For example, if a wealthy person only wants to socialize with and date other very wealthy people, how would they know? Like, for example, what if LeBron James or Tyler Perry only wanted to be friends with other wealthy people and wanted their kids to only date and marry people from other wealthy families? How would they know the people they meet also come from multi-millionaire families? I’m sure if a random billionaire met someone at a club or social event, they wouldn’t introduce themselves by saying, “I’m X, Y, and Z, and I’m worth this much money.” What if a son of a multi-millionaire wanted to date a woman who came from a wealthy family? Also, if he meets a woman, how would he know if she comes from money or not? Like I said, she wouldn’t say, “I come from generation wealth” right off the bat.
only wanted to be friends with other wealthy people
Never go out to public places. Never go alone anywhere. Meet people mostly at private places with invitations, or maybe for example at charity events where you pay 5 figures just to get inside.
and wanted their kids to only date and marry people from other wealthy families?
Have your kids at private schools and the most expensive universities.
There are all sorts of filters:
- Expensive clubs. Members only associations like country clubs can skew towards the ultra rich. Yacht clubs and polo clubs are kinda an extreme version of this, but there are all sorts of organizations where the membership can be assumed to be rich.
- Expensive hobbies. Wine tasting, skiing, golfing, boating, horse stuff, biking, and traveling/vacations can range from the slightly expensive to prices that only the ultra rich can afford.
- Related to both of the above, expensive places. If you’re skiing in an expensive resort town, and hanging out in the lobby of a $2000/night hotel, you’ll probably only see employees of these places or other very rich people. Some have even layers beyond that, like an exclusive members only club in an expensive area, or a separate lounge for only people lodging in the most expensive rooms in the hotel. Or if you’re at a private jet airport, and weather causes delays and cancellations, standing around in the terminal might allow you to mingle with other private jet people. Or if you live in a crazy expensive neighborhood or building, your neighbors are pretty much guaranteed to be rich.
- Third party verification. Networking, introduction by mutual friends/acquaintances, even social media or dating apps where you have to prove your status/wealth.
It’s not all or nothing, either. Some places have a disproportionately high number of rich people but aren’t necessarily exclusive to the rich (private schools, certain types of clubs, certain types of activities/hobbies, public parks/restaurants/libraries/museums in rich areas). So a lot of rich people do mingle with the middle class, but often will feel comfortable letting their guard down more or less in particular places or in particular groups.
Or if you live in a crazy expensive neighborhood or building, your neighbors are pretty much guaranteed to be rich.
Careful. We’re paying $4.10/sqft/mo rent and we are NOT rich; just in a very overpriced area.
I assume in your city, $4/month/sq ft isn’t considered “crazy expensive,” though. In a place like San Francisco or New York, a $2000/month apartment that is 500 square feet wouldn’t register as anything notable.
If it’s not considered “crazy expensive,” people wouldn’t assume you’re crazy rich just by living there.
This is the function of exclusive social or networking events. Often either an exclusive invite list or very high plate price. You’re either invited to the table, or pay to be there.
Once you’re at the event, you’re either known, or engage in small talk where details are revealed. Here strategic partnerships form, or there are quid pro quo for access to secondary or tertiary networks.
It’s not what you know; it’s who you know.
They don’t go to places you or I go to on the regular. They have exclusive clubs, restaurants, or hang out on someone’s yacht.
They go hang out in incredibly expensive country clubs and on their yachts and at elite universities and prep schools, polo camps and air conditioned safaris.
I had rich grandparents and great grandparents and they didn’t do any of that. The only “rich” thing I remember them doing is going hunting.
Most of the stuff in this thread is based on fiction and certain types of nouveau riche assholes.
My grandparents never lived rich… my grandfather’s father did build a fortune in Long Island but most of it was lost during the 1929 crash and subsequent Depression. However, what they did do was save and invest and land values were inexpensive in the late 30s so they bought a house for $3K a few blocks from the bay. They always lived really modestly and volunteered, worked civil service type jobs, required all their kids to work after school and really just socked away and invested every dime they could. When my grandmother retired, they bought a condo in Florida and became snowbirds. Our family still has that condo. After my uncle died (he was left the house for his lifetime), his brother sold it for over $600K. The rest of the Trust after my grandparents died was divided among the brothers and survivors of the ones that were already gone. They were never Hamptons rich though.
Most of the stuff in this thread
We probably need to talk about what one’s definition of “rich” is. I suspect the commenters in this thread are all over the place.
When I was growing up, my idea of rich was private schools and McMansions and overseas vacations and new BMWs for 16th birthdays, basically the kind of lifestyle accessible to only the top 5%.
But now, 20+ years later, I’ve been around 0.1%ers, desensitized to upper middle class stuff that the things I used to believe were signifiers of wealth barely register for me anymore. I’ve also been around descendants of former 0.1%ers who carry some cultural baggage from their families despite having “only” ordinary upper middle class income.
I read this thread and wonder where each commenter sits in how they evaluate richness.
I mean, this is what my cousins did. It was creepy, till I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, and said you’re movin with your auntie and uncle in Bel Air.
Wealthy people don’t mingle with the rest of us. They literally live in a totally different world, and you ain’t invited unless you can clean their toilets for cheap, or give them massages on their private Caribbean islands and shut your trap.
