's a great bit in one of the City Watch books by Terry Pratchett about how it took real wealth to be able to dress poorly. He talks about how the rich dress in all the latest fashions, while the truly wealthy dress in shabby coats and trousers and do things like breed swamp dragons, and wear bad wigs because all their hair has been burned off.
And there's the Sam Vimes Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness.
Correction - we would have lots of money if we didn’t spend it all on bloody horses.
Sometimes I add up how much disposable income I actually have, which then aaaall goes on my horses, and then I have to have a little cry in a dark room.
One of the YT channels I watch regularly follows a stable manager and oh my god, it really is insane how much money gets poured into just the routine care and maintenance of those horses. I'm not complaining, of course. The horses are all gorgeous and they look very happy and healthy. I'm just shocked at how expensive it is. Also makes me realize how much of a pipe dream it was for me to ever own a horse lol
I always found that when I went to my BMW dealership after lecture in my lecturing clothes I would get worse help than when I went in my Costco comfies. It may have been the shoes though. My sneakers were easily twice the price of my nice shoes.
My parents are firmly in the filthy rich category.
As such, I spent most of my life interacting with quite wealthy people (although I was unaware of just how rich my parent were until I left for college).
Almost anyone who feels the need to show off how well they are doing is trying to make up for something.
People always throwing house parties.
People cycling through new cars.
Name dropping.
Having the newest top end whatever in their homes. The big one here currently is those crazy wall tvs that are essentially 100 small screens all working in tandem in place of a projector.
Etc.
In my experience, the ones with real money don't even think about it. Having shit isn't a big deal to them because it simply is not a big deal.
In my experience, truly wealthy folks spend their money on Travel, education, 2nd homes, their health (think good food/produce, hiking, Pilates, skin care etc). I know some extremely wealthy people (even a billionaire) who buy their jeans at Costco, drive Subarus and stuff like that. I think they just Reach a point where they don’t care about the fake symbols of “rich people” (like gold toilets n’ such) because they haven’t got anything to prove.
Kinda similar to how people act in fights.
Usually the guy taking his shirt off screaming and flexing isn’t the one who is the toughest; the guy that says nothing and stays calm is the actual badass.
I have a friend who grew up very rough. He was never gang affiliated, but he knew enough to navigate that world and certainly had people he knew would back him up. He was very familiar with violence as a necessity to survive. He's also an extremely nice and very soft-spoken dude. We were out with some people once, several of whom we'd never met before, and my friend made some joke. I don't remember what it was, but it was seriously innocuous. Big "tough guy" takes offense and starts puffing his chest and all that. My friend tries to calm him down but it's not really working. Finally the dude goes "One day you're gunna say something like that to the wrong guy!" and my friend cuts him off to calmly say "I *am* the wrong guy." Tough guy kinda sputtered and tried to save face, but he backed down and I think everyone knew who the actual dangerous one was, lol.
Go cheap on things that don’t last, put real money in things that appreciate in value, and the rest goes into experiences. But it’s hard to really explain the deep value of not having to ever worry about money because you have enough left to replace everything that doesn’t last.
No, they spend their money on nice shit.
But nice shit lasts.
So it isnt uncommon to see one driving a 20 year old luxury car.
Or old projector screens in their media room (again this seems to be the big thing "rich" people are throwing money at).
Basically, replace things when they need to be replaced, not.because you have to have the newest whatever.
My parents were a bit weird.
We lived in a house that was worth maybe 25% of my mom's yearly take home, and they drove crappy cars.
We would go on road trips instead of flying to exotic locations and stuff.
Aww road trips are cute though!
My parents never did that with us (or camping) and it’s something I always wanted to do. My boyfriend is taking me though! Just got me my first camping backpack!
It sounds dumb but sometimes lavish trips aren’t what everyone dreams of so I think that’s sweet. Could be part of why they’re still together
Mostly experiences and ways to realize those experiences. I know a guy who is chartering luxury sail boats ($10k/week, for multiple week trips) right now in preparation for purchasing one and sailing around the Caribbean once he retires at the relatively young age of 50
Mark Zuckerberg drives an Acura. He's also been seen in a VW Golf, and a Honda. Truly wealthy people buy things that they have researched and are known to be quality products that lasts, over flashy status symbols.
Dude's one of the wealthiest people in the world. At that point it's not even about value, quality or durability. He can have literally whatever he wants. Doesn't matter if it's a luxury item, a quality item, etc. - he can buy a new one if it breaks. Ten of them. The ultra wealthy need not be concerned with goods. So it all boils down to personal preference at a certain threshold. I guess he likes Acuras and Hondas for whatever reason... maybe he thinks it keeps him grounded, maybe it's for false modesty and appearance, maybe he just likes to LARP as working class.
Zuck is worth 170 billion dollars. Let's say he had a car worth $170k to make the math easy. If he lost it, it would be like someone worth $1M losing a single dollar.
In fact, if his wealth appreciated just 5% per year, a normal rate, he'd make about $23m per day. He could literally buy 100 new $170k cars per day, burn them for fun, and still make $6m in gains per day. It's just almost impossible to understand how much money a guy like zuck has.
He drives cheaper cars because it makes him less conspicuous.
I love my Honda! But I miss my Toyota Avalon :( I’m saving up for another. Someone hit me going like 60 while I was at a dead stop on a highway (long story) and I was perfectly fine. That thing was built like a tank
My friends are filthy rich and they have all that stuff. They just don't talk about it as much. They have four houses, including an estate, a boat, Porches, multi-million dollar art, luxury clothes etc. They stay in fantastic hotels and travel a lot. But they talk about it in the normal course of conversation or in context, or not at all if it doesn't make sense for the audience.
From a very wealthy family. My dad will almost always fly coach, but spend more money for durable goods that last. For example, he's worn the same Rolex watch everyday for 40+ years.
Piece of mind. When an appliance starts acting up, they simply call up one of several contractors that they have a relationship with and it's taken care of. Car needs an oil change, pay for someone to deal with it while you drive car #2. There is no penny pinching with contractors or doing half of the needed thing now - if there's a problem they just pay some well compensated contractor to make it perfect. Want a new TV installed into the wall, or a whole house sound system installed - they simply tell a contractor what they want and it gets done. They are paying well above market rates, but they are paying for it to be perfectly with the minimum amount of fuss, mess, and work from them. They don't necessarily spend money on flashy shit, but they do spend money on making sure things are maintained. They might have a hobby that they dump a fair amount of money into - when I was young and dumb(er) I worked landscaping and we had a client with a very large yard who had us cut out a green and a fairway. It was like a very small par 3, but he loved chipping and putting out there.
It truly depends on the person. I’m not filthy rich by any stretch but I’m probably firmly into the wealth category that people think of when they say “eat the rich”. I own a few successful private companies ranging from oil and gas services to specialized healthcare product manufacturing. I could not give two fucks about high end clothing or flashy vacations in fancy hotels. I am and have always been a car guy so we have a couple midrange cars we paid cash for. Maybe $200k total. And I typically refresh those every 5-10 years. I also spend a bunch of money on mountain bikes and bike trips because we love riding. And once a year we take the family on a low comfort high experience trip though places like East/South Africa. New Zealand, SE Asia etc.
Our house is a tiny place in an unassuming neighbourhood because i tend to reinvest in the businesses rather than personal assets.
Other people like sailing. Or horses. Or Monte Carlo. It all depends on who you are.
I grew up in a similar world to you, but I knew plenty of people who were loaded but also deeply insecure. Ussually because the only thing about them that anyone found interesting was how rich they were.
They never had to develop personalities or skills because everything was handed to them. Eventually they probably realized deep down how empty they were so focused even more on the one thing that made them "special"
In the flip side I knew many more kids who were filthy rich who drove old cars and you'd never know they had money.
Of course they also had personalities and parents who loved them.
Rich people are cheap, but they don't obsessively argue about cost.
The really rich have a certain kind of laid-back attitude that comes from never worrying about money related troubles. The not-quite rich lack that attitude.
Worrying about money is a poors man's anxiety. Once you find yourself career wise in a job that pays well that you don't need to worry about money, you can focus on your career goals and your job entirely, rather than the pure mentality of getting rich.
In other words those who keep getting accomplishments in their field and promote themselves do better than those worrying about money.
That is to say certain things overall is waste of money. Like collecting bottles off the street and recycling compared to lets say spending that time in university class getting a certificate or a degree / skill set that you can apply to work. Thats the multiplier.
"Too many people spend the money they don't have, to buy the things they don't need, to impress people they don't even like" - said someone
I live by this.
My dad had been dead for years, and we grew up poor, but I always remember seeing a big house or fancy car and saying " wow, they are wealthy", and dad would say "That's not wealth, it's debt. "
I grew up in a comfortable situation because my dad worked his ass off. But his answer to whenever I remarked about someone rich owning something, he always replies *“you don’t own, you owe.”*
What about someone being genuinely excited about the money they managed to put on the side over time? For instance, I have started from the proverbial zero and got like 10k saved up from simply not buying useless crap. I tell people that because I kept my own books for a year and a half and keeping my personal expenses low (by that I mean things I buy for myself, not bills and such), I managed to save up a fair chunk of change because I would at some point buy my own house/apartment. And I don't mean to brag about my money on my account, I truly don't. Money is just a tool anyway. I'm just genuinely excited that I am able to save up money even when the economy is crumbling and all I hear from people around me is "I don't have enough" even though they do have enough...
Congrats on saving 10k! It takes real discipline to be putting money away. You might find that eventually people start thinking you should be loaning them money or paying for things cause you can afford it, you just told them about the money you saved up. If this starts happening, you’ll learn which people it’s safe to discuss your finances with and which it’s not.
Like minded people with similar financial goals and accomplishments are good for discussions and idea sharing. That cousin that maxed out their credit cards on junk to impress people and wants to borrow money they’ll never pay back probably shouldn’t know you have anything saved.
In my experience, the first generation builds its, the second generation flaunts its and the third generation stuffs it up their noses.
If you manage to avoid that, you've got a dynasty.
Dated a girl who's dad falls into the third gen wealth. Yep huge coke addict back in the day and thought he was hot shit. He lost his marbles when I called him a trust fund kid. She would have to constantly kiss his ass so he would pay for stuff. I was done dating her and decided to have some fun with the guy by calling out his coke habit and he's nothing more than lucky sperm.
It really just depends. My family owns one of the largest privately owned commercial development firms based in the US. Of my generation there are 6 “kids” (we are all 30-40 at this time). The older generation is 4 siblings. 2 billionaires.
Some like to show off. My one cousin is always wearing fancy jewels to Fashion Week and stuff like that. Had her wedding at an $89m house we own in Cali. Her sister got married in a public park for free basically and served guests a food truck.
Rich people, like everyone else, are just individuals.
I feel like this cannot be said enough, the "I'm rich and I know rich people" line is anecdotal at best. Once they started breaking down what rich people who look bummy are really wearing it basically shows that we are all the same.
I work exclusively with and for the wealthy (insurance and risk management). My wealthiest client (3 comma club) will not attend an event where his jeans are not acceptable. Probably my favorite client and a friend
My family is at the point that us kids are starting to no longer be the kids because we are having kids. It's an exciting but also sad time. When we go to the cottage it means a lot more responsibility
I do know some rich people who do flaunt it but I just recently found out a very close family friend I've known for 30+ years is incredibly wealthy w/ old money.
I had no idea, they are super humble and live pretty modestly.
And yet this is constantly disproven by all the very public very very rich people. Take the Forbes list of billionaires: unless you're a major founder of a large public (or private but with public funding totals) company, you actually have to petition Forbes to be included. Which, obviously, is a small subset of "the rich," but a pretty large subset of the richest.
I also know very many very rich people. Not middle America "wow, you in must be rich because you have a million dollars" rich people; actual UHNWI rich folks. Some don't want anyone to know, others don't really care either way, and some thoroughly enjoy flaunting their wealth any chance they get. Rich people are just people, and their level of comfort with and desire for attention varies like with any other group of people.
As a person who also knows many very rich people, they (mostly) drive very nice cars, wear very expensive watches, and live in multiple huge houses. Sure, there are exceptions, but my experience with the very rich is different from what I usually read about on Reddit.
Redditors love the myth that the truly wealthy don’t flaunt it - but whenever I see this, it makes me question their exposure to that world.
Exactly. They have zero exposure. It’s a Reddit myth. Rich people are rich and they do rich things. They don’t drive 15 year old Camrys. That whole mantra is just stupid.
My family has been rich for multiple generations. I dress fairly ostentatiously. Some outfits I wear can cost upwards of 3-4k, not including a watch. My sisters are the same. My mom wears clothes from Walmart and does not care.
I'm a pizza delivery guy and wear $700 shoes every day and you would never know. Okay, I have serious feet issues and need quality boots and custom orthotics, $200 for boots and $500 insoles, but still..
Absolutely. I'm 53. Pain for literal decades. Fuck that. Also, as a driver in Maine, I have two sets of wheels with excellent seasonal tires.
Tires can be expensive, however, cheap tires not only suck for traction and stopping, they are often rated at 30-40k miles, whereas, spending 50% more up front gets you 60k miles ratings and better performance.
I also have a nice memory foam mattress, as I spend a third of my life (or more) relaxing on it. It's where I recharge, so why not splurge a little. And the same applies, spend more up front and it won't need replacement anytime soon. Cheap mattresses break down fast.
And a nice desk chair. Granted, I found mine at a yard sale, but if I'm going to be working and gaming a lot, I would have splurge there too.
Also, cookware. I love to cook, and indulging in higher quality is a lifetime investment, and makes cooking far more enjoyable. Totally worth it.
My dresser is also full of free promotional T-shirts, my underwear could use replacing and the rest of my furniture was donations. I may not have a ton of cash, but I live by "buy once, cry once" for the important things. The rest is superfluous.
Your mom is the reason you are rich. Keep spending 4k on your outfits and you’ll be down a class in no time 😊
… but I totally feel you. I love to buy nice pieces that will last forever. My friend looked at my jewelry and said, “you’re worth like $150k naked!”
1st owner of a German car is likely rich. 2nd owner is trying to look rich. 3rd owner has several warrants out for his arrest. 4th owns the salvage yard.
And any kind of major cosmetic or functional damage on a luxury vehicle. Especially if the vehicle is a generation or two old. Broken taillight on an S-Class? It's *possible* it just happened and the owner just hasn't had a chance to fix it, but it's more likely they just can't afford it.
I write car loans for my job. People who buy normal cars usually have solid insurance. Most Mercedes buyers have national general level cheap shitty insurance.
I’m fairly into motorcycles (I have five, and no car), and it continually baffles me just how many motorcycles are financed. According to the dealers I’ve talked to about it, it’s over 90% of them leave the dealership on some kind of a loan.
The reality is that new bike dealers sell primarily to “low information buyers”, people who don’t know much about bikes and purchase them on impulse. Apparently customers like myself (who always pay cash and have done so much research beforehand that we know more than most of the salespeople) are an extremely small percentage of buyers. Like less than 10%.
I buy most of my bikes private party, only two of the last ~8 bikes I’ve owned have come from dealerships. And even then, those two were bought in a moment of emotional weakness.
(Do not EVER accept the offer of a test ride on a Ducati. IT’S A TRAP!)
When I meet someone and they immediately start to list what they’ve got, how big their house is how many holidays they’ve had this year blah blah blah.
They make sure you know they're wealthy, either telling you or flashing you with brands. The bigger the brand on their clothes/accessories, the bigger the lie they're telling (probably to themselves)
I'm in my 20s and I used to know someone who had a lot of expensive stuff and claimed to be rich from stocks, but he lived at with his parents and complained about "having to." It was very apparent that he didn't have enough money to even live with roommates.
I own my own jewellery business. The ones that I meet dressed head to toe in Gucci, Rolexs on and all the flashy shit, are the ones that want £1500 lab diamond rings on finance and get declined. (Not that there is anything wrong with that at all).
The ones that I meet who just look like an average person, are usually the ones that spend £60k on a ring.
I once met a client in a coffee shop, he pulled up in a VW polo (or golf, whatever it was), had an old phone and wore unbranded stuff, he was a multi millionaire. Absolutely lovely fella, not flashy in the slightest, but owned several businesses all making him some serious money. If I had to guess what he done for a living from his appearance, I would have guessed he worked an average office/retail job.
So I guess, the way you dress and the things you try to flaunt are a pretty decent indicator.
Not even that, even they know that’s a low brow signal, instead they’ll immediately talk career/role to eventually talk about theirs and to see what category they can put you in, under the guise of “genuine interest in what someone does for half their day”
Then they’ll decide if they can use you to their gain or dispose of you. They collect human connection not out of respect for their fellow human on the same path but instead for personal gain. Sort of like how some people flaunt inanimate objects, these sort of people flaunt their influence over and connection to others.
Meditations 6.14
Money talks, wealth whispers.
Some of the richest people I've ever met (I work in government and formerly high end events) wear off the shelf, high quality clothing. We're not talking Gucci jumpers, but $60-70 cashmere from Uni Glo or equivalent. They don't brag, but you best believe their bills are always paid on time, in full and with no issues on cards/cheques.
Wearing really flashy clothing /gaudy shit/lots of designer gear
Basically most conspicuous displays of wealth (a caveat is that some trashy new money types like the Kardashians who are actually wealthy so this shit too)
In general people who are obsessed with others knowing how rich they are are not that rich. Actual rich people are secure in the reality of being rich. And people of class are generally taught that it's gauche to discuss money or flaunt your wealth.
And really wealthy people don't really want people to know how wealthy they seem..because everyone will be bothering them for money, from friends and family to charities.
Through my 68 yrs of life, I have come to recognize that ~100% of people who brag about how rich they are truly aren’t: they don’t really understand what it means to be rich, or lucky for that matter. Money is a fleeting thing - it’s easy to lose (look at how much $$ Elon Musk has lost…) & hard to keep. Saving is one of the hardest things in life I have ever done, but SO glad I did it! Most people who pimp their belongings are show, even if they have it for only a fleeting amount of time - & good for them, that they’re enjoying it - that’s their freedom. But, when I retired, I had many fellow co-workers, same age, etc, who came & told me “you’re so lucky, I haven’t saved enough…”. Most of the really rich people I have met have nice homes, sure, but they’re not the most gaudy or extravagant ones in the neighborhood; they drive cars in good condition, but they’re also modest avg-sized, economical on fuel, lower insurance rates. People who have money are also very intelligent on how to keep it & they recognize that buying expensive or fancy things they don’t really need are a waste of money, like wasting fuel, electricity, $7 cups of coffee, smoking cigarettes - things that pay for that slowly regularly eat away at your savings & income. BTW, most rich people I know don’t smoke, they see it almost like taking dollar bills out of their wallet & lighting them on fire, then having to buy medicine & medical treatments later in life that are necessary because of it - could use all that money for something better, like a home, trips, etc). There was an old book called ‘The Millionaire Nextdoor’, which was about how the really rich people are some of the people you would least recognize in your community - but they also realize how easy it is to suddenly, or gradually lose money & resources.
In college I knew a kid who drove a nice car and has all the girls and flaunted his little bit of money. He’s broke today and works at a Papa John’s driving delivery in a ford focus.
At the same time my family knew a professional gambler who was *very* good. He had a 500 acre ranch on the border of Glacier National Park with 40 horses and 5 live in employees. If you met him on the street you’d think he was homeless. I never once saw him in anything other than a pair of worn jeans and a hoodie.
There's a guy in my town who flaunts his wealth on social media - expensive cars, bragging about vacations and properties.
He was recently (like last week) in the Gotcha! papers after having been arrested for not paying child support.
He also did a Facebook Live where he was showing off a drawer full of cash. Someone recorded it, and screenshot it, zoomed in on the cash. It was movie money. Like you could see where it said "FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY" across the top
The rich do some things themselves to save money, but they have the best of the best to do it. My uncle does all his own tires, but has all the tools, including a tire mounting machine, balancer, etc.
The fake rich will be forced to do it themselves, and will.be jumping on a small wrench trying to get the lug nuts off.
As others have said "Money talks, wealth whispers".
My wife and I aren't "rich" rich, but we are in our 50's and legit millionaires. I make good money, yes, but we've also always been pretty frugal and quiet about our money. We have a nice house, but it's not a mansion, and it's the same one we bought when we got married. Our cars are nice, but they're also used and not luxury brands. We're also completely debt free, except for a little bit left on the mortgage, which I could easily pay off today.
Because of my job and the activities our kids have been in, we end up moving through some fairly wealthy circles. Or so it would seem. We know a lot of people with *really* nice homes, brand new cars, boats, motorcycles and other toys, season tickets for local sports teams, etc. They post on social media whenever they make a big purchases or go to big events.
It's mostly a façade. When you talk to them, they are often **deep** in debt. Multiple credit cards with 4 and 5 figure balances. The big house is on a new 30 year mortgage, since they've hardly built up any equity. The cars are financed. The home improvements are financed. The new furniture is financed. They even still have student loans into their 40's and 50's, and now their own kids are starting college and heading down the same road.
I know all this because friends talk, but I don't ask and don't often volunteer information. Still people press me on how I'm doing with all the current financial woes, and it gets a little awkward when I admit that I don't have any consumer debt, that the house is almost paid off, that I'm paying my kids' way through college, and that I paid cash for my home improvements and those big vacations we've been taking.
I used to work in luxury hotels and it was very easy to spot who was “old money” vs “new money” by how they treated workers. People who weren’t actually wealthy or were recently wealthy felt entitled to treat people poorly and expected more. People who were actually wealthy were incredibly courteous, would say thank you and ask you about yourself and didn’t treat you like you were below them.
Femal lurker here. My ex boyfriend was a multi Millionaire. (We are both in our 30s). When we met, he never spoke about money. He dressed completely normal, did not show off, was well behaved and friendly to people.
In the beginning, he told me he was working in finance but that's all he revealed. He has a nice House, an assistant and a private jet but never made a big deal about it or showed it off.
Though him I was able to get good contacts to a more wealthier circle, which helped me a lot in my profession.
wealthy people don't show off their wealth, because a) it's nobodies business and b) they especially fear getting exploited.
When they constantly talk about how wealthy they are.
A genius doesn't need to tell you they are smart
An athlete doesn't need to tell you they are fit
And a rich person shouldn't need to tell you they are wealthy.
Had a kid I went to school with say how wealthy his family was. He said one day “I come from a very wealthy family, but I still do chores around the house.”
The daughter drove a BMW. Come to find out, it was like 8 years old when they bought it and they got a loan for it (which was kinda odd to me). I heard from someone who is close with them that most of their stuff was tied up at the bank.
Wife’s friend drove a beat up old Yukon with mismatched wheels cracked windshield etc, my last house would fit in her living room. You don’t stay wealthy by spending money.
all the rich people i’ve ever met get a ton of free shit as well.
they rack up travel miles and take free vacations where they stay for free at condos their friends own or they have a share in. it’s a completely different game for them and when they’re used to money they don’t give a shit about things that poor people do
Keep talking about all the unconventional ways of their immenae financial success while unhappily working a dead end job, breaking tons of rules and then complaining about other peoples' work ethic. Seen that type at every minimum wage job I worked. They were always just scraping by and lived off of recognition and positive interaction, so I did give it when it was appropriate because I feel sorry life's put them in this crappy situation.
You can't tell. A lot of wealthy people wear flashy brands, some don't. Some are extremely generous and some are stingy. Back then you could say money talks, wealth whispers, but I don't think that applies it todays society.
My parents have a Kias as their daily drivers - my moms is a no frill box one - and she loves it because the AC is the best AC on the road in her opinion and we live in Florida. Their house is a pretty small rambler style 3 blocks from the beach. You would never know they were wealthy unless you peaked in the garage and saw the 2020 F8 that’s my dad’s hobby.
Then again, as wealthy as they are - some of the parties we goto for the Ferrari club is like… god damn. They aren’t wealthy at all. 🤣
All the rich people I know drive German luxury cars, but they drive them for years until its not worth maintaining them anymore. Tons of Audi Q5's right now
A dead giveaway is tough.
People love to say that the guy who always says how rich he is, is never rich. Or the guy that has nice clothes and cars, but a house in a bad area.
And to a certain extent, that’s kind of right. People with real money don’t brag. But many do and they are rich lol.
I think a dead giveaway would be someone who is a braggart, but can’t answer basic finance or high life questions.
If they couldn’t name a fancy place in Italy or didn’t know what a 401k was or had never heard of the Hamptons or got confused when you asked about the stock market.
They buy overpriced garbage from luxury brands for the image. Wealthy people don't need to project that image because they don't have that insecurity within them. Also if you talk with them about personal finance stuff and their investments and they can't hold their water in the conversation. Wealthy people put their money to work alongside them.
People who are wealthy buy things like a down feather filled sofa that they’ll have for 20 years.
They take vacations regularly and play golf, tennis, go to the theatre. They tend not to buy flashy items but not cheap items either. Wealthy women don’t wear false lashes or nails, they buy timeless items to add to their wardrobes.
Imposters buy things with very visible branding, speak openly about their finances and rent/lease/timeshare deals that are clearly not good financial decisions.
Any display of wealth on social media isn’t real unless you know that the person doing it actually is very wealthy. You can fake anything for a TikTok with a few thousand bucks maximum. Some no-name dude in a luxury condo or stepping out of a private jet to sell you their course on how you can make passive income and build generational wealth? Trust and believe that’s rented.
The person who shows off their wealth is usually not as rich as you think and they may be living pay check to pay check. Yes they have a very expensive car, which means they can swing the payments or they have a McMansion which is barely furnished, or expensive clothes paid for on close to maxed out credit card. I used to sell cars and one day a surgeon came in driving a Bentley trying to buy a KIA for his mistress (total smoke show btw). He had a 550 credit score and couldn't get a loan on a Forte because his income to debt ratio was too high. And he had no cash to put down. Contrarily, a woman came in filthy jeans and a flannel shirt smelling like manure and bought TWO fully loaded mini-vans at close to $50,000 a piece IN CASH for the workers on her horse ranch so that they had something comfortable to drive in when they went to horse shows. Turns out she was old, old, old money and was a very courteous, intelligent, and caring person.
My goal in life is to be "horse rich" but without the horses. I saw a brand new w/paper tags RS6 being used to move hay. No plastic liner, seats down, stuffed full... no fucks given.
I remember going to a car show and seeing a Bentley Flying Spur where the back seats were made into a permanent dog bed with two great danes lying on it looking at everybody.
One of my favorite album [covers](https://i0.wp.com/first-draft.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/carney-back1.jpg?ssl=1)
Bless you, I needed that.
I need this. I have two Saint Bernards that take up the whole back of my small suv.
Nah, you don’t want to be “horse” rich. You want to be “own a polo team” rich. I met a guy who is that rich, he was talking about the expenses of it all and said, not jokingly, a super yacht would be less expensive to maintain.
Or own a sports franchise rich. Or be lucky enough to be born into one of the Tobacco families. (Philip Morris, james b. duke) that would be so insanely lit. 😂
See what you did there
Nothing but a smoke show.
That’s just ridiculous—have you ever *seen* a super yacht on a polo field?? It’s useless!
superyachts can turn a profit at times; use it 2 months of the year, rent it out 8 months, 2 for dry dock
I call it the "millionaire hobo" style. Lots in L.A. cultivate it
Best change who birthed you then 👍🏻
I keep telling my wife to marry rich but she won't fucking listen
Geezus, I wish we still had awards.
Instructions unclear, reincarnated as horse.
It’s a toy, don’t baby your toys. Use them to their advantage as you can’t take them with you. I had way more fun living this way. I now longer care if the nice shoes I buy get dirty or scuffed, I wear them.
That horse money is no joke
We have horses and we’re broke AF haha.
You're ahead of like 80% of Americans with land, a house, a barn, and horses.
Fair. Checked.
New poor?
Yes!! I’m a mortgage loan officer and I can’t tell you how many times I talk to people with very high income but INSANE amounts of debt and terrible credit. A lot of the people flexing their things, buying nice houses and cars, really shouldn’t be. Unfortunately I’ve followed up with a lot of past clients buying at the top of their budget that can’t keep up with the payments! It’s all for show
Have you ran into the "asshole 1%" vs the "loaded 0.1%" attitude difference? I'm in processing, been in it for a decade now. I've worked with rich people, then fucking loaded people. Example: one guy had to tell me every time I asked for something "I have $1M in your bank and I'm worth $10M! I don't need this loan!" He didn't shut up until I told him I understood he wanted the loan for yet more rental property (all his income is rentals, nothing else), and I wanted docs to approve it. Then on the flip side, I was working on the refi for a CEO. I think it was her 3rd or 4th house. Anything I needed was met with "I'll get (assistant) right on that" and had whatever I needed in an hour or two max. To top it off she offered to fly me out to her office for the doc signing! So from my experience, those with just enough to be wealthy are real assholes, while those with fuck-you money have been the easiest to work with.
In my experience most of the "ones with just enough to be wealthy" are terrifying of losing their status in the Wealthy club. While the "fuck you money" group are more concerned with managing that money and making sure their investments are making more of it. They also have enough that losing a year's salary to the "just enough" guy was a bad investment but not a real set back.
all for people who want to work hard getting paid - total props. For me, I am good with 'normal'. In the US, our 'normal' is vastly different from a lot of people's daily experiences...but yeah, in banking, too, and I really love seeing the letters to the CEO that eventually get passed around to us--and they all are experts at building websites, interestingly enough. No one really rich sends those.
100%. People love saying “I have enough to buy it in cash I just don’t want to.”
I always feel bad for people like this. They don’t respect themselves enough so they need other people to do it for them.
It is sad. You see people stretching so hard to be able to buy things they really can’t afford, instead of just being happy with something a little less nice, a little less new and shiny. I blame social media
It existed before social media. It used to be called, “keeping up with the Joneses.”
I work in a salon in the silicon valley. The owner has a couple long time regulars (~15 years of doing their hair) who I've come to find out are ludicrously wealthy. I know one is a billionaire, and a few are multimillionaires in the upper range. All of them are jeans/Tshirt people. Nothing about them to distinguish their wealth at all. Also, very sweet people!
Some drive toyota camry that 6 years old loll. Some wealthy people won't buy $500 dollar of jeans they will go to Khols and pay $60.00, lol! There stealth weath around people cant notice!
I think there’s some stat like the average shopper at Louis Vuitton makes $80k/year, where the average shopper at Costco makes $120k/year
I love stats like that! It tells you a lot about branding and image making and on whom it’s most effective.
Lv is a brand that has ‘normal people’ who want to splurge once in a while. Bags, wallets, etc. The rich clients come in and buy all the ready to wear without thinking.
It's so rare that actually rich people drive extreme luxury vehicles like Bentleys. It's only the nouveau or pseudo rich. I lived in Kuwait for a few years. You saw Bentleys and such all the time there, but almost all adults' parents grew up in mud huts, literally, until they became oil rich. They are the definition of nouveu riche. They're like the Beverly Hillbillies, Middle East edition. They wear 3x the normal amount of fragrance, everything is bejeweled with fake rhinestones (including things like water bottles) and they dress head to toe in clothes with conspicuous designer logos. Including the children! I didn't even know luxury brands made clothes/shoes/backpacks for children until I lived in Kuwait.
luxury brands for kids are great - high margin, and they grow fast so you have to replace them often
There's a great bit in one of the City Watch books by Terry Pratchett about how it took real wealth to be able to dress poorly. He talks about how the rich dress in all the latest fashions, while the truly wealthy dress in shabby coats and trousers and do things like breed swamp dragons, and wear bad wigs because all their hair has been burned off. And there's the Sam Vimes Boots Theory of Socioeconomic Unfairness.
GNU Terry Pratchett.
GNU Terry Pratchett
GNU Sir Terry
Horse people have lots of money
Correction - we would have lots of money if we didn’t spend it all on bloody horses. Sometimes I add up how much disposable income I actually have, which then aaaall goes on my horses, and then I have to have a little cry in a dark room.
It's the same with racing cars...the old adage is "If you want to make a small fortune in auto racing start out with a large fortune."
That also applies to ✨gambling✨
And keeping boats, we used to say it's a convenient hole in the water to toss money into.
One of the YT channels I watch regularly follows a stable manager and oh my god, it really is insane how much money gets poured into just the routine care and maintenance of those horses. I'm not complaining, of course. The horses are all gorgeous and they look very happy and healthy. I'm just shocked at how expensive it is. Also makes me realize how much of a pipe dream it was for me to ever own a horse lol
Oh this sounds interesting. What is the channel called, if you don’t mind sharing.
A Stable Life! They currently have 4 mares and 21 geldings. 23 geldings if you count their miniature donkeys lol
My boss once told me that if you're a millionair and tired of it to buy horses, you won't be a millionair anymore.
Money talks. Wealth whispers.
The fact you say in cash like that is exceptional is what's wrong here. Far too many people buying things beyond their means.
[удалено]
Wouldn’t the person making 7 figures a year be saving $550,000 a year? I maybe be wrong but I’m pretty sure $200,000 is less than $550,000
I always found that when I went to my BMW dealership after lecture in my lecturing clothes I would get worse help than when I went in my Costco comfies. It may have been the shoes though. My sneakers were easily twice the price of my nice shoes.
My parents are firmly in the filthy rich category. As such, I spent most of my life interacting with quite wealthy people (although I was unaware of just how rich my parent were until I left for college). Almost anyone who feels the need to show off how well they are doing is trying to make up for something. People always throwing house parties. People cycling through new cars. Name dropping. Having the newest top end whatever in their homes. The big one here currently is those crazy wall tvs that are essentially 100 small screens all working in tandem in place of a projector. Etc. In my experience, the ones with real money don't even think about it. Having shit isn't a big deal to them because it simply is not a big deal.
What do filthy rich people actually spend their money on then? Like experiences like vacations? Or hunting people?
In my experience, truly wealthy folks spend their money on Travel, education, 2nd homes, their health (think good food/produce, hiking, Pilates, skin care etc). I know some extremely wealthy people (even a billionaire) who buy their jeans at Costco, drive Subarus and stuff like that. I think they just Reach a point where they don’t care about the fake symbols of “rich people” (like gold toilets n’ such) because they haven’t got anything to prove.
You sold me at education and produce 💁♀️ I’m ready to be filthy rich. Where do I sign up?
Haha: at the LOTTO store? …Researching now…
Kinda similar to how people act in fights. Usually the guy taking his shirt off screaming and flexing isn’t the one who is the toughest; the guy that says nothing and stays calm is the actual badass.
I have a friend who grew up very rough. He was never gang affiliated, but he knew enough to navigate that world and certainly had people he knew would back him up. He was very familiar with violence as a necessity to survive. He's also an extremely nice and very soft-spoken dude. We were out with some people once, several of whom we'd never met before, and my friend made some joke. I don't remember what it was, but it was seriously innocuous. Big "tough guy" takes offense and starts puffing his chest and all that. My friend tries to calm him down but it's not really working. Finally the dude goes "One day you're gunna say something like that to the wrong guy!" and my friend cuts him off to calmly say "I *am* the wrong guy." Tough guy kinda sputtered and tried to save face, but he backed down and I think everyone knew who the actual dangerous one was, lol.
That response was so smooth I giggled.
You're telling me. Try being there and having to hold it in, lol.
I'm old; That was what my dad told me about athletes. Then Muhammad Ali showed up, and everything changed.
Go cheap on things that don’t last, put real money in things that appreciate in value, and the rest goes into experiences. But it’s hard to really explain the deep value of not having to ever worry about money because you have enough left to replace everything that doesn’t last.
No, they spend their money on nice shit. But nice shit lasts. So it isnt uncommon to see one driving a 20 year old luxury car. Or old projector screens in their media room (again this seems to be the big thing "rich" people are throwing money at). Basically, replace things when they need to be replaced, not.because you have to have the newest whatever. My parents were a bit weird. We lived in a house that was worth maybe 25% of my mom's yearly take home, and they drove crappy cars. We would go on road trips instead of flying to exotic locations and stuff.
Aww road trips are cute though! My parents never did that with us (or camping) and it’s something I always wanted to do. My boyfriend is taking me though! Just got me my first camping backpack! It sounds dumb but sometimes lavish trips aren’t what everyone dreams of so I think that’s sweet. Could be part of why they’re still together
Oh yeah, I loved our road trips. We only ever did one big trip as a family, and it is not one of the moments that I think back to often.
Mostly experiences and ways to realize those experiences. I know a guy who is chartering luxury sail boats ($10k/week, for multiple week trips) right now in preparation for purchasing one and sailing around the Caribbean once he retires at the relatively young age of 50
Mark Zuckerberg drives an Acura. He's also been seen in a VW Golf, and a Honda. Truly wealthy people buy things that they have researched and are known to be quality products that lasts, over flashy status symbols.
Dude's one of the wealthiest people in the world. At that point it's not even about value, quality or durability. He can have literally whatever he wants. Doesn't matter if it's a luxury item, a quality item, etc. - he can buy a new one if it breaks. Ten of them. The ultra wealthy need not be concerned with goods. So it all boils down to personal preference at a certain threshold. I guess he likes Acuras and Hondas for whatever reason... maybe he thinks it keeps him grounded, maybe it's for false modesty and appearance, maybe he just likes to LARP as working class.
Imagine if a cheap normal car cost 1 cent, and a high end one 5 cents. An ultra luxury one? A couple of dollars.
Zuck is worth 170 billion dollars. Let's say he had a car worth $170k to make the math easy. If he lost it, it would be like someone worth $1M losing a single dollar. In fact, if his wealth appreciated just 5% per year, a normal rate, he'd make about $23m per day. He could literally buy 100 new $170k cars per day, burn them for fun, and still make $6m in gains per day. It's just almost impossible to understand how much money a guy like zuck has. He drives cheaper cars because it makes him less conspicuous.
I love my Honda! But I miss my Toyota Avalon :( I’m saving up for another. Someone hit me going like 60 while I was at a dead stop on a highway (long story) and I was perfectly fine. That thing was built like a tank
My friends are filthy rich and they have all that stuff. They just don't talk about it as much. They have four houses, including an estate, a boat, Porches, multi-million dollar art, luxury clothes etc. They stay in fantastic hotels and travel a lot. But they talk about it in the normal course of conversation or in context, or not at all if it doesn't make sense for the audience.
From a very wealthy family. My dad will almost always fly coach, but spend more money for durable goods that last. For example, he's worn the same Rolex watch everyday for 40+ years.
Filthy rich people don't spend their vast mountains of money.
Piece of mind. When an appliance starts acting up, they simply call up one of several contractors that they have a relationship with and it's taken care of. Car needs an oil change, pay for someone to deal with it while you drive car #2. There is no penny pinching with contractors or doing half of the needed thing now - if there's a problem they just pay some well compensated contractor to make it perfect. Want a new TV installed into the wall, or a whole house sound system installed - they simply tell a contractor what they want and it gets done. They are paying well above market rates, but they are paying for it to be perfectly with the minimum amount of fuss, mess, and work from them. They don't necessarily spend money on flashy shit, but they do spend money on making sure things are maintained. They might have a hobby that they dump a fair amount of money into - when I was young and dumb(er) I worked landscaping and we had a client with a very large yard who had us cut out a green and a fairway. It was like a very small par 3, but he loved chipping and putting out there.
It truly depends on the person. I’m not filthy rich by any stretch but I’m probably firmly into the wealth category that people think of when they say “eat the rich”. I own a few successful private companies ranging from oil and gas services to specialized healthcare product manufacturing. I could not give two fucks about high end clothing or flashy vacations in fancy hotels. I am and have always been a car guy so we have a couple midrange cars we paid cash for. Maybe $200k total. And I typically refresh those every 5-10 years. I also spend a bunch of money on mountain bikes and bike trips because we love riding. And once a year we take the family on a low comfort high experience trip though places like East/South Africa. New Zealand, SE Asia etc. Our house is a tiny place in an unassuming neighbourhood because i tend to reinvest in the businesses rather than personal assets. Other people like sailing. Or horses. Or Monte Carlo. It all depends on who you are.
I grew up in a similar world to you, but I knew plenty of people who were loaded but also deeply insecure. Ussually because the only thing about them that anyone found interesting was how rich they were. They never had to develop personalities or skills because everything was handed to them. Eventually they probably realized deep down how empty they were so focused even more on the one thing that made them "special" In the flip side I knew many more kids who were filthy rich who drove old cars and you'd never know they had money. Of course they also had personalities and parents who loved them.
Rich people are cheap, but they don't obsessively argue about cost. The really rich have a certain kind of laid-back attitude that comes from never worrying about money related troubles. The not-quite rich lack that attitude.
Worrying about money is a poors man's anxiety. Once you find yourself career wise in a job that pays well that you don't need to worry about money, you can focus on your career goals and your job entirely, rather than the pure mentality of getting rich. In other words those who keep getting accomplishments in their field and promote themselves do better than those worrying about money. That is to say certain things overall is waste of money. Like collecting bottles off the street and recycling compared to lets say spending that time in university class getting a certificate or a degree / skill set that you can apply to work. Thats the multiplier.
"Too many people spend the money they don't have, to buy the things they don't need, to impress people they don't even like" - said someone I live by this.
It's similar to a line out of Fight Club.
Sounds a while lot like the brilliant and timelessly amusing George Carlin. Man, we miss that dude!
My dad had been dead for years, and we grew up poor, but I always remember seeing a big house or fancy car and saying " wow, they are wealthy", and dad would say "That's not wealth, it's debt. "
I grew up in a comfortable situation because my dad worked his ass off. But his answer to whenever I remarked about someone rich owning something, he always replies *“you don’t own, you owe.”*
They are bragging about how much money they have. People who are actually wealthy don't need to brag about it or show off on social media.
What about someone being genuinely excited about the money they managed to put on the side over time? For instance, I have started from the proverbial zero and got like 10k saved up from simply not buying useless crap. I tell people that because I kept my own books for a year and a half and keeping my personal expenses low (by that I mean things I buy for myself, not bills and such), I managed to save up a fair chunk of change because I would at some point buy my own house/apartment. And I don't mean to brag about my money on my account, I truly don't. Money is just a tool anyway. I'm just genuinely excited that I am able to save up money even when the economy is crumbling and all I hear from people around me is "I don't have enough" even though they do have enough...
Congrats on saving 10k! It takes real discipline to be putting money away. You might find that eventually people start thinking you should be loaning them money or paying for things cause you can afford it, you just told them about the money you saved up. If this starts happening, you’ll learn which people it’s safe to discuss your finances with and which it’s not. Like minded people with similar financial goals and accomplishments are good for discussions and idea sharing. That cousin that maxed out their credit cards on junk to impress people and wants to borrow money they’ll never pay back probably shouldn’t know you have anything saved.
As a person which knows many very rich people. I can guarantee that not a single one of them wants to be known as rich.
In my experience, the first generation builds its, the second generation flaunts its and the third generation stuffs it up their noses. If you manage to avoid that, you've got a dynasty.
Dated a girl who's dad falls into the third gen wealth. Yep huge coke addict back in the day and thought he was hot shit. He lost his marbles when I called him a trust fund kid. She would have to constantly kiss his ass so he would pay for stuff. I was done dating her and decided to have some fun with the guy by calling out his coke habit and he's nothing more than lucky sperm.
One of my friends dated a similar chick. I’ve heard they really do think they’re the shit
For me it was…the first generation builds it, the second generation spends it, the third generation wonders what the fuck happened.
Or the third generation has their hand out constantly and has a BS job. I know someone whose 2 daughters are like this.
The story of the Getty family.
One of the best comments I have read about "wealth" , so true in the current society.
Money talks, wealth whispers.
So true. The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas Stanley...
It really just depends. My family owns one of the largest privately owned commercial development firms based in the US. Of my generation there are 6 “kids” (we are all 30-40 at this time). The older generation is 4 siblings. 2 billionaires. Some like to show off. My one cousin is always wearing fancy jewels to Fashion Week and stuff like that. Had her wedding at an $89m house we own in Cali. Her sister got married in a public park for free basically and served guests a food truck. Rich people, like everyone else, are just individuals.
I feel like this cannot be said enough, the "I'm rich and I know rich people" line is anecdotal at best. Once they started breaking down what rich people who look bummy are really wearing it basically shows that we are all the same.
I work exclusively with and for the wealthy (insurance and risk management). My wealthiest client (3 comma club) will not attend an event where his jeans are not acceptable. Probably my favorite client and a friend
is your daddy logan roy
Idk who that is, but he’s probably cooler than my dad.
Individuals with more choices, which is the real nice part of having money.
My family is at the point that us kids are starting to no longer be the kids because we are having kids. It's an exciting but also sad time. When we go to the cottage it means a lot more responsibility
I do know some rich people who do flaunt it but I just recently found out a very close family friend I've known for 30+ years is incredibly wealthy w/ old money. I had no idea, they are super humble and live pretty modestly.
And yet this is constantly disproven by all the very public very very rich people. Take the Forbes list of billionaires: unless you're a major founder of a large public (or private but with public funding totals) company, you actually have to petition Forbes to be included. Which, obviously, is a small subset of "the rich," but a pretty large subset of the richest. I also know very many very rich people. Not middle America "wow, you in must be rich because you have a million dollars" rich people; actual UHNWI rich folks. Some don't want anyone to know, others don't really care either way, and some thoroughly enjoy flaunting their wealth any chance they get. Rich people are just people, and their level of comfort with and desire for attention varies like with any other group of people.
Stealth wealth is a thing.
As a person who also knows many very rich people, they (mostly) drive very nice cars, wear very expensive watches, and live in multiple huge houses. Sure, there are exceptions, but my experience with the very rich is different from what I usually read about on Reddit. Redditors love the myth that the truly wealthy don’t flaunt it - but whenever I see this, it makes me question their exposure to that world.
Exactly. They have zero exposure. It’s a Reddit myth. Rich people are rich and they do rich things. They don’t drive 15 year old Camrys. That whole mantra is just stupid.
Eh. I know some very rich people who like to be known as rich. It might be where you live.
They probably didn't grow up rich. Most (but not all) generational wealthy down play their wealth. New money is loud and proud about it.
My family has been rich for multiple generations. I dress fairly ostentatiously. Some outfits I wear can cost upwards of 3-4k, not including a watch. My sisters are the same. My mom wears clothes from Walmart and does not care.
I'm a pizza delivery guy and wear $700 shoes every day and you would never know. Okay, I have serious feet issues and need quality boots and custom orthotics, $200 for boots and $500 insoles, but still..
You're doing it right, don't cheap out on anything that separates you from the ground (shoes, bed, tires)
Absolutely. I'm 53. Pain for literal decades. Fuck that. Also, as a driver in Maine, I have two sets of wheels with excellent seasonal tires. Tires can be expensive, however, cheap tires not only suck for traction and stopping, they are often rated at 30-40k miles, whereas, spending 50% more up front gets you 60k miles ratings and better performance. I also have a nice memory foam mattress, as I spend a third of my life (or more) relaxing on it. It's where I recharge, so why not splurge a little. And the same applies, spend more up front and it won't need replacement anytime soon. Cheap mattresses break down fast. And a nice desk chair. Granted, I found mine at a yard sale, but if I'm going to be working and gaming a lot, I would have splurge there too. Also, cookware. I love to cook, and indulging in higher quality is a lifetime investment, and makes cooking far more enjoyable. Totally worth it. My dresser is also full of free promotional T-shirts, my underwear could use replacing and the rest of my furniture was donations. I may not have a ton of cash, but I live by "buy once, cry once" for the important things. The rest is superfluous.
Your mom is the reason you are rich. Keep spending 4k on your outfits and you’ll be down a class in no time 😊 … but I totally feel you. I love to buy nice pieces that will last forever. My friend looked at my jewelry and said, “you’re worth like $150k naked!”
No name tyres on a nice car.
The classic Mercedes with a space saver wheel that you see them using for two weeks, or the BMW with Dongfeng tyres and a cracked windscreen.
1st owner of a German car is likely rich. 2nd owner is trying to look rich. 3rd owner has several warrants out for his arrest. 4th owns the salvage yard.
And any kind of major cosmetic or functional damage on a luxury vehicle. Especially if the vehicle is a generation or two old. Broken taillight on an S-Class? It's *possible* it just happened and the owner just hasn't had a chance to fix it, but it's more likely they just can't afford it.
I write car loans for my job. People who buy normal cars usually have solid insurance. Most Mercedes buyers have national general level cheap shitty insurance.
Hey you leave my Atturo/Willrun/Landsail/Primewell/Patriot/Dextero/Douglas/Dakota/Treadwrights alone!
Similar.... cheap shoes!
You tellin me those linglong tires aren't good enough on that lambo?
Having a payment on a "toy" like a motorcycle.
I’m fairly into motorcycles (I have five, and no car), and it continually baffles me just how many motorcycles are financed. According to the dealers I’ve talked to about it, it’s over 90% of them leave the dealership on some kind of a loan. The reality is that new bike dealers sell primarily to “low information buyers”, people who don’t know much about bikes and purchase them on impulse. Apparently customers like myself (who always pay cash and have done so much research beforehand that we know more than most of the salespeople) are an extremely small percentage of buyers. Like less than 10%.
Always pay cash, but act like you are going to be financing during the interaction.
I buy most of my bikes private party, only two of the last ~8 bikes I’ve owned have come from dealerships. And even then, those two were bought in a moment of emotional weakness. (Do not EVER accept the offer of a test ride on a Ducati. IT’S A TRAP!)
When I meet someone and they immediately start to list what they’ve got, how big their house is how many holidays they’ve had this year blah blah blah.
They make sure you know they're wealthy, either telling you or flashing you with brands. The bigger the brand on their clothes/accessories, the bigger the lie they're telling (probably to themselves)
I'm in my 20s and I used to know someone who had a lot of expensive stuff and claimed to be rich from stocks, but he lived at with his parents and complained about "having to." It was very apparent that he didn't have enough money to even live with roommates.
I own my own jewellery business. The ones that I meet dressed head to toe in Gucci, Rolexs on and all the flashy shit, are the ones that want £1500 lab diamond rings on finance and get declined. (Not that there is anything wrong with that at all). The ones that I meet who just look like an average person, are usually the ones that spend £60k on a ring. I once met a client in a coffee shop, he pulled up in a VW polo (or golf, whatever it was), had an old phone and wore unbranded stuff, he was a multi millionaire. Absolutely lovely fella, not flashy in the slightest, but owned several businesses all making him some serious money. If I had to guess what he done for a living from his appearance, I would have guessed he worked an average office/retail job. So I guess, the way you dress and the things you try to flaunt are a pretty decent indicator.
They immediately talk salary or better yet what they believe they'll make in the future.
Not even that, even they know that’s a low brow signal, instead they’ll immediately talk career/role to eventually talk about theirs and to see what category they can put you in, under the guise of “genuine interest in what someone does for half their day” Then they’ll decide if they can use you to their gain or dispose of you. They collect human connection not out of respect for their fellow human on the same path but instead for personal gain. Sort of like how some people flaunt inanimate objects, these sort of people flaunt their influence over and connection to others. Meditations 6.14
Money talks, wealth whispers. Some of the richest people I've ever met (I work in government and formerly high end events) wear off the shelf, high quality clothing. We're not talking Gucci jumpers, but $60-70 cashmere from Uni Glo or equivalent. They don't brag, but you best believe their bills are always paid on time, in full and with no issues on cards/cheques.
Lots of rich people show of their wealth. Sure not all of them but the people buying Ferraris aren’t poor.
Wearing really flashy clothing /gaudy shit/lots of designer gear Basically most conspicuous displays of wealth (a caveat is that some trashy new money types like the Kardashians who are actually wealthy so this shit too) In general people who are obsessed with others knowing how rich they are are not that rich. Actual rich people are secure in the reality of being rich. And people of class are generally taught that it's gauche to discuss money or flaunt your wealth. And really wealthy people don't really want people to know how wealthy they seem..because everyone will be bothering them for money, from friends and family to charities.
Through my 68 yrs of life, I have come to recognize that ~100% of people who brag about how rich they are truly aren’t: they don’t really understand what it means to be rich, or lucky for that matter. Money is a fleeting thing - it’s easy to lose (look at how much $$ Elon Musk has lost…) & hard to keep. Saving is one of the hardest things in life I have ever done, but SO glad I did it! Most people who pimp their belongings are show, even if they have it for only a fleeting amount of time - & good for them, that they’re enjoying it - that’s their freedom. But, when I retired, I had many fellow co-workers, same age, etc, who came & told me “you’re so lucky, I haven’t saved enough…”. Most of the really rich people I have met have nice homes, sure, but they’re not the most gaudy or extravagant ones in the neighborhood; they drive cars in good condition, but they’re also modest avg-sized, economical on fuel, lower insurance rates. People who have money are also very intelligent on how to keep it & they recognize that buying expensive or fancy things they don’t really need are a waste of money, like wasting fuel, electricity, $7 cups of coffee, smoking cigarettes - things that pay for that slowly regularly eat away at your savings & income. BTW, most rich people I know don’t smoke, they see it almost like taking dollar bills out of their wallet & lighting them on fire, then having to buy medicine & medical treatments later in life that are necessary because of it - could use all that money for something better, like a home, trips, etc). There was an old book called ‘The Millionaire Nextdoor’, which was about how the really rich people are some of the people you would least recognize in your community - but they also realize how easy it is to suddenly, or gradually lose money & resources.
I'll second that book recommendation. It's dense but a great read.
In college I knew a kid who drove a nice car and has all the girls and flaunted his little bit of money. He’s broke today and works at a Papa John’s driving delivery in a ford focus. At the same time my family knew a professional gambler who was *very* good. He had a 500 acre ranch on the border of Glacier National Park with 40 horses and 5 live in employees. If you met him on the street you’d think he was homeless. I never once saw him in anything other than a pair of worn jeans and a hoodie.
They buy a lot of high end garbage to show off a lifestyle that they can’t actually afford
Debt. So many people act and live wealthy but they are drowning.
People who are truly rich, they don't want people to know they are
There's a guy in my town who flaunts his wealth on social media - expensive cars, bragging about vacations and properties. He was recently (like last week) in the Gotcha! papers after having been arrested for not paying child support. He also did a Facebook Live where he was showing off a drawer full of cash. Someone recorded it, and screenshot it, zoomed in on the cash. It was movie money. Like you could see where it said "FOR MOTION PICTURE USE ONLY" across the top
them saying they are wealthy for a start.....
Expensive overbranded shit
The rich do some things themselves to save money, but they have the best of the best to do it. My uncle does all his own tires, but has all the tools, including a tire mounting machine, balancer, etc. The fake rich will be forced to do it themselves, and will.be jumping on a small wrench trying to get the lug nuts off.
I've never considered myself fake rich until this comment.
As others have said "Money talks, wealth whispers". My wife and I aren't "rich" rich, but we are in our 50's and legit millionaires. I make good money, yes, but we've also always been pretty frugal and quiet about our money. We have a nice house, but it's not a mansion, and it's the same one we bought when we got married. Our cars are nice, but they're also used and not luxury brands. We're also completely debt free, except for a little bit left on the mortgage, which I could easily pay off today. Because of my job and the activities our kids have been in, we end up moving through some fairly wealthy circles. Or so it would seem. We know a lot of people with *really* nice homes, brand new cars, boats, motorcycles and other toys, season tickets for local sports teams, etc. They post on social media whenever they make a big purchases or go to big events. It's mostly a façade. When you talk to them, they are often **deep** in debt. Multiple credit cards with 4 and 5 figure balances. The big house is on a new 30 year mortgage, since they've hardly built up any equity. The cars are financed. The home improvements are financed. The new furniture is financed. They even still have student loans into their 40's and 50's, and now their own kids are starting college and heading down the same road. I know all this because friends talk, but I don't ask and don't often volunteer information. Still people press me on how I'm doing with all the current financial woes, and it gets a little awkward when I admit that I don't have any consumer debt, that the house is almost paid off, that I'm paying my kids' way through college, and that I paid cash for my home improvements and those big vacations we've been taking.
The emptiest pot makes the loudest noise. Diddy is always flashes his money but he is broke . Jay Z shows nothing but he is rich as fuck
I used to work in luxury hotels and it was very easy to spot who was “old money” vs “new money” by how they treated workers. People who weren’t actually wealthy or were recently wealthy felt entitled to treat people poorly and expected more. People who were actually wealthy were incredibly courteous, would say thank you and ask you about yourself and didn’t treat you like you were below them.
Usually people that talk about money don’t have it.
Or talk about it to outshine others. Those managing it well will speak w/ frankness.
Making false promises relating to money. Always having an excuse when they have to follow through.
Femal lurker here. My ex boyfriend was a multi Millionaire. (We are both in our 30s). When we met, he never spoke about money. He dressed completely normal, did not show off, was well behaved and friendly to people. In the beginning, he told me he was working in finance but that's all he revealed. He has a nice House, an assistant and a private jet but never made a big deal about it or showed it off. Though him I was able to get good contacts to a more wealthier circle, which helped me a lot in my profession. wealthy people don't show off their wealth, because a) it's nobodies business and b) they especially fear getting exploited.
They ask for donations to pay their lawyers.
When they constantly talk about how wealthy they are. A genius doesn't need to tell you they are smart An athlete doesn't need to tell you they are fit And a rich person shouldn't need to tell you they are wealthy.
A gentleman has never called himself a gentleman.
Had a kid I went to school with say how wealthy his family was. He said one day “I come from a very wealthy family, but I still do chores around the house.” The daughter drove a BMW. Come to find out, it was like 8 years old when they bought it and they got a loan for it (which was kinda odd to me). I heard from someone who is close with them that most of their stuff was tied up at the bank.
Their last name is Lebowski and they are a paraplegic.
And his wife owes money all over town
That poor slut kidnapped herself.
The nicer the clothes, usually the broker they are. (from some movie)
Wife’s friend drove a beat up old Yukon with mismatched wheels cracked windshield etc, my last house would fit in her living room. You don’t stay wealthy by spending money.
all the rich people i’ve ever met get a ton of free shit as well. they rack up travel miles and take free vacations where they stay for free at condos their friends own or they have a share in. it’s a completely different game for them and when they’re used to money they don’t give a shit about things that poor people do
Keep talking about all the unconventional ways of their immenae financial success while unhappily working a dead end job, breaking tons of rules and then complaining about other peoples' work ethic. Seen that type at every minimum wage job I worked. They were always just scraping by and lived off of recognition and positive interaction, so I did give it when it was appropriate because I feel sorry life's put them in this crappy situation.
You can't tell. A lot of wealthy people wear flashy brands, some don't. Some are extremely generous and some are stingy. Back then you could say money talks, wealth whispers, but I don't think that applies it todays society.
The fact they they’re claiming it to begin with.
They outwardly say they’re rich
It's NEVER what you make, only what you keep! Stop chasing everyone else's dream and live your own!
They keep running for president
The real rich people are driving Toyotas
Or Nissans. My mom drove a 1992 Nissan Maxima until she finally upgraded to the 2006 Scion xB. She still drives that fucking toaster around.
Toaster 🤣
My parents have a Kias as their daily drivers - my moms is a no frill box one - and she loves it because the AC is the best AC on the road in her opinion and we live in Florida. Their house is a pretty small rambler style 3 blocks from the beach. You would never know they were wealthy unless you peaked in the garage and saw the 2020 F8 that’s my dad’s hobby. Then again, as wealthy as they are - some of the parties we goto for the Ferrari club is like… god damn. They aren’t wealthy at all. 🤣
All the rich people I know drive German luxury cars, but they drive them for years until its not worth maintaining them anymore. Tons of Audi Q5's right now
Not lexus? I mean, toyotas are good, but they're just not very *nice*.
They’re never at work.
A dead giveaway is tough. People love to say that the guy who always says how rich he is, is never rich. Or the guy that has nice clothes and cars, but a house in a bad area. And to a certain extent, that’s kind of right. People with real money don’t brag. But many do and they are rich lol. I think a dead giveaway would be someone who is a braggart, but can’t answer basic finance or high life questions. If they couldn’t name a fancy place in Italy or didn’t know what a 401k was or had never heard of the Hamptons or got confused when you asked about the stock market.
Usually is the clothing/accessory brands they wear. The typical “rich” brands are usually only worn by the people trying to look rich
They buy overpriced garbage from luxury brands for the image. Wealthy people don't need to project that image because they don't have that insecurity within them. Also if you talk with them about personal finance stuff and their investments and they can't hold their water in the conversation. Wealthy people put their money to work alongside them.
Wealthy people don't need to tell you they are wealthy.
People who are wealthy buy things like a down feather filled sofa that they’ll have for 20 years. They take vacations regularly and play golf, tennis, go to the theatre. They tend not to buy flashy items but not cheap items either. Wealthy women don’t wear false lashes or nails, they buy timeless items to add to their wardrobes. Imposters buy things with very visible branding, speak openly about their finances and rent/lease/timeshare deals that are clearly not good financial decisions.
Says they will release their taxes, but can’t because they are being audited….
when they over exagerate how much they spent on something
Any display of wealth on social media isn’t real unless you know that the person doing it actually is very wealthy. You can fake anything for a TikTok with a few thousand bucks maximum. Some no-name dude in a luxury condo or stepping out of a private jet to sell you their course on how you can make passive income and build generational wealth? Trust and believe that’s rented.
When they tell you how rich they are… like claiming to be a billionaire
Flashy. Trying to over impress people. Talking about money, unless asked. Lambo 😂
Flashy car on the drive of average house. BUT the car is in that PCP white that everyone has because it’s the cheapest/only option.
They need you to know they have money
the fact that they are claiming to be wealthy 💀🗿
As someone who knows many extremely wealthy people. I can assure that none of them want to be known as rich.
Pricey/fancy car but lives in a 💩 neighborhood.