Inspired by u/animetroy, the members of the sprawling r/AskReddit online group shared some of the mind-boggling things they’ve seen or heard the ultra-wealthy do. We’ve collected their perspectives to share with you. Scroll down to have a read!
We got in touch with personal finance expert Sam Dogen for his thoughts on the smartest ways to spend wealth to improve the quality of a person and their family's life. He shared some of his insights, including what worries the ultra-rich face, with Bored Panda. You'll find our full interview with him below. Dogen is the founder of the popular 'Financial Samurai' blog and the author of the bestseller 'How To Engineer Your Layoff.'
#1
Personal finance expert Dogen told Bored Panda that once you have a lot of money, you don't need much more. "Pursuing additional wealth often won’t make a significant difference in the quality of your life. However, I firmly believe that the best way to spend money to enhance your life is by buying an ideal home where you can enjoy life and raise your family," he told us in an email.
"Given that we spend more than 12 hours a day at home on average—sometimes up to 20 hours—a beautiful home offers the greatest return on investment. Not only do you get to enjoy your living space, but there’s also potential for its value to appreciate over time."
According to Dogen, the best time to own the nicest home you can afford is when you have children. "This way, you maximize the use of your home and spread its cost across more people. Once your children grow up and leave, you’re unlikely to want a larger, more expensive home—quite the opposite."
#2
I'm in $10m+ homes all the time. The carriage house or groundskeepers house are nicer than mine .
#3
Never shop grocery's. Someone restocks your fridge daily. You basically have a fully stocked shop in your gigantic kitchen. But you're nit gonna cook anyway since you have a professional chef on duty 24/7.
Never clean. Never fix anything on the house or car etc. You never need to do any chores ever. Other people do it for you. They can even raise your kids for you.
Furthermore, you should consider spending the money you've earned to improve your lifestyle. For example, you could invest in your health and fitness, as well as the quality of the food you eat. "Once you’re wealthy, your goal should be to live as long and healthily as possible. Lastly, consider spending on friends and family. Once you’ve achieved financial success, it’s rewarding to share it. Throw parties, pay for vacations with your favorite people, and enjoy life together," Dogen said.
However, the expert pointed out that just because someone's incredibly wealthy doesn't make them immune to life's problems. "The sad reality is that even if you’re ultra-rich with a $20 million net worth or more, happiness isn’t guaranteed. You’ll still have the same worries, fears, and hopes as everyone else. In fact, the higher your net worth, the more you might fear losing it. Much of the wealth of the ultra-rich is illiquid and can vanish unexpectedly. In addition, you will likely have to sacrifice for an extremely long time to achieve tremendous wealth. Be careful what you wish for!"
#4
the act of sleeping/just exisiting & waiting is a net positive for the ultrarich.
time is quite literally on their side.
#5
#6
I know it sounds obvious, but I find that *everything* in my life hinges around the question of "Can I afford it?"
Socialising, renting (or buying, if you're lucky) a house, paying the bills, going on holiday, having a kid, etc. The first question, every time, "how do I afford to do this?"
Not having that constantly nagging at you must be the most amazing feeling.
Meanwhile, we were curious to get Dogen’s perspective on the healthy ways the ultra-rich can react when facing other people’s envy. He explained to us that the best way to react is, well... not to react. "Better yet, practice Stealth Wealth, where no one knows you’re wealthy. Dress down, drive a used car, avoid wearing flashy watches, and keep your address private," he told Bored Panda.
"Envy is inevitable when people perceive that others have more, regardless of the risks you've taken or the time you’ve put in. Most won’t credit your hard work for your success, so it’s best not to stand out. Some people work less than 40 hours a week and wonder why they can’t get ahead, while others work 50% to 100% harder every week for years. The competition to build wealth is fierce. Recognizing this reality is crucial to avoid being left behind."
#7
One standout was how he had employed a coffee guy, who's job was just to be driven to a nearby Cafe and come back to hand over a cup of coffee in the morning.
That's it. Nothing else, the coffee guy would just laze around the mansion for the rest of the day until the next morning again. I really wonder how much he got paid for that.
#8
Seems like a differentiator for the ultra wealthy is Access. If Beyoncé is coming it town, ultra wealthy people don’t go thru Ticketmaster, they have someone call the owner of the venue or Beyoncé’s manager directly and get tickets.
Pothole in the road near your house? Don’t need to complain to your county rep, they have someone call the mayor/governor’s office directly.
#9
Being financially wealthy or owning lots of things is not necessary to be happy. You can feel rich in many other ways, including having a thriving social life, choosing to work less once you see that you’re earning ‘enough,’ deciding how you spend your free time, and prioritizing your health and fitness.
However, it’s common sense that you need at least some income to guarantee access to the bare necessities (food, shelter, clothing, transportation, education, medical care, etc.).
That way, you have a solid enough foundation from which you can do whatever it is that you want, whether that’s building your own business, climbing the corporate ladder, traveling the world, dedicating yourself to your creative projects, starting a family, or anything else you value in life.
To put it bluntly, spending time with your loved ones and looking for your purpose is easier when you’re not starving or living paycheck to paycheck.
#10
Basically, he used his wealth to guarantee that he never had problems traveling and always knew how to get where he was going. I wouldn't want a mansion or a sportscar, but if I were a billionaire, I'd definitely have somebody smoothing out all the kinks in my travel plans.
#11
#12
For a long time, research has indicated that earning money past a certain salary threshold (around $75,000 to $100,000 per year) won’t significantly increase your happiness. The general idea is that extra cash is very noticeable and has a big immediate impact if you’re struggling. But once you’re living a fairly comfortable lifestyle, the effect of earning more isn’t as pronounced.
However, newer research appears to indicate that this might not be entirely true. More money seems to matter if all other factors are equal. A 2023 study from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School implies that there’s no ‘ceiling’ when it comes to the relationship between happiness and wealth. In other words, the indication is that the more you earn, the happier you might be.
According to research done by Matthew Killingsworth, happiness does improve with higher earnings. That’s good news for the ultra-wealthy. The researcher found that the life satisfaction of people earning $3 million to $7.9 million was far higher than that of individuals earning ‘just’ six-figure salaries.
#13
#14
#15
A few things:
* The head designer/jeweler of LVMH was staying at his $70 million house. He was there to show him his latest custom jewelry pieces. Many of the pieces he designed for his wife were on loan to the Louvre.
* He had a special boat to cut through the bay to reach the Oracle Arena for his courtside Warriors season ticket seats, avoiding the traffic.
* His personal chef had worked at two three-Michelin-star restaurants before he hired her.
* His butler would hide behind a wall, visible only to him throughout the dinner, to attend to his every need immediately without a word.
* He never wore belts because his clothes had no belt loops, as they were all perfectly tailored to him.
* To escape the city on weekends, he bought a 40-acre vineyard in the heart of Napa, California.
* Most of his wine was $1,000 to $3,000 a bottle, and a lot would be left in the glass. We had plenty of liquor ranging from $20,000 to $40,000 a bottle. Some crazy stuff.
* He owned five houses in California, totaling over $250 million, and when he moved to Miami, he bought two houses, each for around $50 million. The art, the details, the furniture were insane. I recall a room covered in leather with ivory inlays, crafted by descendants of those who worked on the Palace of Versailles. The bar resembled a swanky New York bar, and the entire room was hand-carved in Morocco before being reassembled in the US.
I could go on and on with countless other examples, and to be honest, he wasn’t even that happy.
“The money-happiness curve continues rising well beyond $500,000 a year. I think a big part of what's happening is that when people have more money, they have more control over their lives,” Killingsworth explained to CBS MoneyWatch.
“I suspect it's much more fundamental and psychologically deeper than simply buying more stuff.”
The research looked at how people rated their life satisfaction on a scale of 1 to 7 (from not at all happy to extremely satisfied). Respondents earning $30k per year or less reported their life satisfaction to be around average, at a 4. Those earning around $500k per year felt happier, rating their lives around a 5. Meanwhile, multimillionaires gave themselves a rating of 6.
#16
#17
#18
1. Her cat had a custom-made crystal bowl with Swarovski crystals that cost over $4K.
2. Her cat would have its food prepped by a chef. No store bought food.
3. She had her bedsheets laundered every week and replaced every 4 weeks with new. Those were some pricy high-end sheets, too. She made sure the old ones were destroyed/torn up so that none of the servants/housekeepers would take them.
4. Even though everything she needed was within a 5 minute walk (she wasn't bedridden and in good enough physical shape to move about freely), she was chauffeured everywhere. In a Rolls Royce.
5. Went out of the country on trips 4 - 6 times per year. Mostly Europe, for 2 weeks at a time.
6. She had private homes in upstate NY, Florida, California, Arizona, Florence (Italy), and Sao Paulo (Brazil). Think there was another one in San Pedro (Spain) or somewhere in that area.
7. She had around a few million dollars worth of jewelry. Necklaces and brooches. She never wore earrings.
8. Pretty much all her clothing was custom-made.
With all that being said, Killingsworth pointed out that money is just one of the factors that matter when it comes to happiness. “So, I think it’s important for everyone—policymakers, executives, and regular people—to keep in mind that so many things matter besides money,” he told CBS MoneyWatch.
"It's entirely possible to be rich and miserable or poor and happy. The main reason is simply that lots of things matter for happiness besides money. But, all else equal, people tend to be happier the more money they have.”
#19
