What another person has in their bank account is absolutely none of my business. But if you’re a particularly nosy panda, there might be a few ways you can get an idea of how much your friends have stashed away.
One curious Reddit user recently posed the question, “What's a non-obvious sign someone is rich?”, and plenty of people weighed in with their thoughts. From casually having expensive hobbies to always keeping quiet about their finances, we’ve gathered some of the telltale signs that someone might be wealthy down below. Enjoy reading through this discussion, and be sure to upvote the subtle indications of affluence you’ve noticed in people you know personally.
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They wear very nice clothing without any brand identification.
They don’t have luggage when taking a flight.
So many wealthy people have multiple homes with separate wardrobes at each. To just jump on a plane with no carry on bags must be a dream lol
Rich people just have their bodies surgically modified so the don’t need things like clothes when they travel. Think Mystique from X Men.
In my experience as a waiter in a fine dining establishment, they treat you like a normal f*****g human.
Not sure if my boss coined the term, but a "100k millionaire" will treat you like you're just "the help" and make you feel like less of a person...
People who were born rich usually (and I said usually!!) are very polite and respectful with anybody
I used to have a running buddy who was very rich. For me, the non-obvious sign were the books on his bookcase. They weren't books to be read. They were investments. He told me once that if somebody tried to rob his place, they might go for the big TV, but they should go for the bookshelf.
Most of the time, they will stay quiet about money, but never balk when presented with a bill
They will be very selective in those they choose to be friends with, for various legal reasons.
Oh i have that blue-purple card in the picture. Let mi just imagine for 2minutes that I'm part of this list
Alteration. Their clothes fit perfectly because they don’t expect things off the rack to fit perfectly they have someone alter them to fit perfectly.
Quality of the food they eat.
This is a big reason why wealthy people tend to be thinner. It's not even that they work out more or do yoga or any of that s**t, they'll still be leaner than a construction worker who is certainly burning more calories in exercise than them. The reason is simply that they can afford better, healthier food.
They are usually not wearing anything tacky or too fashionable. Just well made clothing that last a long time. They may have a luxury car but it's not a new one and it's not red.
Real generational wealth keeps an extremely low profile.
They have no digital footprint. They actually pay people to keep information about them off the internet, and out of any publications.
They will keep a low profile, driving cars that blend in. Nice, reliable vehicles, but nothing too flashy.
They have a certain ease with which they move about the world that you have to see to understand.
Everyone else losing their jobs? Cars all of a sudden costing double what they did before? Inflation making your money feel useless? Eggs become a luxury item?
None of that changes anything about their spending habits. They carry on as if nothing has happened. They never bother commenting on it. They just go on getting a new Volvo every 3 years, having 2 eggs for breakfast, buying the prime steak at the grocery store. They were never particularly flashy before, but their conspicuous lack of panic speaks volumes about their financial security.
Casually having expensive hobbies. Stuff like sailing, skiing, and golfing. Especially in areas where those activities aren’t as accessible and if they’ve been doing it for a long time. You live in the Midwest but you’ve been surfing since you were 10? Probably rich.
I like that this thread is not totally offensive, I'm kinda tired of people dissing rich folks only for being rich
They are quiet when the discussion is about cost of living pressures, and will deflect the questions from themselves and/or nudge the conversation into a different direction
They don’t look at the price tag when shopping
Based upon a real experience, he is the dirty farmer with a broken down truck that just paid the mechanic $3,000 in hundred dollar bills to repair a grain silo, while sitting in a restaurant that has his picture on the wall behind the cash register.
Or it they guy that isn't showing off and trying to keep up with the neighbors.
I once dated a guy who had to return his father's dirty and rusted 20 year old Ford pickup truck. He asked if I wanted to come with him to his parent's house because they were going out to dinner after exchanging cars. I said sure and got in the pickup truck. Well, lo and behold we pull up to a giant house on a famous lake. We get out and hop into his parent's Rolls Royce. My new boyfriend kept looking at me to see my reaction. I decided to act like this scenario happens all the time, it's perfectly normal! What an interesting day that was. We broke up 6 months later but hey, we were young.
The value of their time. Simple fixes one could do on their own are paid for, and someone else will do them.
They go out of their way to eat meals with fresh vegetables. And not just corn or tomatoes either.
It’s an odd one, but I have noticed the wealthier friends I have eat differently than the middle class friends I have.
By fresh vegetables does OP mean salads or just vegetables in general? I’m confused
I'm thinking anything not frozen or in a can. I was nine before I ate an unprocessed vegetable and it blew my mind.
Load More Replies...I don't get this. Maybe it's a cultural thing but where I am from, we eat a large variety of fresh vegetables every day. We aren't rich. They are the cheapest food.
I think this is much more of an American thing than elsewhere in the world (other than island nations or very cold countries). Most of Europe eats lots of fruit and veggies because they're cheap and plentiful. When the UK set a target of 5 a day portions of fruit and veg, France was setting 7 and considered that a normal attainable target. The latest research suggest that we should be eating at least 25 *different* fruits and veggies a week for optimal health, with the majority being veggies.
This one makes no sense. I can go to the grocery store and come out with a bag full of fresh produce and spend less than someone buying a bag of processed pre-made meals. You just shop smart and buy things that in season locally. It's not about being wealthy, it's about wanting to be healthy.
Still takes some money - and more (or much more) in food deserts. Also a time investment that ppl working 2+ jobs don't have.
Load More Replies...It's absolutely true. And it's because they've gotten used to eating food prepared by personal chef's and very expensive restaurants. Even in wealthy homes without a personal chef or nutritionist, there's still an ability to buy the most high end, quality items. Rich people aren't eating spaghetti-os or pop-tarts. They aren't all eating caviar and oysters, either. I think that's a bit of a stereotype. But they are eating all organic and buying the freshest items, and have started their kids eating healthy right from the start so they develop a taste for it. And they go to school with a bunch of other rich kids who eat the same way. So it just becomes standard. We knew a kid at my university who was super wealthy and at a party once we literally just had him eat 'poor people food' as a joke. Mac and cheese, canned soup, orange processed cheese (this one really bothered him, lol), canned shrimp, etc. It was pretty funny. He finally drew the line at the canned baby shrimp.
A lot of it for me is the time investment, space to cook or store food.
Dude, I eat fresh vegies I get from the market because it's cheaper than Coles and Woolies.
They're too young to be retired, yet they don't seem to go to work.
Teeth are a subtle sign. You can tell when someone's gone to the dentist multiple times a year their entire lives, and that's an expensive habit. Their parents had the money to establish that routine when they were young, they had the money to keep it up, and they're not too busy or poor to sacrifice something so cosmetic as the pearliness of their whites.
I've seen plenty of people that aren't rich have beautiful teeth. Your diet, how well you care for them and genetics have alot to do with your teeth.
The main difference between people with money and people without money is how they react to money-related emergencies.
If your bike got stolen, a poor person will understand how much of a problem this can be for you, because poor people understand a bicycle to be your method of transportation that you need to run errands and perhaps sustain your ability to work, which in turn sustains your life. They may also understand that it's difficult for you to replace the bike. A well-to-do person would say "ah well, why don't you just buy a new bike?" because, to them, a bicycle is just a fun exercise toy that is non-essential (they probably have a car) and is easy to replace.
The wealthier someone is, the bigger you can scale up this money-related emergency. I have the money not to care too much if my bike was stolen, but I don't have the money to not be stressed out if my car was stolen, but at some level of wealth, that's a thing.
The biggest thing I have personally seen in this category is pet emergencies. I worked at a pet hospital for a very long time and pet emergencies can be heartbreaking. When you get to work on a Monday morning and you see a favorite patient had to be euthanized at the after hours emergency hospital due to a situation that money could have taken care of, well, it's just emotionally deflating.
Really wealthy people don’t need to “prove” they are wealthy. If your insanely wealthy a 500k private yacht charter isn’t special. For people trying to be rich they flaunt it to show how wealthy they are.
Really rich people are not desperate (generally) for your admiration because they ARE wealthy. Their friends don’t give a s**t if your on a 500k a week charter they probably are too.
When really wealthy people use the restroom, only small gold coins come tinkling out.
Never talks about money.
I can confirm this. I used to work in the wedding industry and the more people talked about how elegant and extravagant they wanted their wedding to be and would constantly say that price didn't matter were the ones that never could pay up when it was time. Whereas the ones who politely chose what they wanted and didn't make a big show of it always had no issues paying in full.
Lots of vacations
If they bring their low profile non-red car with them on far away vacations, they are super rich.
I'm in NYC and I will say, a plastic-looking face on a guy who is > 50 years old. No one has no blemishes and lines and perfect teeth after a certain age, without some medical intervention, and mostly only rich people spend money on so much cosmetic stuff (though I notice women of lower income brackets will get stuff, but men usually wait until they're rich to do it)
Minimalist homes. I don't know why...but rich people like the simple asthetic which honestly doesn't feel homey. They'd rather live with very few things.
Those few things might include a small genuine Picasso on the wall.
Might live what you would assume is normal and relative to what you do, but gets yard work done, has house cleaners, etc. If they have constant workers in house, they probably are ok.
Luxury station wagon. I grew up in a rich area and these families are so wealthy they don’t need to flaunt their wealth, they can drive a 80k station wagon and act like it’s nothing.
Note: this post originally had 37 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
To sum it up: Most real rich people don‘t have the need to flash their richness and like to keep it a secret (which i totally understand). They just want to blend in and live their lifes. And then there are the new rich people, who like to show off ☺️😂
In germany there is a word for it "neureich" (newly rich). Better off than their parents, escaped the class they were coming off, and let everybody know the made it. Mostly with status symbols like clothing, car and houses.
Load More Replies...When I was growing up my school system had no buses. One of my neighbors had a daughter my age so the mom was included in the carpool rotation. Since all the kids couldn't fit in her Jag, she would pick us up in her drop dead beautiful Rolls Royce. Man, those were fun days.
I wonder what it feels like to spill a juice box in a Rolls?
Load More Replies...My mother's family is insanely wealthy and have been across many generations. Sadly, my mother was disowned when she married my father and we struggled. My grandmother used to say that there is "new" money and "old " money. Old money, oddly enough, doesn't always equate to huge wealth. New money is showy and often arrogant. Old money doesn't show off and never brags. Grandmother also insisted that old money treats people, particularly those in service, with respect and kindness. They believe they have a responsibility to serve those in need and not to look down upon the less wealthy and secure. Nothing is 100%, but I've seen the truth in much of this.
Yeah I'm p much the same as u! Our family has been sliding steadily down in income but all of these list items were things I was raised with. It's very weird being raised that way and ending up on the street....
Load More Replies...I worked at a Ferrari / Aston Martin / Maserati dealership, I crossed paths with plenty of wealthy folk and plenty of nearly wealthy folk. The truly, insanely rich were polite, easy to converse with, normally a bit scruffy but in subtle, expensive clothes and they were understanding of the work we had to do. The nearly wealthy were a pain in the backside, they seemed to think that the way to demonstrate their wealth was to treat us like peasants, demand the moon on a stick and they wore flashy clothes with visible branding, they were normally stretching to buy the car that told the neighbours ‘hey, I’m rich’. We all knew they’d financed the car to the max, but hey it kept my wages covered 😀
One I didn't see mentioned is that rich people tend to pay for things in cash as much as possible. They only use their cards when they absolutely have to. And they pay off their credit cards in full every month. This way they pay as little interest on things as they can. Smart move and for me always a dead giveaway that the person is wealthy.
No. You use the cards. Because you get points or miles or whatever for using them. But you pay it off every month. That's how you get credit cards to make money for you.
Load More Replies...I grew up pooooooor... I am now firmly entrenched in middleclass. I see a lot of this stuff in middleclass, not necessarily rich... treating people decently, not worrying about bills, traveling, prices not affecting spending habits. Those don't signal wealth, just comfortable.
Posture. I used to wonder how you could tell in a restaurant when someone at another table was wealthy. It wasn't clothes or even choice of food. I finally realized... it's their posture. They never slouch at the table. They sit up with a straight back. The realization hit me from a scene in the movie Titanic. Passengers are sitting in the first class dining room. One of them is a younger (10-ish) girl with her mother. The mother gently grabs her daughter's shoulder and moves it so she's sitting up straight. That was my "ah-ha!" moment about why some people in restaurants just "look rich".
Being able able to provide our house with fresh flowers, taking my morning coffee in the backyard with the view of blooming cherry blossoms and the sound of bumblebees, having a table for puzzles only and a cat that loves me as much I love him makes me feel insanely rich. Wouldn't want it another way ❤️
To sum it up: Most real rich people don‘t have the need to flash their richness and like to keep it a secret (which i totally understand). They just want to blend in and live their lifes. And then there are the new rich people, who like to show off ☺️😂
In germany there is a word for it "neureich" (newly rich). Better off than their parents, escaped the class they were coming off, and let everybody know the made it. Mostly with status symbols like clothing, car and houses.
Load More Replies...When I was growing up my school system had no buses. One of my neighbors had a daughter my age so the mom was included in the carpool rotation. Since all the kids couldn't fit in her Jag, she would pick us up in her drop dead beautiful Rolls Royce. Man, those were fun days.
I wonder what it feels like to spill a juice box in a Rolls?
Load More Replies...My mother's family is insanely wealthy and have been across many generations. Sadly, my mother was disowned when she married my father and we struggled. My grandmother used to say that there is "new" money and "old " money. Old money, oddly enough, doesn't always equate to huge wealth. New money is showy and often arrogant. Old money doesn't show off and never brags. Grandmother also insisted that old money treats people, particularly those in service, with respect and kindness. They believe they have a responsibility to serve those in need and not to look down upon the less wealthy and secure. Nothing is 100%, but I've seen the truth in much of this.
Yeah I'm p much the same as u! Our family has been sliding steadily down in income but all of these list items were things I was raised with. It's very weird being raised that way and ending up on the street....
Load More Replies...I worked at a Ferrari / Aston Martin / Maserati dealership, I crossed paths with plenty of wealthy folk and plenty of nearly wealthy folk. The truly, insanely rich were polite, easy to converse with, normally a bit scruffy but in subtle, expensive clothes and they were understanding of the work we had to do. The nearly wealthy were a pain in the backside, they seemed to think that the way to demonstrate their wealth was to treat us like peasants, demand the moon on a stick and they wore flashy clothes with visible branding, they were normally stretching to buy the car that told the neighbours ‘hey, I’m rich’. We all knew they’d financed the car to the max, but hey it kept my wages covered 😀
One I didn't see mentioned is that rich people tend to pay for things in cash as much as possible. They only use their cards when they absolutely have to. And they pay off their credit cards in full every month. This way they pay as little interest on things as they can. Smart move and for me always a dead giveaway that the person is wealthy.
No. You use the cards. Because you get points or miles or whatever for using them. But you pay it off every month. That's how you get credit cards to make money for you.
Load More Replies...I grew up pooooooor... I am now firmly entrenched in middleclass. I see a lot of this stuff in middleclass, not necessarily rich... treating people decently, not worrying about bills, traveling, prices not affecting spending habits. Those don't signal wealth, just comfortable.
Posture. I used to wonder how you could tell in a restaurant when someone at another table was wealthy. It wasn't clothes or even choice of food. I finally realized... it's their posture. They never slouch at the table. They sit up with a straight back. The realization hit me from a scene in the movie Titanic. Passengers are sitting in the first class dining room. One of them is a younger (10-ish) girl with her mother. The mother gently grabs her daughter's shoulder and moves it so she's sitting up straight. That was my "ah-ha!" moment about why some people in restaurants just "look rich".
Being able able to provide our house with fresh flowers, taking my morning coffee in the backyard with the view of blooming cherry blossoms and the sound of bumblebees, having a table for puzzles only and a cat that loves me as much I love him makes me feel insanely rich. Wouldn't want it another way ❤️