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Yup. I once worked in an office where one of the summer interns was the son of a fabulously wealthy tycoon whose name was a household word. He went to school in one of the most expensive private schools in the country. I once asked him a question along the lines of what's it like. He just shrugged and said "Aanh, most of the kids I go to school with are richer than me."
I also once worked with the son of a man who later owned an NFL franchise. He wanted his son to learn the business from the ground up. He was a really great guy, who loved getting down in the dirt and taking the hard knocks that came with being a working stiff. His dad let him keep his Jag and his Porsche, but made him live day to day off his wages, which were the same as mine. If nobody had told me, I'd never have know he was rich. He killed himself in his 40s driving fast cars, and his wife married the NFL commissioner.
Having said that, it's easy to slum it when you have an out. It's easy being a scruffy backpacker riding a chicken bus through Bolivia, when you know you can always wire daddy for a plane ticket home, and it's not the same as being the other Bolivians on the bus. So, relatively speaking, I've been "rich" and I know what it's like. In fact, I'm rich now, in the sense that I have more money than I need to sustain the lifestyle that I've learned to feel comfortable in, there is nothing I covet that costs money, and I never need to spend a moment thinking about my financial security.
If you ever asked a rich person, they would tell you of all the "problems" of being rich... .they would never admit that life is so much less stressful when you know all your bills are paid, you can get medical/dental care whenever you need it, and pretty much buy whatever you want or travel where ever you want on a whim.
If you ever asked a rich person, they would tell you of all the "problems" of being rich... .they would never admit that life is so much less stressful when you know all your bills are paid, you can get medical/dental care whenever you need it, and pretty much buy whatever you want or travel where ever you want on a whim.
It really depends. A lot of rich folks (the ones who work, anyway) have very stressful and demanding jobs. So the stress is still there. It's just that the stresses are different. Also, we tend to create our own stress. As soon as income levels rise, expectations about what's a necessity rise, too. So being rich is not an automatic guarantee of less stress.
Probably the main disadvantage to being rich is having everyone ask you for money.
Yes. That is the main reason why people who achieve wealth suddenly, like lottery winners, lose it. Mooching friends and relatives.
It is also one of the reasons why those who DO manage to hold on to their money start losing their old friends, distancing themselves from relatives, and making an entirely new set of friends, in their new tax bracket.
It takes a strong stomach to remain wealthy sometimes. People asking for money should be MADE to sign contracts to pay it back, and if they don't, go after them. I think it's best to just make new friends, frankly.
Yes. That is the main reason why people who achieve wealth suddenly, like lottery winners, lose it. Mooching friends and relatives.
It is also one of the reasons why those who DO manage to hold on to their money start losing their old friends, distancing themselves from relatives, and making an entirely new set of friends, in their new tax bracket.
It takes a strong stomach to remain wealthy sometimes. People asking for money should be MADE to sign contracts to pay it back, and if they don't, go after them. I think it's best to just make new friends, frankly.
Why lose the old friends? You can take the boy out of the farm but you can't take the farm out of the boy. Just don't discuss your finances with anyone.
Location: where you sip the tea of the breasts of the spinsters of Utica
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lenniel
You're definition of 'rich' is very vague. I consider myself 'well off' as I have everything we need and can do anything we want, but I wouldn't say I'm 'rich'.
You might consider someone who makes $1M/year to be rich, while someone that makes $5M per year probably doesn't.
It's all relative.
Specifically from my point of view: I think that anyone who clears $100,000 per year after taxes and investment fees, is at the beginning of being rich - but is not filthy rich.
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