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.
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.
The very rich probably meet and socialize people who meet at expensive country clubs where one has to prove their wealth for Board approval.
You say this as a joke but country clubs actually do this
How rich are we talking? Owns-three-islands-rich or just upper middle class? Because the latter’s wealth isn’t very visible, but they also don’t really have an issue with forming relationships with those less well-off.
Then, for actually rich people who do not wish to associate with riffraff, there’s plenty of signs:
- Where did you meet them? There’s plenty of settings that are almost exclusively full of rich people, such as yacht clubs or expensive hotels.
- What are they wearing? Things like brand-name clothes or expensive jewelry are some notable signs.
- What is their home like? Some shitty apartment or a mansion with a manicured lawn and a swimming pool? Things like size, location, the condition of the home, their furniture, items, electronics, etc., tell a lot about the person’s wealth.
None of these is 100% waterproof, of course. They could be in that expensive place with a rich friend. They could be wearing Gucci because they got lucky at a thrift store. But when you have multiple of these combined, it’s pretty safe to assume the person is rich.
None of these is 100% waterproof, of course.
Hopefully at least the yacht is.
The place where you meet them, and the quality and style of clothing.
For real, just like cars, expensive clothing is recognizable. Don’t get me started on shoes, watches, etc.
If you don’t know the secret handshake youre not rich enough.
Income frequently defines where and how people socialize, I’m pretty sure it’s not an intentional a thing.
I only met people at the whole foods hot bar… over a pound of food = wealthy less than a pound of food /= wealthy. Getting that extra $3 avocado on your burger or sandwich at a restaurant = wealthy. No one’s going to tell you but there will be signs
I don’t know wealthy people like that, they just don’t meet non-wealthy people, and not because they don’t want to, it’s just their bubble
I mean honestly it depends on the wealthy person. I know several multi-millionaires I know several people that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. A lot of these people are quite social which enables them to have quite a big influence on quite a few things overall. Admittedly I’ve never met any of the billionaire class or anybody that is that close to being that rich. But you do have to admit that since that class is so small guaranteed they have people around them and people they know and people that hang out with that are nowhere near that level of influence.
My point was that I don’t know wealthy people who don’t want to hang out with less-wealthy people (not homelesses, just middle-class or maybe a bit lower) because of their financials.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
I mean, what’s mentioned in this thread is what rich people I know do. Plus saw a lot of it in Palm Beach.
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.
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.
There is a flipside here as well which is that when you’re wealthy everyone constantly asks you for money. You start doubting that any social interaction is genuine. Is this person hanging out with you because they like you or because they want your money?
Then don’t be ostentatious with your wealth. Don’t advertise it. And if you can’t do that, then maybe don’t get so wealthy.
Its probably a hot take but I do think everyone deserves empathy.
You don’t have to be. If anyone finds out it spreads.
On internet nobody knows you’re a billionaire
Some of us are two billionaires in a trench coat.
The real communitarians and separatists
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.
Don’t forget expensive schools.
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.
For the online side of things, there are actually social platforms designed specifically for wealthy people. For instance, there’s Raya, which is an invite-only dating app that only allows celebrities as members. The platform was kept “secret” by making it accessible only through an iPhone app, whose description in the App Store was intentionally vague and boring, to discourage any plebs from bothering to install it. Raya is just one of many secret “elite” social platforms that most of us have never even heard of. The wealthy live in a completely different reality from us.
Honestly, I don’t see much issue with that, the amount of people with some unhealthy parasocial attachment to celebrities kind of makes it a good idea to limit the userbase
Rich people arent even connected to people who arent rich. Its their entire ecosystem. Everyone has money, thats just how it is. They dont talk about money because they just have it. Its like air.
