We tend to think of being wealthy as a singular state of being: either you're wealthy or you're not.
But there's a big range of wealth. Someone who makes six figures may be financially comfortable, but they'd be better off as a millionaire. Likewise, a seven-figure salary is chump change to someone who's a billionaire. And those who've got it don't always flaunt it.
The r/AskReddit thread, "What quietly screams 'rich/wealthy'" is a real eye-opener.
"The thinking of how laws effects them. Had a guy in my class at university (he was pretty cool tho) who was FILTHY rich and one thing always stood out was how he treated laws. Can't park his car here? 'I can park here it will just cost me X amount in fine.' like BRUH????"
"I drive Uber in an upscale old money area (Charleston SC). I have a regular who travels to the airport with 14-16 pieces of matched leather luggage (most are carry on size). She is polite and friendly and even helps unload the luggage at the airport. One of the bags appeared to be a tennis racket bag. I asked her if she plays tennis and she says she likes to bring her own racquets with her when she travels in case she can find a lesson."
"Speaking about your plans for your life with full expectations that they will be successful no matter how unrealistic they would be to the rest of us.
"'I plan to become a writer, but in the meantime I'm thinking of opening my own art gallery. I'll totally be successful, all my wealthy friends will buy shit from me, then I'll hire someone to run things while I travel for the experience I'll need to do my writing.'"
"Being the guy wearing a suit in a room of guys in t-shirts and sweatpants
OR
Being the guy wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants in a room of guys wearing suits."
"I used to know the price of a gallon of milk but now I don’t. I am not rich, but I used to be poor. I needed to know that price. Now we are blessed to have enough that if I need it, I just grab it without looking at the price tag I imagine that being rich would be similar but on a grander scale."
"Yep, the really rich people try to stand out as little as possible while having a really nice wardrobe.
"The fake rich people buy clothes with big ass logos, luxury branded watches, Jordans (or whatever sneakers are popular that season) etc."
"A family member owns a lake house but always refers to it as 'just a little weekend place' like it’s no big deal and everyone has one."
"I used to work at a clothing store. This lady comes in, she's well dressed looks great and is super polite to the people helping her. At checkout she pulls out a black Amex card.
She was not my first black Amex card customer but she was above and beyond more of a human than the others."
"Now the simply 'rich' people, or the ones that had just enough money to fly private were the worst. Rude, entitled, cheap. Took 3 million pictures the whole time they were getting on their chartered (not owned) Learjet (literally less comfortable then premium economy on the airlines) and just overall acted exactly like how rich people are portrayed in the media."
"Saw someone say once 'everyone enters their house through a garage that's empty except for some bottled water.' I don't know why, but this is so true."
"A Steinway concert grand piano in the living room (worth about $195,000) that no one in the household plays."
"I know it's not a big thing, but people who use really nice plates and silver cutlery very casually. I've seen poor people with Mustangs. But I've never seen poor people eating with polished silver."
"Alan Clarke, a British politician born into a wealthy family, once disparaged someone by describing them as 'the sort of person who bought all his own furniture.'"
"One of my roommates child-hood friends has generational wealth, billionaire level. They lived on the Big Island of Hawaii and she would remark that he would just decide to go skiing, in Aspen on a whim, and wonder aloud why everyone else didn't just drop everything and go the next day."
"Paying for everyone’s food/ picking up the tab (when done in a passive and nonchalant way)."
"I cleaned huge houses for a living, and to me it was the custom built Lego rooms with cabinets -floor to ceiling -full of organized Lego sets."
"Friend of mine used to run a ridiculously exclusive cocktail bar. He always said 'The ones in the fancy clothes who look filthy rich are normally reasonably wealthy. The ones in jeans and t-shirts who look normal are normally filthy rich.'
"Basically the truly rich people didn't see the place as anything out of the ordinary, so saw no reason to dress up."
"I work in the private jet world. Rich takes tons of photos getting on the plane. Real money just walks straight onto the plane."
"Have a friend who is moving to the Bay area. To work for a non-profit. Part-time. She didn't know what her salary would be."
"Not worrying about losing a job and just taking up a hobby because they have 'time to kill' instead of looking for a job that helps pays bills."
