Why do rich people pretend to act like they are not rich?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WASP culture. It takes all the joy out of being rich.

You're joking, right? I think WASP culture make it all the more intriguing. One has to look for the clues not the ostentatious! I'm half WASP half Latina and there is a huge difference in the culture of money! I'm definitely more wasp myself, but I cannot resist an invitation to a Latin party!

No I do not think playing a wealth game of Clue makes up for the joylessness of WASP wealth.

[Anonymous]

OP, all people want to have the freedom of experience. "Rich" puts you in a box. Colors your interactions. Now most rich people never drop-down very far. But there is an ease of interaction that they miss, when others don't know their wealth. There is less pressure, less competition. Again, freedom.

[Anonymous]

They want to be accepted by the people around them and the truth about how much money they have is alienating.

I also think compassionate people feel a sense of shame for hoarding wealth when others are suffering. There's really no way to justify it.

However that is true of everything when you think about it. How can I justify a steak or a nice new car or a vacation when others are suffering?

[Anonymous]

Check out the book Uneasy Street: The Anxieties of Affluence if you'd like to read more about the subject.

From TV’s “real housewives” to The Wolf of Wall Street, our popular culture portrays the wealthy as materialistic and entitled. But what do we really know about those who live on “easy street”? In this penetrating book, Rachel Sherman draws on rare in-depth interviews that she conducted with fifty affluent New Yorkers—from hedge fund financiers and artists to stay-at-home mothers—to examine their lifestyle choices and understanding of privilege. Sherman upends images of wealthy people as invested only in accruing social advantages for themselves and their children. Instead, these liberal elites, who believe in diversity and meritocracy, feel conflicted about their position in a highly unequal society. As the distance between rich and poor widens, Uneasy Street not only explores the lives of those at the top but also sheds light on how extreme inequality comes to seem ordinary and acceptable to the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Huh? Way more poor/middle class people pretend to be rich than the other way around.

Some people would rather BE rich than LOOK rich. I know people who juggle car leases and pay bills late yet brag about flying first class ("we don't ride in the back of the bus!") and take swanky cruise while having zero assets. Their deal obviously, and by their own admission will be working till they're dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Safety for myself and my family.

What exactly do you need to be protected from? Everyone knows we have money--we don't talk about it, but we don't downplay it. We save extensively, but I am not interested in living like austerely if I don't have to, so our things and lifestyle give us away. And our generosity. I do not worry about my safety.

New to the world?

Not an answer, an attempt at being an "insider" obfuscation and a lame jab at so called "new money." Be specific. How is your family in danger?

[Anonymous]

We have always been big savers and good investors but we’ve never lived to our income or now to our net worth which is very high. We don’t pretend we are not rich because we live very well but we don’t drive fancy cars or “live the high life”. I think our friends would be surprised by how much we have but no would would say we pretend we aren’t wealthy.

[Anonymous]

https://digest.bps.org.uk/2022/06/13/showing-off-your-status-and-wealth-makes-you-seem-less-co-operative/

Bam - science!

[Anonymous]

Because it’s embarrassing to be doing well when others aren’t.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Tbh I’m not sure I would call that rich. Wealth inequality is so bad that they are far closer to poverty than they are to The royal family wealth, who in turn are far, far closer to poverty than she is to Bezos wealth. We need a new term for the true wealth hoarders.

But yeah these people do this because they want to seem chill. It’s hilarious hearing somebody with that big of a net worth trying to sound relatable by being outraged about a 1M engagement ring and then buying one that was clearly well over the average salary for somebody in the United States. Own it or don’t talk about it!

This. 5 million feels like what 1 million used to be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The fact that you know your friends have a net worth of $8M+ suggests that either you are nosy or they are oversharing.

Huh? This doesn’t reflect any of what you wrote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They want the benefits of being rich without the downsides. That’s it. They know people often resent or are suspicious of rich people, so they lie to avoid that.

I mean, we all want the benefits of things without the downsides. Avoiding downsides is a pretty basic survival mechanism. Also, how often are you in a position to lie about your wealth? Is lying to buy a Honda when you could afford an Audi? Or to shop at Walmart instead of Whole Foods? Or to buy a $500k house when you can afford a $4m one? Nobody is obligated to spend more just because they can, or to spend it on things you can see.

But then why hoard all those millions while living an UMC lifestyle!? Give it to those who need it, or charity, or pay more taxes than are due. To buy a 500k home and a Honda and then put 30mil in the bank “for a rainy day” is hoarding and damaging our country

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They want to be accepted by the people around them and the truth about how much money they have is alienating.

I also think compassionate people feel a sense of shame for hoarding wealth when others are suffering. There's really no way to justify it.

However that is true of everything when you think about it. How can I justify a steak or a nice new car or a vacation when others are suffering?

You can’t. Next time drive your older car for one more year and give 20k to a struggling family.