35 Rich People Who Proved They Don’t Understand How The Real World Works
Interview With ExpertThe richest 1% have more wealth than the bottom 95% of the world's population put together. That’s according to an Oxfam report released last year. Al Jazeera has also reported that there are at least 58 million US dollar millionaires walking the earth, or sailing the seas, or private-jetting the skies. Or all in one day... The rich really are in a class of their own, and too often it seems they aren’t learning much when it comes to how the majority of the global population lives. Money can’t buy brains. And it certainly can’t buy awareness.
When someone asked, “What’s the most out-of-touch thing a rich person has said to you?” the replies were astounding. From the downright ignorant to the plain old rude, you’d be forgiven for wanting some of these folk to take their private jets and go inhabit a planet far, far away. Bored Panda has put together a list of the most bizarre statements to come out of the mouths of those with a golden spoon. A few might make you want to gag. We also spoke to WalletHub's financial writer and analyst Chip Lupo to get some tips for those who'd like to build some wealth of their own.
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I am a retired Captain of an International Airline, I was behind the counter at the departure gate printing last minute paperwork, the flight was making the final call, a golf cart pulls up with this lady yelling to hold the plane, she must have had 5 carryons, all Gucci bags, she had sunglasses on (it was 23:00), the high healed shoes, the hair, the nails, the overwhelming perfume, you get the picture … she throws her boarding pass at the agent, swearing and carrying on that the f#%king plane better still be there, she looks at me over the top of her sunglasses and points at her bags on the golf cart and says
“carry my bags, and be careful with the small one it’s fragile”
The agents looks at her and says “ma’am that your captain”
She says “I don’t care, I could buy him in a minute, I told him to carry my bags”
I walked down the bridge, over my shoulder I said she’d better hurry up, the door was closing.
I didn’t see the hissy fit she proceeded to have at the gate, but she was denied boarding and did not make the flight.
Turns out she was the daughter of a billionaire, loves to throw her weight around, loves to tell people who she is, she has pulled that stunt numerous times and was essentially banned from flying our airline.
Honey if daddy’s worth that much, get your own damned plane, I’m not your Sherpa.
The price to shoe a horse was 50 bucks back in 1970, now it's 120-150? I told him I'd shoe his horse's for 70s prices if he sold me some of his property for 70s prices. Shut him up real quick.
An ex landlord of mine rocked up to the house inspection driving a Ferrari. I said wow that is beautiful, I’m very envious. He said if I worked as hard as him I could have one one day. He inherited the houses he rents out from his dad.
Being financially literate is a good skill to have, especially in these trying times. While you by no means need to go for broke to become one of the world's billionaires, knowing how to build wealth will help you and your family in the long run.
Bored Panda reached out to Chip Lupo for some tips and tricks on growing a nest egg. He's the financial writer and analyst for finance platform WalletHub and has a wealth of experience (so to speak) on the topic.
Focus on living below your means by budgeting and saving consistently, advises Lupo, adding that it also pays to invest early and diversify your investments to take advantage of compound interest.
"Additionally, you should maximize employee-sponsored retirement accounts, manage your debt wisely, and explore possibilities for multiple income streams," he told Bored Panda.
"Invest in yourself through learning and skill-building, while also minimizing your tax burden and protecting your assets with insurance and estate planning. Staying patient, disciplined, and regularly reviewing your financial goals can lead to long-term success."
Owner of my company, a very stereotypical boomer, asked me what I thought if the Maserati Quattroporte, and if I thought it would be a decent "Florida car" (He keeps a Mercedes here in WI for the when he's in town.)
Ironically enough, his son (42 year old guy) runs the company now, and did a bunch things I can only imagine pissed his dad off, like $10k raise for every salaried employee and $5/hr for the hourly employees, created a 3 week paternity leave program (Created explicitly for me, when my wife was pregnant,) unlimited pto for salaried employees and increased hourly to 3 weeks, paid the full time salary for a year of a sales rep who had to leave for cancer treatment and ultimately died, and some other things that most boomers would flip their kids.
Sounds like the son was caring for the employees. That makes for loyal employees.
Talking about people in less developed nations, I hear a lot of rich people say things like "They don't have much, but they're happy." Like they don't want more than they currently have.
Yea I am an Indian and when people make similar comments it makes me mad. They are poor but they sleep peacefully. They are poor but they are content and thus better off. As if mental health and class are mutually exclusive. If anything having basic needs met equals less things that make you stressed.
"Why didn't you just work over the summer to pay for college?" Because yes, tuition has definitely stayed the same since 1975 🙄.
We were curious to know whether there's really a way to "get rich quick" - without winning the lottery. And we hate to break it to you, but according to Lupo, not really.
"While the idea of 'get rich quick' is appealing, it’s generally unrealistic and risky," he says. "Most opportunities that promise rapid wealth typically involve high risk, scams, or short-lived trends."
Lupo adds that true wealth-building requires time, consistency, smart decision-making, and long-term strategies. "While there are rare cases of quick wealth, such as winning lotteries, inheritances, or sudden business success, these are outliers, and relying on them can lead to financial instability," he explained. "Building wealth is a gradual process that thrives on discipline and patience."
Not me but my mom. We were farmers. A woman told her, "I don't understand why you people work so hard grow food, when you can just go to the grocery store and buy it.".
It will be a shocker when she learns your vegetables are what she bought.
Guy who owned the business I worked at a few years ago tried to tell me if I’m “smart with money, you’ll have $100,000 by the end of the year”. I said “By getting a second job? You’re only going to give me about $30k after taxes”.
A rich girl speaking about her teens, "I was raised very well, I was never spoiled. My dad bought me a Seat car. Which wasn't even a sedan and already 4 years old. I didn't get Mercedes like spoiled kids"
She then stormed off and got mad at us for laughing at this. 🤷🏽♂️.
So if you were able to put away $100 a month, what should you do with it for maximum impact? "Consider investing it in a low-cost, diversified index fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the stock market," suggests Lupo, adding that it offers the potential for long-term growth through compound interest. A Roth IRA is also a good option if you qualify, he says, as it provides tax advantages for retirement savings.
The experts adds that ideally, people should aim to invest funds for at least 10-20 years to ride out any market fluctuations and maximize returns. "Consistency is key, and automating contributions can help you stay disciplined. Over time, even small, consistent investments can grow significantly."
One of my acquaintances truly believes that everyone’s parents give them $2k a month to supplement their income. My jaw hit the floor after that.
In my case I give my mom money each month to supplement her pension. Really fortunate to have been able to work my way up to a well paid job to be able to help her.
At the beginning of the pandemic my boss made comments like “just stop spending money” whenever people would voice concerns about their financial outlook. Gee thanks dude we were struggling to make ends meet before this s**tshow even started but yeah I’ll just start saving money now, why didn’t I think of that.
The other night at the beginning of the Presidential Debate, CNN asked about inflation. "What used to cost $100.00 at the grocery store now costs $125.00."
Yeah, I f*****g wish.
We often hear about generational wealth but it's not easy to get to that point from scratch... Or is it? We asked Lupo to provide parents with some tips and tricks to ensure their child has a million dollars by age 21.
"Invest early in a custodial account or 529 plan which focuses on high-growth assets like stocks or index funds," he replied. "By consistently contributing a small amount each month and taking advantage of compound interest with an average annual return of 7 to 8%, it’s possible to reach the $1 million mark by the time your child turns 21."
Lupo says that automating contributions and teaching financial literacy along the way will help ensure steady progress and set your child up for long-term success.
I asked for a three dollar raise, as I’m a single father of three boys. This b***h looked me dead in the eyes and said “I have bills too ya know?” Meanwhile she was retired and lived in a multi million dollar house on the lake. Husband owned multiple properties and a real estate business. But f**k me for asking for an extra couple hundred bucks a month.
I was working at a car dealership and saw the owner pull up in a $250k Porsche GT3. Told him how much I loved the car and dreamt of owning one someday. Owner looked at me confused and said "what do you mean? We sell them right here you know?" Totally blew my mind that he didn't realize his employees couldn't afford the cars they were selling.
American person living in my third world country where people mostly use cash:
"I can't believe the highest banknote is just 25 USD, that's nothing, it's so annoying to need so much cash to pay for things"
Saying this in a country where people back then only made like 200 USD a month sounded extremely rude and stupid.
This is why so many countries consider us stupid. We have no care for other countries, their lifestyles, customs, and history. That's us - the Ugly American.
And finally, there's no point making money if you don't know how to keep it. We hear time and again of people losing everything after being super successful at some point in their lives.
"People tend to lose their money after becoming rich because of poor financial decisions, overspending, and excessive lifestyles," reveals Lupo. "People new to wealth may make impulsive investments, fall for scams, or take on excessive debt, leading to financial instability. Some also fail to diversify their assets or protect their principals with proper safeguards, making them vulnerable to market downturns or unexpected events."
My friend is rich.
He said 12k is enough to buy a house.
We live in California.
“I mean it’s one banana, Michael. What could it cost? Ten dollars?” 1f9wmzbshxqa1.jpg
Not rich, but solid middle class. She scoffed at me for not having saved enough for a deposit for a house yet.
Her Dad gave her 40k towards her first place. Supposed to be a loan but she never started paying him back then he died so she didn't have to.
I have a friend I don't spend much time with anymore. Her parents bought her an investment property that she sold for 300k and her husband received a 250k inheritance. When talking about meatless meals to save money she told me that if we "saved as hard as them" we could pay off our mortgage in under 10 years, too.
A woman said "chop chop" to me at my job. I've certainly had much worse things said to me than that, but I would describe this as the most cartoonishly out of touch. Never actually heard this in person. Only from Mr. Burns or similar characters in movies made pre-1960.
The expert adds that failure to plan for taxes, putting off estate management, and not adapting to changing economic circumstances can quickly erode wealth. And on that note, we leave you to go get the bag. Just don't become out of touch with reality like some of the delusional people featured in this listicle!
We had a division president tell us a story that included a little side story about his dog. Well he apparently buys a whole salmon every week that is portioned out for the dog's meals. My teammates were all making decent money, but we could not afford to eat as well as his dog.
My husband tells a story of when he was a kid - they lived with granny, who had a Pekinese (think Mrs Pumphrey in the Herriot books) He was keen on maths so used to do the 'housekeeping' books, and had to tell his mum that the butcher's bill for the 'dog meat' (steak) was far higher than for the rest of the family put together.
Within 5 minutes of meeting someone he started showing me pictures of his Aston Martin sports car.
Any time he mentioned it I'd always say something about poor mileage, or 'you might as well have a kia because you can't drive over 70 anyway' to wind him up.
This reminds me of the guy who always says to Tesla owners, “Wow! Those new Toyotas are so nice!”
Just save up a thousand euros every 2 months and you can afford anything.
A guy that was in post-secondary seemed to think that everyone’s parents had some kind of speedboat or yacht. Someone actually had to explain to him that most people don’t.
He loved dressing kinda shabby to “fit in”, but it was rich person shabby. We all could tell.
Me - I can't afford that.
Her - Just put it on a credit card.
This from a young woman whose father owned a couple of car dealerships. She clearly had no understanding of money management. Or having to earn your own money.
Was talking to client about having to drive to Lubbock from Austin(6-7hrs) for a weekend wedding and she recommended taking a helicopter because it would be easier… I am a hairstylist.
Just curious, how much to rent that helicopter for a round trip flight?
I called their family rich
She responded “my dad isn’t rich he just knows how to take care of his money”
The conversation we were having was about their dad building their second Washington home after buying their Hawaiian vacation home.
“You hate your job? Why don’t you just go back to school”
Me married with two kids and a mortgage mid 2009 recession.
"It's easy to get a job!"- was given a do-nothing job at their dad's law firm.
Them: "I am not reliant on my scholarship to pay for university."
Me: "Then why did you even apply instead of possibly allowing someone in need of the money to get in?"
Them: "Because my grades were good enough to score it."
Me: "Think that might be because you can focus on your studies unlike people who struggle with work and federal grants because their parents can't afford it?"
Them: "I guess they'd just have to study more.".
I will go first “I have no hair on my body! You should have your husband take you to get laser hair removal! It only cost me $10,000”
…maybe in my dreams
She was the Mayors daughter and I was catering her dogs birthday party.
*I don’t understand why ANYONE would eat that c**p!*
—Boss referring to fast food before going out to eat at an expensive restaurant 95% of people couldn’t afford to eat at more than once a month that he frequents.
Because it tastes good, fries are crunchy and salty and most people do not have Oysters Rockefeller, or sushi for lunch.
"We have to have a maid. My mom works."
His mother was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
"Well you know I don't like to talk bad about anyone but they Rent" a woman referring to a neighbor who she thinks is lower class.
The principal of a school I temped at commented in a staff meeting that the class and quality of students was going to decrease because of a boundary change that would zone in a bunch of apartments rather than just the single family homes currently zoned. Someone, bless their heart, made a polite comment questioning that and he backed it up by saying the renters were a different kind of people. I am so glad I never worked for that man.
"why don't your parents collect you in their car?" Not everybody was raised by parents who could afford a car.
Certainly location plays a role in this, but certainly, if this is in the US (or many other developed countries) this isn't necessarily a rich person being out of touch. In many places, great wealth isn't necessarily needed to buy a car.
“You’ll just have to buy an iPad”. in 2011. my boss and landlord to me when my laptop couldn’t connect to the wifi where I was living and working for him.
Years ago some guy went to prison for stealing his company's pension fund. His wife sat on the news crying saying "people don't think it's hard for us too, we had to sell some of our houses." And she was dead f**king serious
I had a rich friend in college. Well, multiple, but this dude was on another level.
He was from Venezuela. We were driving one night and thought we were getting pulled over. He says "don't worry, if they pull us over I have enough cash to make them leave us alone." We all say "NO!" at the same time and explain how things work in the US. Specifically Texas and that would land him in jail.
He then says "can't your dad just call the president and get them to let you go?" We asked if he meant Bush and he says yes.
He then tells us that if that happened when he was at home his dad just called the president to get him out of trouble. His family had oil money. Lots of it.
I wonder how he's doing now?
“If I can give you one piece of advice, always pay cash for your home and vehicles.”
I was young and was like, “Yeah, that makes sense.”.
“Do you sail?” This was during a job interview.
Do mean do I own a sailboat? No. If I was invited on a sailboat then yes.
Me: "I'm not sure my car will pass EPA this year."
Her: "Really? You should just get a new one.".
“Don’t cash out your stocks! Be smart and hold onto them for 20-30 years” when I told them I had rent to pay and had to get a different job. This was 6 years ago. F**k you, Leslie! You don’t know the struggle.
I was dating a girl and things were going really well. She came from a very wealthy family in Southern California- the square footage of her childhood home was 6 digits. Anyways we were coming into the second month of dating and while on a date we were talking about my interest in medicine and becoming a surgeon. To this she responded, "oh good, I don't think I'd ever be happy in a situation where I didn't have a lot of money, I'd need to have at least as much as my parents do."
It was our last date.
I was playing my guitar on my porch (acoustic yamaha) and this old guy comes up to me and says "you should get yourself something that sounds nice" and I was like what do ya mean? He's like "good sound comes at a price, if you don't have a martin or a taylor you're worthless." And I said well I get compliments on my sound and I like it so what's the big deal. He said "whatever I'm trying to help you, peasants like you need to take advice from people like me" and walked away.
You need an ID to buy a loaf of bread.
This was on Facebook. Some dude made an ignorant comment so I clicked his profile. Nothing was set to private and I saw an exchange between one of his friends where they referred to poor people as "debt infested maggots.".
That being poor is just a mentality. This is coming from a girl whose father was the owner of a large company.
I started with nothing when I got to this country, my dad only gave me 100K to put a downpayment on a house.
“It’s so easy, I don’t know why everybody doesn’t rent a whole house..” she lives in a wealthy neighbourhood for $5500 a month. Her parents pay half….
A lady once told me that we need poor people so that there will be Human Resources to fight our wars.
It's sadly true. Poor people join the military. Source = my dad was an Air Force recruiter. Use to tell me all the places where he would try to get people to join. It was not cool.
It would be more efficient to buy all your groceries from one store. You should manage your time better.
I don't like going to different store so I just shop at one grocery store even if it means if I have to pay a little bit more.
"The housing market isn't that bad"
Yeah and I invented the wheel you pompous, real estate prick.
"... well, my daddy has an island..."
Trying to show off to me at a debutant ball while I was surrounded by three other women who were chatting me up. The girls didn't really care much about me as much as they were just trying to beat each other. I was a p**n in their game of social superiority. It was a weird experience.
Like, they were talking to me, bragging about how wealthy they were, but they weren't really talking to me. I don't really know how to explain it better than that. I know they expected me to pick one of them, and that would mark the winner of the competition.
However, for me it was a losing proposition all around. So I just rolled my eyes and left.
"People actually buy food from these dollar stores?!"
Not sure why she was even there in the first place, but she had an employee following her around pushing her cart and I heard her say this from 3 or 4 aisles away.
"No madam, they come here to avoid encountering people like you, but they're having a bit of bad luck today."
Guy: don't you think it's sad that this country is built on the bones and STOLEN LAND of the native Americans your government slaughtered?
Lady: they weren't doing anything here anyway?
A senior vp at our company one time was complaining about the cost of home insurance for his vacation property (near a hurricane zone).
This was his 3rd home. He also flew to his Boston home from his SC home for a dentist appointment.
I was carving a steamship round at an exclusive country clubs Christmas party (it was specifically called a Christmas party because they only allowed WASPs to join the club) when a man and his wife approached for some beef.
Him: Are you picking up some hours over Christmas break before going back to school?
Me: No sir I work at the club full time.
Her: Oh you must have just started.
Me: No madam I have been working at the club for the past 5 years.
Him: They must keep you in back with the rest of the help.
Me: (laughing through gritted teeth) well I’ve been told that I have a face for radio and a voice for silent films.
Them: (belly laughing like I was Don Rickles)
Me: Enjoy the rest of your evening Mr. and Mrs. Outoftouch.
I’ve organized private events for them over 20 times, developed a special menu for their two children’s weddings, catered multiple events at their beach house and other off site events, he sat in on all of my interviews and she sat in on all of my seasonal menu changes for the past five years.
When a Yale student interviewed me for my MBA application (I ended up going to a better school), after I asked about funding options: “oh, I never thought about that my dad is paying my tuition”.
The pool down at my yacht club didn't limit the number people it let in right and there weren't enough chairs for everyone, I don't even know why I pay them 3 grand a month.
And there's me eating my last bit of money in peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch as he complains his yacht club doesn't regulate it's pool right.
I used to work at a small airport in the midwest, for personal aircraft. Propeller planes and stuff.
The amount of times I've been asked "do you fly" and then they get confused when I say no...
Flying is one of those things that, I understand, used to actually be possible (at least with small plane rentals) for more people in the early 2000s. Not necessarily cheap, but doable as a thing still. Prices for it climbed dramatically over the last decade, locking out a lot of people who used to be able to fly as a hobby.
My friends father made about half a million € per year in today‘s money. Nevertheless, my friend told me that his mother had to buy food at the discounter because they had three kids.
Depending on cost of living where they were, and how they actually managed their money, and what other expenses they had, this may be true. You never know what's going on in other people's lives. I remember one letter from the Slate advice columns that was someone asking for advice on how to explain their financial situation to their daughter, who knew they made the same amount of money as another family who'd just gone on a big ski vacation. They couldn't afford the same vacation because their other child had mental health issues and they were paying out the nose for a special private school for him.
"Only blue collar people have dinner after 6pm.".
How odd. In most of Europe, people don't eat dinner until at least 7:00, usually later. Is the evening supposedly reserved for heavy drinking only??
Had a friend in college tell me her family sold their yacht when they moved and bought a new one rather than bringing their old one with them.
"Nothing is more admirable than the fortitude with which the rich bear the disadvantages of their wealth." - Nero Wolfe
My grandfather told me at my college graduation to "save half of what you make" and good lord, the f*****g tailspin my brain did after that comment. I'm still gobsmacked by it and it's been 7 years.
"My wife and I couldn't both drive $150,000 cars if it wasn't for paying illegals under the table.".
Time to turn that bad boy in! Well, idk how that would work now, but a few months ago it would have been worth a call to the authorities. (I’m assuming this is in the US.)
Why do people drive Toyotas? Why not just buy a Maserati.
3rd gen scion of a billionaire who I hung with. Mind you I’m from a $100m+ family too but I’m not that stupid.
In my experience in the Middle East, many of the richest people own and drive Toyotas, they love Toyotas. Toyota Land Cruisers are one of the best selling vehicles. A Maserati isn't much use in the sand.
"How can you live on less than 200k a year?". It was in 2015, in Zurich, Switzerland (where it's expensive but still, jc). He worked for Google.
"She's having car problems? I don't understand why her parents don't just buy her a new car."
Mind you, this is a former coworker of mine in her mid-40s talking about an early 20s college student coworker of ours whose (lone) family car broke down.
I told my friend the minimum wage, and he didn't believe me. Thought it was about 20 quid an hour.
One of my Fathers friend paying $250,000 yearly for golf/country club membership.
we were talking about golf and he said, "I pay about $250k for membership at my golf club".
Had an ex move across the country to study for a year. The plan was for me to fly to her a couple of times. When doing the math she said, "why not buy all your tickets at one?" When I asked how much she thought that would cost me she said, "I don't know, it can't be that much." 🤦🏽♂️.
Not even rich, just an upper middle class teacher married to a doctor. Suggested I quit my job so we could follow SIL across Europe for 3mths.
I used to work with some oil traders at a supermajor. One of them said "I don't believe in the cost of living crisis - restaurants are always full these days".
"If people can't afford to come to my wedding abroad then I don't want them there anyway." Dead pan serious.
A man was building an NBA sized basketball court under their house. The sewage company said there were no pipes in the way and they were A-Ok for the go-ahead.
The man responds "It must be God's Plan"
"Breast implants are only like $5000. It is something inexpensive that any woman can do for herself"
She's living in a dream world if she thinks anybody can block $5000 on plastiboobs even if they did want them.
My mother. "Pearl earrings are a staple in this day and age."
I don't know how rich/wealthy people don't know someone struggling with average salary, one of their cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, or neice?
The rich person's reply would be that that person didn't manage their money well, or they aren't as intelligent as they are
Load More Replies...I recall Cheryl Tweedy/Cole/etc saying on a chat show how her shoes were quite cheap, they were only £800. The average weekly wage in the UK at the time was under £600. Surprising, since one would have thought she hadn't been famous long enough to forget her roots.
Anyone who can happily live within their means and save a dollar or two is rich. If 'I'm not actually that rich' people would live well within their means, pay debts, save up for stuff (istead of 'leverage') and NOT keep up with the Jones's, they would be truly rich.
I don't know how rich/wealthy people don't know someone struggling with average salary, one of their cousin, aunt, uncle, nephew, or neice?
The rich person's reply would be that that person didn't manage their money well, or they aren't as intelligent as they are
Load More Replies...I recall Cheryl Tweedy/Cole/etc saying on a chat show how her shoes were quite cheap, they were only £800. The average weekly wage in the UK at the time was under £600. Surprising, since one would have thought she hadn't been famous long enough to forget her roots.
Anyone who can happily live within their means and save a dollar or two is rich. If 'I'm not actually that rich' people would live well within their means, pay debts, save up for stuff (istead of 'leverage') and NOT keep up with the Jones's, they would be truly rich.
