Anonymous wrote:I grew up solidly Middle Class but I can and will write a treatise on the habits of the Rich. When I was a kid I had horses, though Middle Class, and managed to hang with the wealthier kids, when I got into college, as luck would have it, I ended-up dating a fabulously wealthy girl, and then I took a job working for a firm and once again moved into the C-Suite as an executive assistant to, you guessed it, a fabulously wealthy man. We travelled the world on his jet and I won't bore you with the details, but we went everywhere. Places that most people don't even know exist.

I'll write a book about it one day but for our purposes here's the deal. By and large the rich lack empathy. They don't care because they don't have to. Though technically they live on the same planet as you and I they really don't live in the same world. I hope the girl has some sense and really does hunger for normalcy but my guess is that her friends and acquaintances are like ceramic figurines in a cabinet. Basically, they're collectibles. She or he is used to attention because they have come to expect it.

Notice when you talk to the extraordinarily wealthy? They don't make eye contact and are preoccupied. Why? You bore them. You''re not a connection they want to make. You're not on the opera board and you're not worth a couple of 100M. Basically you don;t move the needle in their world. They don't, in reality, give a fuck about you.

There's hope though. Want to beat them? Simple If you're a trash collector be self-absorbed. Be self-absorbed in what you do just like them. Don't run over to their house and don't rush to do the things they want you to do. That drives them crazy. Make yourself interesting by being interested in yourself.

Read. The super rich are always looking for an advantage and if you're smart, I was and am, you become a fulcrum for them. Don't be afraid to say it's great what you do but you could do it better. That intrigues them. They spend their days listening as people
try and climb us their ass. Just be yourself. Know something about the market and art and current events.




Have an informed opinion. Most have become rich by doing one thing and doing the one thing extraordinarily well. They're myopic. Don't be myopic.

Take the daughter out hiking or take her to a ball game or take her to a cultural event. Do something she has never done before like fishing. Seriously. Put a goddamn worm
on a hook and catch a small slimy fish. Better still if you catch a trout and eat it. She'll flip. Teach her how to change a tire. Tear the down the wall between that hermetically sealed world that she lives in and put her in the real world.

Good luck.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'd just stress to your son that romantic relationships work best when the two people have similar values. Huge disparity in money sometimes (not always) means a big difference in values.

What an awful message.

Anonymous wrote:I get your hesitation; we grew up simply and my parents worked in poverty-focused and faith-based organizations too, so my early exposures to extreme wealth were hard for me to understand/process. Continue to keep your son grounded, and treat her kindly. Try to incorporate her in your own family/home to the extent you're comfortable with that. She may really appreciate the dynamics of a lower-key family that has different kinds of dinner conversations. Not much else you can do.