Why are rich folks scared to admit they're rich?
I was scrolling through a comment section on Hive today and I came across the comment of someone. Although I admit that this was the big boys' comment section, I did find one comment particularly interesting.
The person openly admitted to being extremely wealthy, which they defined as having no financial problems and being able to buy whatever they wanted.
Although there appeared to be other wealthy individuals in the comment section, this particular account admitted it openly.
Confi-pride
I believe that money gives people confidence, and while this confidence can sometimes be mistaken for pride, most of the time it is expressed in unusual ways.
Sometimes it is in the accent, the way they pronounce words, or the way they talk to people, and while it is usually difficult to tell the difference between confidence and pride, there are still people who are extremely wealthy but avoid public places, try as hard as they can to remain anonymous, or even keep their money in places where no one can ever associate it with them.
Flex the cash
On the other hand, some people make a living by flaunting their wealth. They rely on people seeing them as wealthy to stay in business, and even though they do not have the money they usually claim, they try to use rented or borrowed items to attract clients and customers.
Real estate agents, car dealers, and celebrities who promote specific brands are all examples of such people.
Sometimes the type of car you drive is the type of client you attract.
It is quite a paradox that money can make some people want to be ghosts while making others want to show off.
This is a very contrasting situation, demonstrating the complexity of the human race. Consider the late drug lord Pablo Escobar; he was so wealthy that his wealth became the reason he was pursued; at some point in his life, he may have wished he could return to being a regular person, able to move freely on the streets without being apprehended.
He most likely began as a drug dealer looking to put food on the table, but he eventually became the most powerful drug lord in history, pursued by the police until he was apprehended. Perhaps he had seen the other side of poverty and promised to do anything to avoid being poor.
This demonstrates that not all types of money instill confidence; some people have behaviorally morphed into ghosts because their wealth makes them a target.
People can be both negatively and positively motivated, but sometimes we get too much of what we want and wish we could go back to when we had nothing.
Of course, these regrets occur at the pinnacle of wealth. Some of the richest people in history, Solomon, Mansa Musa must've had this regret at some point in their lives.
Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, in which he expressed the vanity that comes with wealth, but he had to go through a lifetime of unimaginable wealth before coming to this mental realization.
The Fear Of Jinxing It
In Nigeria, rich people are always afraid to admit they are wealthy. Some of them own their properties through proxy. For rich people in Nigeria, this is understandable.
Many of them do not want people to constantly beg or bug them for financial assistance, and sometimes this is because they believe they have worked too hard for their money to give it away to others; some of them also do this for security reasons.
However, I believe that one of the most common reasons people dislike admitting they are wealthy is that they believe they have not amassed enough wealth, and that openly admitting they are wealthy may jinx them.
I know a wealthy man in my church, but whenever he speaks with me, he mostly talks about borrowing money and hustling for funds; this is not the conversation of someone who owns houses and has landed in numerous locations and areas, but I believe it is because he believes he still does not have enough.
However, the psychology behind this is that people raise their living standards as soon as they see an increase in cash flow, which can create the illusion that they still do not have enough.
However, no one truly knows the criteria or amount that different individuals can have before declaring themselves "financially free"; it will undoubtedly vary from person to person.
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There are so many jealous people these days, so it's best not to tell anyone how much money we have because they're just jealous and don't think about how hard we've worked to earn it.
Yes I agree that there are jealous people who can have sinister or evil intentions.
When you are rich and people know it, they will want to separate you from your wealth. The wise man with money lives modestly and saves. Plus like you said, if everyone knows you are wealthy they will be asking for handouts. Most wealthy people also hide their wealth in companies so that they don't look rich. Elon Musk pays himself $50K a year, and lives in a home owned by Space X just as an example.
I agree in some professions you have to look the part. If you dress nicely and have a nice car it can help you out. Especially in California, there are so many people driving expensive cars here it's ridiculous. The sad part is most of them can't afford them and are putting much of their salary towards a stupid car. As I've gotten a little older materialism looks more and more stupid. Money creates as many problems as does poverty, the only difference is that being rich you don't have to worry about how to feed your kids.
Sorry for the long narrative, money is an evil that humans will never let go. Greed is engrained in human nature, probably in our DNA...
That's quite the info, for the man who's supposed to be one of the world's richest men. It's funny though, but I think he's a smart man and tries to put his wealth in companies and shares rather than owning garages of expensive cars and all that.
I wouldn't mind being able to feed my kids and give them a chance at better life, infact that's probably my biggest goal in life, and without that, I don't mind remaining poor.
But with poverty as you've said, it gets harder too. You experience reality in hard ways and life becomes meaningless. You make no friends and have no one to depend on, since you cannot make any money.
I’ve got a couple people I know that are pretty wealthy and they are also the most reserved about their assets. I think it’s modesty and morals, maybe with a big helping of self control added.
The generation of people who like to try and flaunt their wealth is horrendous. It’s always been there but the showing off of supposed wealth (lots of it rented or fake) makes people think it’s acceptable to do that. It’s not and I think it’s pretty clueless of the people that do it sadly.
The only person that knows how wealthy we are should be our spouses or long term partners. I wouldn’t even do children in that for a long time, because that gets sketchy too. Other people shouldn’t need to know anything about it.
I think some people do it because they want more money. I think these people fall under the category of "fake it till you make it".
I agree with you that modesty make people just wants to not talk about how rich they are. This is also another angle, and also self control is also something you've mentioned too. The truth is that a money can make people lose self control and to have money and still keep it together is great discipline.
Yeah, sometimes children are not as mentally matured to understand money discipline. They can become abusive, and proud and even become mean to people who they deem to be poorer, so I wouldn't even tell children too.
Abraham Maslow wasn’t wrong when he said human needs are insatiable, wanting more and never believing they have achieved enough because they keep chasing more and so the illusion is created that they still need more.
For those who think lying under the roof of ‘I’m still not there yet’ because they don’t want people to beg or that they don’t want them to know they have enough are just too selfish and do not understand the laws of giving. But of course, you don't have to start taking mic to announce you are wealthy because the truth is, it isn't safe that way.
Craving for more wealth only leads to unrest. In all, being careful is important.
In Nigeria, yes, most rich people will always say they don't have enough, and they'll use this excuse not to give, even though it's obvious they have a lot. A few of my maternal uncles were like this. I think it's the idea that they don't have enough, or they feel they worked too hard for it.
I think when people have money, it'll eventually show in the things they do, except for rich people who keeps their money and don't use it to improve the quality of their lives and that of their children
This reminds me of my aunt I lived with for years, she wouldn't give you money if you ask straight from her except she'd told you to come around to work while she gives you after helping her do her laundry.
She believed you have to work for the money. Lol
That's something most rich people do and there are those that even with their wealth, they won't give and they still won't improve their quality of life, why have money then?
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I think it also depends on the character of the person, but from my personal observations the really wealthy individuals don't need to show it off, they are quite discrete about it, especially if they are into building generational wealth. Some of the new money and the ones who want to appear they are richer than they really are are more likely to show off their wealth, sometimes to the point of leading them to (personal) bankruptcy instead of a higher tier of wealth.
I understand that the ones who truly have a lot of money likes being discreet about it, but they mostly don't like to "admit". Not boast or show off, but agree that they're rich when they're put on the spot and ask the questions "are you rich?"
Rich people hiding their money is a smart decision. In most countries, if you show wealth, everyone asks for help or tries to take it. Better to stay quiet and safe, and infact it's one of the best advice someone gave to me. He said, if you start getting rich, first thing is to shut up about it
Well it might be a good advice to reduce any form of noise when you start getting rich, I think. So yes, it has become a behavioral tendency especially when it feels like being too vocal might bring problems.
yes so true, I followed Elon musk situation in America. One point those against him kept raising was : why should a billionaire decide for us.
i think I understand better why some wealthy people don't like to admit they're rich, it makes sense that some people might be afraid of being targeted or constantly asked for money, lets just look at our Hive wallet, what if Hive goes back up to $3??? I personally dont post pictures of myself but if ppl knew I have over $50k for sure they would think I have money or ask me for money, jokes on them because its all HP jajajaja, there is also some people might just feel like they never have enough as you mention even if they're technically wealthy i guess it's all relative to what is wealth?? if not spend less than what you spend, at least thats how I see things ✌️ 🤑
As for Hive, perhaps someday, or maybe even by the end of the year when we see $3. However I don't consider hive money "wealth" unless it's cashed out and invested into something in real life. When it's on-chain, it's still liquid and can be prone to volatility. However, maybe when Hive gets to 10 or 15$ maybe someday in the future, people can then see it as "life-changing"
Welcome back, it seems you've not been posting a lot
In developing countries like Nigeria, it is to avoid billing , i mean i'm not even rich but i know the amount of "billings" from people i receive. I don't blame rich people for trying to downplay their wealth. I don't know if it is a global thing or it's Nigerian thing though.
It seems to be a global thing, but very much apparent in Nigeria. We know that people want to stay away from those asking them for money, especially when they know you have some cash to give out.
I think it depends. If care about their reputation, then flaunting their wealth suits them. However, I think that the money won't last unless they have multiple sources of income. Anything could happen and that could dry up anytime.
I wouldn't flaunt my wealth either. It just sounds like trouble when others come asking you for money.
I won't flaunt as well because anything can happen, and then that person might just lose the money. I think it's generally not a good idea to do so.
This is a typical example of my former Boss who is so wealthy but always hide under the roof. He warned me seriously as his admin never to disclose how wealthy he is , because obviously, I can see it in numerous files bearing his many assets all over the world, yet, he doesn't like anyone begging him for money, he is afraid of being hurt, he still wants more money and so, he never stopped investing....when I say investing, I mean thousands of dollars, and still securing assets all the place...yet he still complains about not having money... like how does it sound ..lol
Simply put, humans being are insatiable, we always want more and more for higher dreams
I think when the reason is not to jinx it, then it's a wise choice to not express one is wealthy. I've heard this concept/reality of stealth wealth, and I think being silently wealthy in this day and age, may carry more upside than downside. Without being a target, you can live your life freely with more options.
For many reasons obviously but for this sort of the world, they don’t want you coming to reap where you didn’t sow hence they keep not low key..
While some are as an act of humility