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My friend who lives in Weston told me that he knows quite a few people who are extremely wealthy in various town in Fairfield County (FFC), but don't even work. Then, another friend of mine told me that he knows these girls who lives in Westport and don't work, but have a ridiculously huge, nice house. When their grandmother died, their mother inherited millions and millions of dollars. The mother arranged a deal with her daughters (the two girls I mentioned), so that they can live off of the interest earned on the millions of dollars from the bank account. These girls are living off of $70K per year each from the interest ALONE!
Does anyone else know of anyone who lives in FFC (or anywhere in CT, for that matter) that doesn't work, but is very wealthy?
It's almost as if this type of activity is destructive to America, because the money isn't being circulated!
You can't live in a big house in Westport on $70k per year. There must be more to the story.
I know some peopke who made a lot of money and retired, or semi-retired, pretty young. But I don't know anybody who never worked due to inherited money.
They are called Trust Fund Babies. Even though they live off just $70,000 per year, they do not pay for the home they live in or the cars they drive or any of the toys they have (boats, motorcycles, etc.). The Trust Fund does. The $70,000 (or whatever they might get) is for walk around money (eating out, partying, pocket expenses, etc.). There are a lot of these people in Connecticut, not just Fairfield County. Over the years I have met several. Some even work to keep occupied. Jay
I'd guesstimate that about 10% of the real estate agents down county are "trust-funders". They don't have ambition or desire to work, so they become a broker to give an appearance that they earn their keep.
Living in FFC at the moment I've come across a few. Someone in the gene pool initially had to work hard to earn the money and now it's just been passed along.
I wouldn't say the activity is destructive. Most of my salary goes to rent, utility, food, necessities. The people I know with more disposable income are able to keep buying niche things for local businesses. The Aston Martin came from a CT dealer who employs other local CT residents. The few rich people I know are doing more for the economy than I certainly am able to. Cheers to them.
Having grown up in Westport, and in the process of moving there now, I have numerous friends in town and around Fairfield County. Maybe it's my "middle class" Westport heritage, but everyone I know (with one exception) works. Everyone I know had a parent/s who work (or are now retired). I tried to think of a single non-working trust fund baby... I know there are a few around, but in my experience people vastly over-estimate the wealth of the average person in Westport....
The one person I know who doesn't work was/is a single mom now remarried whose father owned a lot of Westport land and gradually sold it amassing a fortune. Her kids work at pretty intensive jobs in the computer field and in media (even though they both have trust funds). She was/is VERY active in volunteer work sitting on several town-wide committees, serving on the RTM, fundraising, etc. She easily puts in 40 hours a week with her commitments.
As for other wealthy families I know... They earned it. And continue to work after they became wealthy.
I'm not saying there aren't idle rich... That there isn't generational wealth... But, at least in my experience, it's not the life of bon-bons and limos that many envision.
I know several adults who don't work. They either inherited a large sum of money, or made a lot of money in the market many years ago. They definitely "circulate" money though, with all the vacations/nice cars/boats etc. they purchase.
I know a few adults and many young 20-somethings in Greenwich who either do not work or chose to work menial jobs just to fill time. They are either gold digging women or trust fund babies and they are everywhere. The rich wives have been obnoxious in my experiences with them, but the "trust fund babies" are usually good people who don't take their wealth for granted. Some of the people I've met do charity work overseas on their own dime or provide part-time help to local businesses for little to no pay. Don't judge a book by its cover.
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