A question about rich people.

[syo]

I have heard that most rich people are mean and right out snobs.Is this stereotypical?Or is it true?

 

[Sand Dancer]

I have heard that most rich people are mean and right out snobs.Is this stereotypical?Or is it true?

Some are, some aren't. Many made good choices, but know that others can do the same thing and get similar results, so they aren't uppity about it. Obviously, it depends on your income, but if you start early and make good financial decisions, you can retire a millionaire.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

How many people here have actually known some rich people?

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Some are, some aren't. Many made good choices, but know that others can do the same thing and get similar results, so they aren't uppity about it. Obviously, it depends on your income, but if you start early and make good financial decisions, you can retire a millionaire.

And have a non disabled body, fortunate enough to get those jobs and promotions, amd other things beyonf starting early and what financial decisions you make.

 

[Quagmire]

I don't know but from watching videos of Elon Musk and Bill Gates I get the sense that they may be decent people at heart.

It's probably the people who want to be Elon Musk and Bill Gates that you have to look out for.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Nothing has really changed.

The wealthy think of themselves as the nobility and they don't associate with the peasantry class unless it's choreographed and staged for various purposes and reasons, and then shooed away after its over.

Is that why because if some generous and very wealthy hosts I've had some very wonderful weeks in Nashville, ate very well, stayed in a very nice house, and handed lots of money to have fun with?
Or the rich family friend who's helped my mom her whole life amd is the reason I have a Big Green Egg? What of him?

 

[PureX]

Some are, some aren't. Many made good choices, but know that others can do the same thing and get similar results, so they aren't uppity about it. Obviously, it depends on your income, but if you start early and make good financial decisions, you can retire a millionaire.

Except that is sadly quite untrue. As there is an endless litany of conditions and circumstances that we have no control over that would negate that result. And many of those conditions are being imposed by the rich, to secure their own positions of power and privilege.

This is exactly the kind of BS that wealthy people tell themselves to absolve themselves of any responsibility toward their fellow humans incurred by their good fortune and resultant excessive wealth.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Do not think that you would be a better rich person than the rich persons you encounter. You will only know how you will do if you get that money yourself. Money and influence change your thinking on a subconscious level, a fundamental level. If I hand you 50$ our relationship is changed, fundamentally. It is the exchange and the difference in me giving to you or having what you do not. It is easy to be generous when you have nothing to give. When you have something, then you want to keep it. This is not a rational, conscious process. It is a fundamental change in you, in your behavior.

It does not matter whether you are born with money or whether you obtain it. The money will change you.

This is why bribes are illegal for judges and police. Corruption is not a rational process which happens consciously. It does not need blackmail to work. All it needs is someone accepting a gift. People are so weak and don't realize this. If you are in a position of authority and if someone offers you something for free and if you accept that gift then your mind has been or is being changed by that gift.

If your pay goes up what will you do? You won't know until it happens. Many people think they will become more generous, but this is almost unheard of.

If a parent dies, the siblings feel jealousy and grief over how their property is divided. To remain calm takes self control. Many families are split over estates. They lose their minds. They mistakenly think they are an impenetrable loving family, but they often are wrong. Then they are ashamed.

 

[PureX]

I accept that greed is somewhat innate. But I do not accept that it's insurmountable, or incognizant. I think we know full well when we are being selfish and greedy, which is why we make up excuses and justifications for it as we engage in it.

 

[Viker]

I have heard that most rich people are mean and right out snobs.Is this stereotypical?Or is it true?

It's stereotypical. It is no more true than the stereotype of poor people being stupid and lazy.

There are likely examples of each among both rich and poor. What most don't take into account is that they themselves are wealthier than they think. There's always someone better off or worse off than ourselves. Most folk alive today are basically middle class, neither are they rich nor are they poor.

 

[Brickjectivity]

Our rational education tends to make us think we are independent, but this is not true. We are all influenced like the carrots in a stew. A little bump on the head or a little strong medicine will make us be someone else, and money works like both.

What happens to the well meaning leaders of socialist groups? What happened to Fidel Castro who wanted to badly to help Cuba? What happens to the leaders of cults who believe so strongly they are doing the right thing, and why do they end up commanding their followers to die? What causes wealthy aggressive tycoons like Rockefeller to suddenly become philanthropists? These examples show that people are changed by unseen and irrational influences. We don't know ourselves who we will be tomorrow. A person with 10,000$ is not the same as they are without it. It is not the same person. May just as well change their name, because they are no longer the same.

 

[Koldo]

It's stereotypical. It is no more true than the stereotype of poor people being stupid and lazy.

There are likely examples of each among both rich and poor. What most don't take into account is that they themselves are wealthier than they think. There's always someone better off or worse off than ourselves. Most folk alive today are basically middle class, neither are they rich nor are they poor.

Actually, most people are poor.

"In 2019, many more people lived in poverty at these higher poverty lines than at the extreme poverty line. Almost a quarter of the global population, 23 percent, lived below the US$3.65 poverty line, and almost half, 47 percent, lived below the US$6.85 poverty line, as reported in the 2022 Poverty and Shared Prosperity report. This also means that the global median income (US$7.60 per person per day) is very close to the UMIC line."

- Source

 

[Sand Dancer]

Except that is sadly quite untrue. As there is an endless litany of conditions and circumstances that we have no control over that would negate that result. And many of those conditions are being imposed by the rich, to secure their own positions of power and privilege.

This is exactly the kind of BS that wealthy people tell themselves to absolve themselves of any responsibility toward their fellow humans incurred by their good fortune and resultant excessive wealth.

There are plenty of wealthy people who help. Of course you should always help people in bad circumstances, but teaching them sound financial practice benefits everyone.

 

[Sand Dancer]

How many people here have actually known some rich people?

Is this rhetorical? I grew up in a wealthy area but wasn't wealthy then. Allen Funt did an episode of Candid Camera in my hometown. He sat on the beach and initiated conversation when people walked by. He said they were just so friendly.

 

[Lyndon]

money is the root of all evil

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Is this rhetorical?

No, it's a serious question for those blanket condemning and demonizing rich people. I don't think they've really known many, if any at all.

 

[RestlessSoul]

money is the root of all evil

Isn’t it the love of money that was said by St Paul to be the root of all evil?

 

[JustGeorge]

How many people here have actually known some rich people?

I know two that would qualify as rich. They both lead somewhat modest lifestyles despite it, but their temperaments are entirely different. One is decent and kind; he grew up very poor, got a decent career and invested. If I called him and asked him for a major purchase, he'd do it without question(but I'd never ask that, because that's not who I am), but he won't fix his stinking broken toilet because it says it costs too much money(I checked. Its about 300.)

The other is rancid of personality, born into money and never been without it, and drops hundreds of thousands of dollars trying to manipulate others with her money, because watching others squirm gives her joy. She is in her 70s and doesn't know how to make even the simplest meal. She will give and give, and sneer at folks who take, and then try to use it against them later.

Do not think that you would be a better rich person than the rich persons you encounter. You will only know how you will do if you get that money yourself. Money and influence change your thinking on a subconscious level, a fundamental level. If I hand you 50$ our relationship is changed, fundamentally. It is the exchange and the difference in me giving to you or having what you do not. It is easy to be generous when you have nothing to give. When you have something, then you want to keep it. This is not a rational, conscious process. It is a fundamental change in you, in your behavior.

Yes! This concept caused me to ponder the idea of give/take in religious ritual as well... in many rituals, something is asked for, and something is given. Perhaps to leave out either step causes a vacuum of sorts, and leaves an open void... In Hindu puja, you make an offering of several things, and you take(and consume) the prasad at the end. Its vital. There are some Pagan traditions in which you may petition a deity, and if you receive what you ask for, a gift is given in return. (Sometimes what this will be is hammered out in the beginning.)

In some situation, the exchange of a gift can enrich a relationship. In others, it creates a dependency. In yet others, a person becomes offended(either from being offered a gift and fearing seeming vulnerable, or from having the disappointment of having the 'buzz' from giving denied). It depends on the attitude of both the giver and receiver.

A couple years ago, my husband and I were presented with a series of extremely large gifts. I'm happy to report I behaved exactly as I thought I would, even turning down as many 'gifts' as I could get away with. He took the bait. He suffered from the drama of accepting 'gifts' that weren't given with good intent, and I'll be honest, he still isn't the same. Once a very spiritual person who loved nature, he's lost almost all his religious spark and is consumed with materialism and image. Now that I write that and see it... I can't help but notice that's the nature of the person who gave the gifts. Do we perhaps give away some of our own energy(for better or for worse) with a gift, and the person is left to receive more than what they think they're getting?

It does not matter whether you are born with money or whether you obtain it. The money will change you.

This is why bribes are illegal for judges and police. Corruption is not a rational process which happens consciously. It does not need blackmail to work. All it needs is someone accepting a gift. People are so weak and don't realize this. If you are in a position of authority and if someone offers you something for free and if you accept that gift then your mind has been or is being changed by that gift.

If your pay goes up what will you do? You won't know until it happens. Many people think they will become more generous, but this is almost unheard of.

Yup. People sometimes think they'll be happier, and then find they're not.

If a parent dies, the siblings feel jealousy and grief over how their property is divided. To remain calm takes self control. Many families are split over estates. They lose their minds. They mistakenly think they are an impenetrable loving family, but they often are wrong. Then they are ashamed.

That happened with my grandma's family. Their parents died, and they were expecting an equal share between four siblings. They were wrong. What had happened was the parents split it instead to reflect how many children they each had. One brother had 10 children, and my grandmother was so bitter about him getting so much that I scarcely knew he existed. He hadn't even done anything wrong...

(And that concludes my waking up ramblings.)

 

[Shadow Wolf]

Isn’t it the love of money that was said by St Paul to be the root of all evil?

Reminds me of Everclear:

I hate those people who love to tell you Money is the root of all that kills
They have never been poor
They have never had the joy of A welfare Christmas

-I Will Buy You a New Life

 

[JustGeorge]

Reminds me of Everclear:

-I Will Buy You a New Life

I love that song.

I may get to see them in September. That would be my first concert in many years.