Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world…
Okay, the members of ABBA definitely know what it feels like to have plenty of money now. But do you know what it’s like to have all the money in the world, pandas? Chances are, you don’t, because 47.8% of global household wealth is in the hands of just 1.2% of the world's population, according to a recent Credit Suisse report. But while many people dream of winning the lottery or making millions working for a tech startup, let’s not forget that having access to lots of money will not solve all of your problems. In fact, it might make some of them even worse.
Wealthy Reddit users have been sharing some of the biggest downsides of being rich, so we’ve gathered a list of some of their most eye-opening responses below. I recognize that your first impulse might be to roll your eyes at affluent people complaining about anything, and trust me, I understand. But I urge you to keep an open mind, pandas, and upvote any of the answers that might shift your perspective on money a bit.
Keep reading to also find an interview with Shubham Kumar, founder of StartupTalky, to hear his thoughts on this topic, and then, if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article discussing whether or not most rich people are actually “self-made”, you can find that right here!
#1
I come from a relatively upper-middle class family (doctor & professor parents) and I'd say the worst part is the assumptions a lot of people have about your life. I had a very dysfunctional childhood with symptoms of physical and emotional neglect from as early as I can remember but because I had a "posh" accent and my parents were wealthy nobody picked up on it, even my primary school teachers made jokes about how it was just a "quirky" family.
Just because a child is rich and their parents are polite and friendly, doesn't mean they're looked after or have a good home life.
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269points
To gain more perspective on this topic, we reached out to Shubham Kumar, founder of StartupTalky, who was kind enough to have a conversation with us. First, we wanted to know if Shubham is even interested in accumulating wealth. "I want to be wealthy, but at the same time, I don't want to lose my freedom," he told Bored Panda.
"I think everyone should own their time," Shubham added. "Money is important, as it buys you time. But through my interactions with super rich people, I have learned that after a certain amount, it doesn't matter how much money you have."
#2
People only pretend to like you because they want your money. It's extremely rare to find someone who actually likes you for being yourself. It's almost impossible to have a close relationship with anyone. I just want like a best friend who I can mess around with and tell them everything and like spending time with. It's really depressing
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179points
We also asked Shubham why so many people believe becoming rich will solve all of their problems. "Coming from a middle class family, I certainly say that money is the solution to 99% of the problems people have," he told Bored Panda. "If you have enough money, you won't think of petty things, and rather focus and use your time and energy to solve bigger problems, which can bring satisfaction to most people."
And while Shubham does believe that it is possible to have too much money, he's optimistic that we all have the potential to acquire wealth. "It's not rocket science; you just have to be disciplined in whatever you want to do. Of course, choosing this 'whatever' is the tricky part."
#3
I grew up in a rich family. Allthough I havn't taken any money from them since I was around 16. But I lived at home for free until I was 20 and moved out. But by then I had been working for 2 years and spent the money well so I had around 14000USD of my own money I could do whatever I wanted with.
People knew my parents were rich, we had a huge house, cleaninglady etc.
I'd say the worst thing about being the son of rich parents is either the fact that EVERYONE expects you to be rich and successful, OR the fact that EVERYONE who knows you come from a rich family wants something from you. "Dude, youre rich as f**k you can buy me a beer", i've heard that like a million times and im sick of it.
I'm not rich. My parents are. I have more money than you becouse I dont spend 150 dollars on weed every week. Buy your own beer and get a job.
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158points
Commitment seems to be the key in making money, according to Shubham. "I see people flocking from one idea or organization to another, when something is not bringing results in a short span of time," he says. "Play the long term game, and you will see yourself grow very quickly."
"The job market is changing," he added. "Earlier Asian parents used to think only doctors and engineers could be wealthy. Today, you can earn a lot through following your passion of becoming a content creator, selling courses or even providing services to the ultra rich sitting at home. Don't rely on one source of income. Diverge once you have one income source set."
If you're interested in learning more financial advice from Shubham and his team at StartupTalky, be sure to visit their site right here.
#4
I have reasonably well off parents - big house in a nice town, that sort of thing.
However, my brother and I were always taught humility. I had a job from 13 at a restaurant washing dishes, and I had to save for my first car. Yet people whose parents bought them their cars and never made them work still thought I was more spoiled because we had a bigger house.
The perception that you don't have to work for anything is the most infuriating thing. Yes, if I were in a tight situation my parents would help me, and others may not have that luxury. But I have never once in my 28 years had to ask for any financial help from them, and I don't intend to as long as I can help it.
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138points
#5
Spending time with other wealthy people.
It's total Russian f*****g roulette. Rich people are always either totally laid back, amazing people that you'd never know were rich, or they're psychotic, self obsessed, judgemental a******s whose life revolves around proving to you just how rich and awesome they are.
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126points
#6
Non-rich dude that became a rich dude. To be honest the changes in your old friendships. I am lucky enough to have had a very lucrative career in a field I love and have become markedly more wealthy than my circumstances growing up. I grew up with a very close knit group of friends who are like family (around 10 of us) who have remained in the same socio-economic class after university.
As my income grew, naturally my life changed - I moved to a fancier suburb closer to work, started to buy nice things, travel for work etc. I also started to notice some of my oldest friends start acting differently toward me. I'm not a show off or ostentatious with my money, but I do buy things that none of my friends can afford (nice watches, furniture, art etc). I feel they are uncomfortable when they are around my place - though they never say anything snarky. Sometimes their wives and SOs will make comments like "wow you must be doing really well" or asking me how much a painting cost and my friends become visibly uncomfortable (and look pissed off with their partners) and it just makes everything awkward.
They don't expect me to pay for things, it's almost the opposite. I sometimes try to treat my friends and I feel it makes them uncomfortable. Eg. if a band we loved growing up are in town and we want to go I will offer to get us all the best (more expensive) tickets. Now I know they would all love to experience that, but they seem uneasy accepting the gift. I dont want any recognition or anything in return for it - the money is seriously no big deal for me. I just want to have an awesome night out with my mates. Most of the time they will accept and then insist on giving me the money after the fact and it makes me feel like an a*****e cause I know they wouldn't have bought tickets that expensive in the first place. Another example is when I end up giving over the top gifts at weddings etc. I just want to give my friends the best gift I can afford and something I know they would love but I feel it makes them uncomfortable that they cant reciprocate.
My mates still love me and I love them (they even regularly say they are proud of me etc) but I feel there is this weird void between us now that our lifestyles are so different. I've become very self conscious of my wealth around my old friends and most of the awkwardness is probably due to my own insecurity of not wanting my friends to think money has changed me :( sucks man.
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125points
#7
I don't understand all this "people only want me because I'm rich" stuff... are you walking around telling people about your trust fund?? I know poor people with extremely expensive cars, people who find designer clothes in consignment shops, people with tons of class and no cash. why don't you wait to reveal the money until you know what kind of person they are?
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101points
#8
People act like you can spend money all the time. Just because I'm wealthy doesn't mean i like to waste my money on fast food or useless crap I don't need
99points
#9
I wouldn't say rich but I had the most money out of my group of friends and it was always every weekend the same questions "can you get bud?, I'm starving can you get some food for me bro?", or the classic "Let's go out and do something tonight." And sometimes I didn't mind buying food if I was hungry too but all the time it gets a little ridiculous how much people will use you for money.
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95points
#10
I currently have no income. (new college grad. job hunting. hurray.) But I went to a school full of honest-to-goodness trust fund babies, people who have summer houses in different states and all that. The worst part from my observation is that people think if you're rich, nothing bad can happen to you. And it's true that money can protect you from a lot of things: it feeds you, clothes you, can pay for good doctors, etc. But it doesn't protect from things like infidelity, mental illness, cancer or other serious illnesses, abusive relationships, broken families, or sexual violence. And if any of those things happen to you and you're wealthy, people think you're an ungrateful moron if you talk about it. Money can't necessarily fix those things. I get the whole "check your privilege" thing, but rich people face a lot of the same stuff as poorer people.
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85points
#11
feeling s****y because of something then feeling guilty because you feel like you're being ungrateful and feeling more s****y
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65points
#12
I was raised in a wealthy house and basically it made me resent the f**k out of rich people. Regardless of how you get to where you are, I don't necessarily appreciate how some richfolk are perfectly fine with having all of their s**t done for them without taking good care of their help or good compensation for services. For example having someone cleaning your giant a*s house for about the same price as a normal house. I think that's stupid
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61points
#13
There are none. I grew up poor, govt housing, public schools, worked/studied hard and am not apologetic to anyone. Expensive cars, watches, etc. I actually do value money and people that know me, know Im not going to pay every time, or give them money etc. Dont have many friends cause of it, but who cares, I grew up an only child, no one was ever there to help me, so I like it better this way. Have a small circle of friends who I trust and quite frankly dont care about the rest
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61points
#14
Having people devalue your accomplishments because your parents are rich.
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49points
#15
People don't think of you as a real person anymore. I grew up in a lower-middle-class family, worked in my Dad's liquor store and delivered newspapers, I graduated college deep in debt, I've been evicted from apartments for late rent, been chased by debt collectors, and spent one entire summer riding a motorcycle to work (sometimes in pouring thunderstorms) because my car's engine block cracked and I couldn't afford a new one. Saved a lot on gas, though.
However I was an outstanding computer programmer and was invited to join a startup company that eventually went public, so I was able to retire at a very early age. I'm still pretty much the same person but now I'm classified as "wealthy" so I'm now a "thing". So I lost many of my old friends who can't think of me as still being an actual ordinary person.
The other problem with being a "thing" instead of a person is that specifically that "thing" is a "target". One aspect of being considered wealthy is a phenomena known as the "Rich Man's Tax". Basically it's considered praiseworthy to cheat rich people out of their money. So, if I need a plumber to come fix something he'll look at my house and try and charge me triple rate. And many people reading this will say "good for him, stick it to the wealthy bastards" well F**K YOU IN CAPITAL LETTERS. I'm still the same person I've ever been and I don't like being cheated. But it's a symptom of our society - people bash the wealthy and try and cheat them but everyone wants to *be* one (for example, the billions spent on lottery tickets).
49points
#16
'Must be nice' because if I dare complain, that's what I'll hear.
I'm a rich kid so I automatically lose the moral high ground in any conversation. I've gone the whole poverty route, worked overnight crew as a Target stockboy, but it doesn't matter because I'm 'fake poor' and can always ring up my daddy if things get tough.
I've actually heard poor people complain about Barbara Eichenrich's *Nickle & Dimed*. "Well, she was only pretending to be poor . . . " Ummm . . . .she's trying to help out poor people by showing how it's impossible to make ends meet on a minimum wage salary. Show a little gratitude!
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44points
#17
I come from a wealthy family. Not to the point where people know our names, but to the point where if we drop the company name in most European countries, people get worked up.
The worst part of it is that everyone thinks your life is perfect. To the rest of the world, your life must be perfect, because you're rich.
Some of the time, that's true. I've gone to the best schools, the best doctors, best restaurants, best vacation spots - I won't deny that in many ways, I've had a blessed life.
However, my dad worked his a*s off. I spent most of high school living alone in an apartment off a trust fund, because he was never home. Before him and my mom split, I endured years of emotional and sometimes physical abuse from her. I grew up with epilepsy, and horrible acne (used to get called scrambled egg face). Life is life - mine might be easier in some ways, but it has absolutely been harder than others, and being rich, no one gives a second thought to the fact that life might not have been totally perfect for me.
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40points
#18
You never really know if your relationships are genuine or if it's because people want something from you. I met my wife and my close friends before I made a lot, so I'm not worried about them, but I do about almost everyone else. I never really knew why rich people hung out with other rich people, what difference does money make right? Well it kind of does. I realize it's because you get a better sense of where you stand with people that don't want anything from you.
I might be way too cynical, but I buy cheap clothes and hide the wealth because I'm afraid of how new people will change around me if they find out.
I might be way too cynical, but I buy cheap clothes and hide the wealth because I'm afraid of how new people will change around me if they find out.
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37points
#19
Other people's envy and/or bitterness. Pain is pain. Money alleviates some pains, but not others. It can't undo death, or serious trauma.
Having your pain denied because others can't empathize with you is incredibly alienating. I think that cuts both ways; it affects the poor who aren't able to make their pain understood because the wealthy aren't confronted with the same problems. And it affects the rich who can't make it understood that money doesn't make you invulnerable, much as it seems it might.
We are all human. Some have tougher lives than others. Money is one, but not the only factor.
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36points
#20
Not super rich, but my parents did alright. However a lot of friends I went to college with weren't in the same boat. It amazed me that most of them had never traveled to another country (I grew up in Asia as an expat, so "normal" for me was going visiting countries for school trips). The girl I'm dating right now is struggling to pay for an incredibly cheap college (tuition is about 6k a year), whereas my parents are able to put me and my brother through medical school at the same time. Granted, I had a scholarship through undergrad and earned enough at my on campus job to pay my living expenses, but I'm not paying s**t for my first year of medical school.
Another reason it's different is because my parents were self made. Their parents emigrated to the US and my parents were born there. Their families were pretty poor growing up. Now, I've grown up with everything but I'll be lucky to be even half as financially successful as my father was. And I'm going to be a doctor. Unless I go into an incredibly competitive specialty that I'm not interested in, I won't make anywhere near as much. So much for that.
TLDR as a kid of wealthy parents it skews my sense of normal, and it's hard for me not to take things for granted like education. Also, pressure to succeed.
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35points