When most of us think of “rich people stuff,” we tend to imagine boats with helipads and separate houses for every season, perhaps with a jet or two sprinkled in. But the truth is that fancy toys are just the beginning. If one has the right amount of money, there are goods and services out there most of us have never even thought of as a possibility.
Someone asked “What’s something money can buy that we poor people don’t even know of?” and people shared their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and examples in the comments section below.
Someone asked “What’s something money can buy that we poor people don’t even know of?” and people shared their best examples. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts and examples in the comments section below.
#1
I do IT for the hilariously rich in LA. My favorite thing you can buy is a $300,000 theater streaming device that allows you to watch just released movies directly into your home theater. It requires a background check and a huge amount of money, but then any movie released in theaters is directly uploaded into your system and then you can watch at home in your own little movie theater.
53points
#2
“Punishable by Fine” just means “Legal for Rich People”, if that helps.
50points
#3
Private island getaways—imagine a whole island to yourself where the only worry is which beach to lounge on.
46points
#4
There are companies that sell books by the foot. Usually leather bound. It’s for decorating so your in home library is stocked with books. Normally you can pick genres or just let the company fill your shelves, you just give them the length of your shelves and your color scheme and they send you books to fill the shelves in bindings that harmonize with your rooms color pallete.
41points
#5
In some countries, rich people hire poor people to serve prison sentences for them.
41points
#6
More money.
Once you have enough money you can pay people to use your money to make more money. And enough money to pay them and you still end up with more money.
Once you have enough money you can pay people to use your money to make more money. And enough money to pay them and you still end up with more money.
41points
#7
The biggest thing is time - need to get to London for a meeting? Leave for the airport and your plane/charter waits for you. Need a haircut? A person comes to your house to do it for you. Imagine a lot of the things you go out to do on a daily basis and imagine having people to do all that. Need a new phone? Peter will get you the latest iPhone, programmed l, and working the way yours was before. Drop it in the toilet? He bought 5.
40points
#8
Kidnapping insurance.
38points
#9
Time.
It's the greatest thing money can buy. Lawn care, maid service, personal chef, home repair, personal shopper, chauffer, concierge services other folks mentioned, etc.. Some things like that aren't too expensive... some of them are wildly expensive. You may be perfectly capable of doing these things yourself, but they take time and effort.
If you can get past the cost (and afford it), what they all can do is free up your time to do the things you actually want to do... whether it's family time, playing sports, watching sports, video games, traveling, whatever.
Time is really the true currency of life.
It's the greatest thing money can buy. Lawn care, maid service, personal chef, home repair, personal shopper, chauffer, concierge services other folks mentioned, etc.. Some things like that aren't too expensive... some of them are wildly expensive. You may be perfectly capable of doing these things yourself, but they take time and effort.
If you can get past the cost (and afford it), what they all can do is free up your time to do the things you actually want to do... whether it's family time, playing sports, watching sports, video games, traveling, whatever.
Time is really the true currency of life.
35points
#10
Personal concierge services. Pay an annual fee of several thousand dollars, and be able to request help getting.... whatever. Hard-to-get concert tickets, dinner reservations, you name it.
33points
#12
Pet cloning. Ex boss was getting his dog cloned for $100k.
29points
#13
We all know that a lot of wealthy people own nice yachts. What a lot of people may not know is that many of these yachts aren't taken across the ocean. Wealthy people hire yacht transportation services to move their yachts around. A larger ship will pick up the yacht and ferry it to the desired location. The wealthy person will fly to that location on a private jet, then head over to the yacht to party.
29points
#14
Citizenship in other countries. Costs about as much as a house for less desirable countries, and about as much as starting a small business for the nicer ones.
28points
#15
1) concierge medicine. You get your own dedicated doctor, perhaps your own whole clinic. You never wait for tests. You never wait for an appointment. Your doctor will make house calls and even diagnose and prescribe over the phone.
2) concierge banking. You don't go to the bank to withdraw cash on the rare times you need cash. You call the bank rep and they will courier the money to you.
4) family offices. The legal and financial equivalent of a private clinic of your own. One or more lawyers, one or more CPAs, both with the usual staff. Want to buy a property? Just call the office and they will handle all the paperwork. Even spin up a numbered Delaware company and sign deeds for you.
5) bespoke cars. At the lower end, this means you sit down with a Rolls Royce rep and going over choices. They will arrange a custom paint colour and guarantee no other car will get that shade. Ditto for upholstery, dash treatment etc. In the middle, the likes of Lamborghini and Koenigsegg have lists of billionaire car collectors. When they come up with a concept, they consult with the members of that list before any metal gets shaped. When they release the latest hyper car and say only 25 will be made, that's because only 25 billionaires said they wanted one. Being able to say you have a 1 of 25 car is valuable over and above the car itself. At the very high end, you can call them and pitch your own concepts and they will build a complete 1 of 1 car for you. The Sultan of Brunei famously had a lot of total one off cars made to his exact specifications from many different manufacturers. The "Rainbow Sheikh" Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan has also done this numerous times.
2) concierge banking. You don't go to the bank to withdraw cash on the rare times you need cash. You call the bank rep and they will courier the money to you.
4) family offices. The legal and financial equivalent of a private clinic of your own. One or more lawyers, one or more CPAs, both with the usual staff. Want to buy a property? Just call the office and they will handle all the paperwork. Even spin up a numbered Delaware company and sign deeds for you.
5) bespoke cars. At the lower end, this means you sit down with a Rolls Royce rep and going over choices. They will arrange a custom paint colour and guarantee no other car will get that shade. Ditto for upholstery, dash treatment etc. In the middle, the likes of Lamborghini and Koenigsegg have lists of billionaire car collectors. When they come up with a concept, they consult with the members of that list before any metal gets shaped. When they release the latest hyper car and say only 25 will be made, that's because only 25 billionaires said they wanted one. Being able to say you have a 1 of 25 car is valuable over and above the car itself. At the very high end, you can call them and pitch your own concepts and they will build a complete 1 of 1 car for you. The Sultan of Brunei famously had a lot of total one off cars made to his exact specifications from many different manufacturers. The "Rainbow Sheikh" Sheikh Hamad bin Hamdan Al Nahyan has also done this numerous times.
28points
#16
Bulk. I'm not boasting because what's the point? It's anonymous. I'm financially stable now, not wealthy but I'll probably never have to worry about money.
When I was really poor I would buy part worn tyres for my car because I never had the money for new tyres. But I'd have to replace them more often.
Now I have some money I can buy good tyres that last longer. When I see dishwasher tablets on offer I buy about £100 worth and that's me set for a few years. I bulk buy anything on offer which isn't perishable when it's on offer. It's like I'm looking after my future self.
I can also be incredibly irresponsible with money too. I'll be frugal for myself and won't spend more than £100 on a coat or £80 on shoes, but I'll spend far more on a gift for a relative.
And I'm not saying that to sound like a great guy, I'm just an average guy. But one with a s**t load of dishwasher tablets.
When I was really poor I would buy part worn tyres for my car because I never had the money for new tyres. But I'd have to replace them more often.
Now I have some money I can buy good tyres that last longer. When I see dishwasher tablets on offer I buy about £100 worth and that's me set for a few years. I bulk buy anything on offer which isn't perishable when it's on offer. It's like I'm looking after my future self.
I can also be incredibly irresponsible with money too. I'll be frugal for myself and won't spend more than £100 on a coat or £80 on shoes, but I'll spend far more on a gift for a relative.
And I'm not saying that to sound like a great guy, I'm just an average guy. But one with a s**t load of dishwasher tablets.
28points
#17
I didn't know self opening and closing microwaves were a thing until I house sat for a friend in a gated community.
28points
#18
Access. Friends and I flew from DC to Dallas to watch a Redskins/Cowboys game before they moved to the new stadium. Last minute a friend joined and didn’t have a ticket to the game. My well connected friend picked up the phone and called someone and next thing we know some guy is standing at the stadium with a sign with our names on it to hand us our tickets.
It should be noted that 3 of us had tickets and he didn’t. Since he couldn’t get a ticket to sit next to us he just bought 4 tickets in even better seats for all of us. To pay it forward we let someone in the nosebleeds take our original 3 seats.
It should be noted that 3 of us had tickets and he didn’t. Since he couldn’t get a ticket to sit next to us he just bought 4 tickets in even better seats for all of us. To pay it forward we let someone in the nosebleeds take our original 3 seats.
27points
#19
The majority of my clients are in the $10m+ club and many are worth well over $100m. They buy services, things that save them time. Subscription to a company that comes and fills up the gas tank to all your cars every morning. Car delivery service that goes and picks up the Ferrari you wanna drive from the warehouse and brings it to you. Stuff like that.
25points
