Forum Index
»
Off-Topic
What qualifies as 'Old money'?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Money for hard work? You mean get your hands dirty? What a novel idea!!! Oops, forgot where we are. |
Anonymous
|
"Yep, DC is the Hollywood for the ugly - and the clueless." ABSOLUTELY! |
Anonymous
|
The sole purpose of this classification is to take a group of people prideful of their exclusivity and perceived superiority, and to further subdivide that group so that the two subgroups can additionally look upon each other with disdain as well.
The old money, oblivious to the fact that their station in life is due to pure luck of being born into wealth, creates the necessary fiction that they are of "superior stock". Whether that stock is in the genes, the breeding, or the will of a Calvinist God does not matter. They are of that stock and that is what makes them more than just a drain on their progenitor's achievements. They often create elaborate rituals to reinforce this notion, doing noble work on foundations, becoming expert at making their wealth known without ever showing it off, but their station is not a station unless it is observed and acknowledged. So it must be acknowledged. They new money is fully aware of this fatal flaw in the old money belief system. They don't have to believe in this fuzzy notion of superior genes or stock. The proof is in their money. They built their fortune, dammit! If there is a yardstick for a man it is the money he makes, and by this most objective measure they are important. The old money believes that they live a showy life to look important, but that's not exactly true. The real score is settled in the newspapers and magazines, which diligently report every uptick and downtick of their wealth in the annual ranking of whatever pond they swim in. They spend in big and showy ways because they can, and because they are not required to maintain the facade of propriety that encumbers the old money. Instead, they spend (or give) with a "why not?" ethic. They are not required to justify what they spend; as long as they have it, that's good enough. Of course the fatal flaw of this new money is the belief that their success is due to their creativity, drive, and intellect. They fail to acknowledge the role that luck played in their situation. But for every one of them, there are twenty or maybe a hundred with the same qualities but who did not make it. We need look no further than Wall Street to see how fortunes rise and fall without any discernible reason other than that a person made a few big bets and another made a few unlucky ones. In the end though, old money and new money are like Plain Bellied Sneetches and Star Bellied Sneetches. They think they are different, they really are the same, and they both suck. The point I am trying to make is not that being wealthy is bad. Be rich if you are, and get rich if you can. But don't play the old money, new money game. Just be yourself. |
Anonymous
| *Thus endeth the lesson* |
Anonymous
| Not much to be proud of either way. Old money, and royalty for that matter, was built on the ability to dominate and take advantage of others. New money, same thing, except that you might do it indirectly. |
Anonymous
| Very persuasive, 23:23. I wonder what kind of money you are? |
Anonymous
How is the money gone is they lived so frugally and had so many properties? Millions and millions? Really? |
Anonymous
If you're country house is in Germantown, MD then you need a new realtor and to get out of the ghetto on your weekends. Please tell me what is in Germantown, MD, other than Milestone Mall and Butler's Orchard that would make anyone want a country home there? |
Anonymous
|
Great point 23:55. This thread reeks from all the BS. I also love how people fall all over themselves to put down everyone in the DC area when, really, they are a part of the very thing they are looking down on disdainfully.
Also, 23:23 LOVE IT! |
Anonymous
| I've worked as a nanny for many different families and my own definition of old money is that if they paid me by rounding up to the next hour (even if it was 50 mins away), they were old money. If they paid me down to the 15 or 30 mins, they were new money. I worked in huge mansions that only had 2 furnished rooms. They were very house poor. Old money had nice furniture, even if it was old. They drove older cars and not necessarily fancy cars. New money drove Land Rovers, etc even when they lived in a subdivisions of Mc Mansions. I could tell if they were new money even if I met them at Starbucks but old money folks could blend in with the crowd. I always liked working for old money. They were classier and didn't always ask me within 5 mins where I went to school. |
Anonymous
I refuse to be a part of the classification. All I can say is that I have more than I need. |
Anonymous
|
My family has money. Actually, my Grandfather made the money and we just happened to be lucky. I assume we would be considered "new" money. However, I was raised to NEVER act as though I had it. When I was in college, I had to work to make money to live on...it was never just given to me. I do not buy luxury vehicles just because I can....my next car will be a Subaru Outback. I live in a modest sized home and we raise our child without full time help. I also clean my own home and continue to work and make my own money.
New money, old money, whatever....it really all depends on how you are raised and how you see your parents/family act. I know families with much less money, but act like they are billionaires. If you were to see me out, you would have NO idea that I have what I have....and I prefer it that way. |
Anonymous
|
I have just as many relatives who were useless drunks and vagabonds as relatives who made fortunes and had buildings named after them. I would never delude myself into thinking I came from superior stock.
|
Anonymous
|
it's funny, in America, a lot of the most well-known "old money" families are descended from the "robber barons" of earlier generations. The guys actually making the money might have been considered vulgar in their time, but generations later, the fortunes are completely respectable. (to Americans, at least.) People throughout history have gotten rich by making something or taking something. They've either started up a business or invented a product or taken someone else's money/stuff/land/labor to become wealthy. It does sometimes seem funny to classify it as "old" if it happened generations ago or "new" if it happened in the last two generations.
I'm of above-average income/wealth for America, but probably average for DC. I've always tried to live more "old money" than "new money." I've never liked flashy things. I like classic, well-made clothes but I don't like designer logos. I think BMW's (Mercedes, etc.) are nice but I don't need to drive one. I support the arts because I like them and worry about their demise and contribute to charity because I think it's the right thing to do to help the less fortunate. If I lucked into a few million tomorrow, I'd probably buy in an older-money 'hood vs. a newer one because I like old colonials, not bigger McMansions, and I like the idea of living in a well-established DC neighborhood. But that's just me; to each his/her own. |
Anonymous
I am the PP with the father's side from the old money. His fam came from another country with it, continued to make it hand over fist here, (over 100 years ago), and then as the family got bigger and bigger (try every sibling having 8 children or more), the money spread out far and wide, people made some BAD decisions, and my father grew up at the very tail end of it. There is still plenty of money, but nothing like it was. It has taken about 3 generations to wittle it away....shame really. But just b/c you had good money doesn't mean you have good judgment! The properties are still around, although some have been sold b/c of squabbling. As most people know, whether you have a lot of money or a little, nothing like family fights over it to end things quickly. I hope that answers your question. |