'Old Money' Vs. 'New Money': 45 Things That Help Define Where A Person's Wealth Came From

WHISPERS OLD MONEY: "Old money is impeccably kept, but in a different fashion — hair, clothes, skin are nice, but not obvious. Plastic surgery (the obvious kind) is gauche, as is dyeing one's hair long past the age where it is plausible. Less importance on perfectly done manicures — more emphasis on well-groomed nails and skin

WHISPERS OLD MONEY: "If they've attended an Ivy League school, they say the town or city where they went to school instead of the school's name. For example, if you say, 'Where did you go to school?' they would reply, 'New Haven' instead of Yale, or 'Cambridge' instead of Harvard

SCREAMS NEW MONEY: "People who come into money quickly can have a tendency to go overboard. They get the biggest, best, shiniest everything. They aren't satisfied with the lifestyle. They used to be like you. Now they're better. It's not enough to be rich — they want you to know they're rich. That comes across as tacky and lacking in class.

WHISPERS OLD MONEY: "Investing. Many old money families retain their wealth by being conservative (both with money and in other ways). Most of their members don't make exceptional money; they are lawyers or doctors earning good but not wild amounts of money. I imagine that they wouldn't go on heaps of expensive trips to places, but instead have a summer home that they go to for holidays. They would go to expensive private schools and drive secondhand cars. A lot of their hobbies would be based around property in the right places, like dressage or rowing — they aren't necessarily expensive sports, but they require a river or lake or land for horses

Screams new money: A green Lamborghini

SCREAMS NEW MONEY: "A Range Rover sport. Totally misses the point — it's a classy vehicle dumbed down for the wrong type of owner.

I know some children of very rich families and from just seeing them on the street you wouldn't think they were anything but normal teenagers. Other kids can be spoilt and just go for designer clothes.

WHISPERS OLD MONEY: "I have noticed that my extremely wealthy friends have a slight discomfort or bemusement with establishments generally considered a bit down-market (places like McDonald's and ones in the UK like Poundland, Wetherspoons, etc.). hey are always extremely polite and usually able to get into the spirit of the thing, but I remember taking one woman on her first trip to McDonald's (at age 23) and the kind of awkward, slightly bewildered way she reacted.

The thing about old money is that you probably know a lot of people from old money families, without knowing it. It isn’t flashy, the kids aren’t spoilt (or at least, are taught a solid work ethic), and in my experience it’s a lot less judgemental (seeing people/places as ‘below’ them). The reason old money exists in the first place is exactly because people aren’t flashy with it. They tend to live reasonably normal lives, it just turns out when you go round to visit they have a country manor with some horses in the stables.

SCREAMS NEW MONEY: "An overall cocky attitude — because they are new to the whole scene. Old money is often synonymous with class, style, intelligent investing, etc., while new money is typically associated with rich jackasses who buy $300,000 cars with their first large sum of money attained and make other frivolous purchases

Screams new money: Diamond grills

Whispers old money: Taking pride in family trees and family coats of arms. Also having family coats of arms in the first place - most people either don't have that or don't know what theirs is (you'd be surprised which surnames do have one)

Whispers old money: They probably own old real estate. Maybe a countryside mansion. That's probably the best symbol of it. This would of course be in addition to the hyper modern flat in the city.

Whispers old money: they have more leisure time- often “flying here, boating there, visiting friends” at the most random not vacation times as other people in society.

Whispers old money: Family nights out to the opera, to the childrens' performances (orchestras, choirs, ballet, etc.), and expensive family holidays skiing, safaris, etc. Much less likely to book a package holiday or cruise, more likely to arrange their own activities and stay in an expensive hotel with a lot of amenities. Quite likely to own a holiday home in a sunny country (in the UK this would usually be somewhere in Europe such as France or Spain) or a ski place, and very likely to own more than one family home in the UK. Normally this might be a place in the city (London) and a place in the country (likely Hampshire or Dorset) and they go between them. They are also likely to have some form of staff, usually not a 'full' set, but some combination of maid, gardener, cook, butler, or nanny. The children (when not at boarding school) may also have private tutors who come to their house to help them with various subjects.

Whispers old money: if they are in their mid 20s (so the kids), don't know when the rush hour is, look rested (no financial stress can see it on the eyes) and are relaxed

Whispers old money: They might know about special vineyards that make rare but not necessarily famous or particularly expensive wines. Same kind of niche preferences may apply for food, music, whatever.

Screams new money: Maybe its because of where I live but those brand new lifted pickup trucks with the smoke stacks, light bars, etc. They don't scream billionaire money but when you have a 70k truck with a 12k lift kit, etc. you know the owner isn't exactly broke

WHISPERS OLD MONEY: They might be a real stickler for everyday expenses but still pay vast amounts for holidays or cars.

Whispers old money: Being well read/having seen many plays and such and also if there are kids/teenagers/young adults making them idealistic and ambitious which crosses over to a naivety based in a rich upbringing