I was reading an article summary on Slashdot this morning, and it got me to thinking: I've never known anyone I'd consider (very/extremely) wealthy. Being in banking, I've met people over the years that I've suspected are relatively wealthy (say, worth up to 1 million USD), but I've never asked to confirm, and I'd never abuse my position to investigate their wealth. I have never met or known anyone I'd consider very/extremely wealthy (say, worth multiple millions or even billions). Of course I reside in a very rural area, so stats are against such a thing.

What about you guys? Do you know or hang out with wealthy individuals? Ever spent the day at a stereotypical 'mansion', decked out with the exotic cars and a boat or two anchored nearby? I imagine a lot of wealthy people want to hang out in social settings that attempt to 'ignore' their wealth or make it irrelevant to the conversation at hand.

Discuss!

Essentially, all of my clients are wealthy.

No hanging by yachts and such, however, I have received tons of bomb gifts, dinner invites, phones and whatnot.

Most of these guys don't act like ballers. Very humble and respectful (Korean). When my son was born, I didn't have to buy anything. Clothes, baby stuff, the works...

Now the Chinese ones I know are off the wall new money douchey types. I don't like to hang with them as it tends to involve non stop baijiu and hookers at a KTV (karaoke whore house). One of them let me drive his Maserati once. That was as close as I got to balling I suppose.

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My aunt married into money. She lives in an enormous mansion with a swimming pool and a helicopter pad (!) complete with hanger. I don't think they own a helicopter though. It used to be fun going there as a kid, but there was a family fall-out and I haven't seen them for over ten years.

My family come from a pretty poor background - my grandparents on both sides were coal miners - and I think my aunt let her new-found wealth go to her head. My Dad has worked his bollocks off over his life to get to the point where he earns a good wage, and my aunt was in the habit of patronising him, telling him "You can't afford that!" whenever he paid for us to go on a nice holiday and fly first class.

So yeah... In that instance, at least, the wealthy very much did not try and make their wealth irrelevant.

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My mother's boyfriend is doing pretty well for himself, but he's extremely humble and doesn't even care about it. He's been extremely helpful to me and my ex-gf in some difficult financial times.

He had a couple of colleagues though that were extremely wealthy, mostly born into rich families. He said that those people were extremely humble and down to earth and the sole fact that they worked was due to boredom, with the possibility to retire and fall back onto the money at any given time. One of them was incredibly intelligent as well with an IQ of 145 and was making some funny investments like buying forests and stuff like that. All in all, they didn't fall out of the spectrum of ordinary and didn't live in opulence either.

Some interesting replies thus far. I always forget where Jay is located, so it's nice to hear a "foreign" (non-US, to me) perspective on wealth.

One thing I don't think of too often, but do remind myself of from time to time: there are probably one billion people in the world who, if sitting in my home, would consider me "wealthy" and marvel at the gadgetry in my home. Yet I make "only" $41,000 USD per year.

I can't fathom what it would be like to be in a position to never have to truly worry about money. Yet to those billion people I mentioned above, it would be almost a joke, my worrying about money. They are worrying about what they are going to feed their family the next day.

I have over the years but nothing that interesting comes to mind. One thing for sure the Brits and Indians have it right about class separation. People are happier when they are unaware how much their wealthier counterparts are. It's a ladder people who you might consider rich are often pretty low in the grand scheme. I'd agree what Jay said about new money being horse asses.

Last edited by on Oct-19-2015 at 18:16

I've lived near wealthy people most of my life, having grown up in a posh neighbourhood of Brasilia. Boats are an common sighting in the lake here (only two coastal cities have more boats than us), and I lived in what's called "The Ministers' Peninsula" for a couple of years - that's where most local politicians live.

It was funny to overtake Ferraris with my '94 Fiat Uno as they struggled with speed bumps... But it always seemed surreal. Brazil has just become a middle-income country, yet these people lived in an altogether different world. I guess that's why I've never befriended any of them (never had the opportunity) - we just don't live in the same world, even when we are just a few metres apart

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'94 Fiat' gee lira I didn't realize you're that poor

quote:

Originally posted by Chimney One of them was incredibly intelligent as well with an IQ of 145 and was making some funny investments like buying forests and stuff like that.

I wouldn't call that a funny investment, but a smart one. Think about it, you have land rights in itself, which is usually secure.

You have a renewable resource that can make you a significant amount of coin. I don't know how it works in the rest of the world, but in Canada, forestry companies will pay you for the lumber, do the clear cutting/processing and replant for you.

Lumber is one natural resource that is sustainable and will continue to be an essential part of life for a long time. Not a quick buck, but a smart buck.

quote:

Originally posted by Zoso Some interesting replies thus far. I always forget where Jay is located, so it's nice to hear a "foreign" (non-US, to me) perspective on wealth.

Shenzhen is a first tier city, and the manufacturing hub of the world. The amount of insane displays of wealth I have seen here is astounding. Then you turn the corner and see a level of poverty that would be unimaginable in my home country. It is hard to explain. A lot of these guys are not geniuses and have essentially been handed the keys due to relationships with the government.

Yes, business acumen is needed to be rich here...it is still subject to the gov allowing you to become so.

You haven't lived until you see some broad wearing a 2000 dollar dress, has a 5000 dollar handbag, but is wearing 30 cent plastic shower shoes in the grocery store.

The term is "tuhao". (poor farmer that struck it rich)

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The wealthiest was probably a guy whose dad was the head of his own personal injury firm. Enormous house, acres of professionally landscaped property, nicest private swimming pool I've seen. The son wasn't snobby at all but more just kind of hyperactive and unbalanced. He used to get in fights somewhat often and got in trouble otherwise a fair bit. The dad was a hothead, too. But the thing I remember most about the dad was seeing him jogging around the neighborhood -- they had a lot of land that was, weirdly, set off by itself in the middle of an otherwise ordinary middle class area -- in the middle of the day in the fucking Texas summer, face red like a beet and sweat pouring off of him. It's like he wanted to give himself heat stroke, lol.

I only went to the house a few times, once to a birthday party for the son, who was in my year at school, and a couple more times for soccer team parties. Apart from the giant house, though, I don't remember them being especially ostentatious with their wealth.

my uncle Edward. he is the ceo of some toy company

he lives in this mansion on Long Island

he is like a big kid! you walk in the house and there is this massive train set the he and his son ride around. walking around you notice he has full arcade versions of Donkey Kong, Centipede and Pac-man

quote:

Originally posted by Scoops my uncle Edward. he is the ceo of some toy company he lives in this mansion on Long Island he is like a big kid! you walk in the house and there is this massive train set the he and his son ride around. walking around you notice he has full arcade versions of Donkey Kong, Centipede and Pac-man

Sounds like Richard Pryor in The Toy.

My neighbor across the street is pretty wealthy. Her dad is dead now, but I guess back in the day he was president or CEO of LaBlatt's.

So, she owns the New England style home, lives in one part of the house and rents the other part out. The house has to be worth close to a million.

It's crazy because my girlfriend and I drink a lot with her and her husband, and it's amazing how often they are asking us for beers when we are drinking. Always mooching, it's ridiculous.