Someone Asks “What’s Classy If You’re Rich But Trashy If You’re Poor” And These 40 Replies Really Put Things Into Perspective
As regular people suffered from the health and economic impacts of the pandemic, the rich got even richer. According to the Institute for Policy Studies analysis of Forbes data, the combined wealth of all U.S. billionaires increased by $2.071 trillion (70.3%) between March 18, 2020, and October 15, 2021, from approximately $2.947 trillion to $5.019 trillion.
Of the more than 700 billionaires in the country, the top five (Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Elon Musk) saw a 123% growth in their combined wealth during this period, from $349 billion to $779 billion. We, ordinary folks, are sharing the world with these individuals but the laws that govern their everyday life sound nothing like ours.
To further explore this issue, Reddit user Seraphina_Renaldi made a post on the platform, asking everyone: "What is classy if you’re rich, but trashy if you're poor?" and sure enough, they got plenty of thought-provoking replies. Things like going to the casino or having someone else raise your children. Continue scrolling to check out the answers and upvote the ones you think make the most sense.
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Bored Panda got in touch with the author of the post, Seraphina_Renaldi, and they were kind enough to have a little chat with us about what inspired them to ask Redditors this question.
"I was scrolling through some profiles on Instagram and I just got the thought that some people are celebrated for things I was berated for in the past and then I remembered reading an article years ago about this topic with a few answers and was curious what Redditors might think about it," they told us.
Seraphina_Renaldi believes the post went so viral because everyone has experience with this, whether on one side or the other.
"I also think that it's a topic that can also be a little bit taboo because the financial situation is something very private and people don't talk about it and their struggles openly when not being anonymous," they added. "I've also had my own experience where the struggles of being poor can be downplayed by some people that especially grew up financially stable so it's also hard to talk about it when people won't listen."
If you are weird and rich people call you eccentric, but if you are weird and poor people call you crazy.
Drinking in the park. When they do it it’s a “banquet” but when I do it I’m “hammered” and need to “get off the swings and put my pants on”
Globally, Latin America and the Middle East stand as the most unequal regions, with the top 10% of the income distribution capturing respectively 54% and 56% of the average national income.
Even though inequality declined in a handful of Latin American countries, it persisted, and even increased, in others. In the Middle East, Gulf countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia) have been marked as extremely unequal with little variation since the 1990s.
Europe, on the other hand, is the most equal of all regions, with the top 10% receiving 35% of income in 2019. This can be largely explained by public investments in education and health (i.e. by predistribution policies), financed by a fair amount of taxes (redistribution mechanisms).
If you live in a tiny home it’s ‘eco friendly’ if you live in a trailer you’re trash
I live in a trailer an I am not trash just like cheaper rent🤭🤭in a low income bracket🤪🤪
Someone else raising your kids
I don't think childcare is trashy at all, but I do find hiring a nanny so wealthy parents don't have to bother with the hardships of raising their own kids a bit questionable.
As different as their lives are, Seraphina_Renaldi thinks that rich and poor people can still somewhat understand each. Especially if someone's self-made because they know the struggles that come with an empty wallet.
"I don't, however, think that people who grew up rich and poor speak the same language," the Redditor said. "They've had extremely different experiences and were socialized in [different environments]."
"But I think that if both sides are open-minded, it's possible to [relate to] one another."
Asking your friends for money. If you’re rich, it’s a “fundraiser.” If you’re poor, it’s a handout.
Getting things for free. Which makes me viciously angry.
Van lifestyle: Some wealthy people will drop everything and remodel and literally live in a van or bus, traveling and usually blogging or vlogging along the way. On the flip side, many people did not choose to be homeless and are forced to live out of their cars.
Not working
This is more class status than wealth… upper class don’t know the meaning of the word work. Edit: definition of Upper class - British English: upper class NOUN /ˈʌpə klɑːs/ The upper class or the upper classes are the group of people in a society who own the most property and have the highest social status, and who may not need to work for money.
Day drinking
I guess slapping people
Chris Rock would, I presume, have charged a member of any other audience that did this to him. He should charge this idiot. Can you imagine Smith slapping, say, Ricky Gervais if he'd said the same? What does that say?
I saw this on a video some time ago and I'll repeat the response that came with it:
Rich people have mistresses
Middle-class people have affairs
Poor people have side pieces.
Not paying taxes, if your poor your stealing for others but if your rich you have the business savvy
Having 5+ kids
Thrifting
I'm still laughing at how second hand items used to be called "kringloop" in my country (hand-me-downs, second hand clothes, what have you) and somehow it turned into 'vintage'.
Wearing a bathrobe all day
Nothing wrong with this… bathrobes are very comfy… although my boss prefers me to wear a suit
Being completely s**t-faced. I work in fine dining and you wouldn't believe the number of rich, well-dressed, "classy" people who get drunk off their a*ses and make a complete fool of themselves and still act better than you while they are doing it.
Me ex workmates to a tee. They had loads of cash and slept around, so they were classy. If I got drunk and acted like them, I'd have been arrested.
Casual clothing in a formal environment. Hoodie and cargo pants at a law firm: you're either going over your trust fund or taking on crippling debt to get out of a public intox charge.
Formal clothing should not exist. It's there just to make some people feel superior, at the cost of comfort.
Minimalism.
Rich: Vintage collector
Poor: Hoarder
Something tells me there's a difference between a room full of rat infested newspapers and a garage full of vintage cars
Pete Davidson
Lots of sex, when you're rich it's a sexual addiction when you're poor, you are just a wh*re.
Anything to do with making/growing your own food and clothes/home decor.
Rich people say living frugal, we call it broke.
Living within your means Isa sensible thing to do at any economic level
Moving around a lot.
I moved around so much in my childhood for various reasons and never because we got evicted, nor am I an army brat and we're not "gypsies" (as people had always assumed).
Clothes with no labels. Not working, not knowing how much money is in your bank account
Repurposing things such as jars, containers, boxes, old clothes, etc.
When you're poor you do it because you have to and if you're rich it's because you want to.
Crime
If you steal 100 $ you are a criminal if you steal 1 mio you are a business man
Casinos
Lose what you can afford springs to mind… gambling is an addiction.
Speaking multiple languages, tax avoidance, day drinking, owning exotic animals, and having multiple cars on your property.
Speaking multiple languages is trashy if you're poor? I've never heard that before.
Buying expensive things. Someone who has money to afford pricy things looks normal doing so, someone who can barely put food on the table yet has an expensive car, clothes, or other luxury items makes em look like a douche
I, a student, get s**t on because I won't eat out with my friends because I said I don't have money after buying a computer...
Living in your parent's house.
Intermittent fasting.
A.k.a.- starvation to the poor. Its not trashy to not have food. Its just SAD.
Being really into wine
Had a douchepacker boss who thought sniffing the Plastic "cork" of a bottle of Cooks Champagne du Garbaghz at the company Xmas party made him look Uber Chic...apparently Tuesday WAS a good year. 🤣🤣🤣
I would say designer clothes. Ain’t nothing classy about flexing your shirt that cost you a month’s wages
So true. Nothing says "I don't have money" like a Gucci bag. Probably not the image they were aiming for...
Always looking for a new investment or business scheme.
Fake tan
Trump comes to mind….and it looks trashy on anyone. What’s wrong with the color you’re born witj
Ugly artwork
The wealthy often buy art not because of a connection to it, or it's visual appeal. It is strictly an investment that they made because a critic said that it was valuable
Florida
Edit: born and raised in Florida (Gulf coast) can confirm. Am I poor classy or rich trashy…neither, I’m Floridian.
Mostly this applies to Snow Birds - people from the north that migrate to their Florida homes in the winter. This applies to any of the Gulf region.
Smoking.
A beautiful woman, in a stunning cocktail dress, enjoying a cigarette and a glass of wine on a hotel balcony in a 5-star hotel overlooking the ocean? Classy.
A woman with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth at a trailer park, wearing ill fitting clothes that look worn out, while holding a baby? Trashy.
Smoking while holding a baby is already bad in itself. Smoking overall sucks tho. also cigarettes are so expensive (at least in France) I really don't get the appeal.
Ripped jeans could be an indicator of both. One says style and the other says just some material to keep legs semi-covered.
Bringing a dog with you everywhere
Sitting in lawn chairs outside. I’ve lived in many different neighborhoods in my life and if you live in a wealthy area it’s considered a nice thing to do for lunch or whatever but where I live now it’s a “trailer trash” trait or so I’ve been told.
A mattress on a child’s floor. Montessori for the rich. Looked down upon the poor
Tried it, but only as long as my daughter was still crawling. Too many potential issues with mold and bugs.
Wearing a bra or lingerie in public
Bling
Reselling.
It’s alright if Chanel is selling $1k shirts
But if
A poor person is doing the same, they get trashed by fellow poor people. I see it all day. First, they get the bible verses thrown at them, then they get the mom who has kids with cancer and needs that shirt for free. Then they have weirdos trying to pull the bullshit about why do people need those things. While wearing Chanel.
I don't understand people who wear Chanel. Coco Chanel was a racist and a Nazi sympathizer in WW2. Why anyone would wear something with the Chanel label is beyond me.
Being really into racing.
This is actually like way too true lmao my bf is into racing and it doesnt come off easy on some depending on how hes presented himself to them
Living in a moveable tiny home.
I don’t think that says trash. It says economic level enjoying traveling the way they can afford to
Not carrying cash
I object to this. Most places in Indianapolis don't take cash since the pandemic. I went to an NBA game two nights ago and cash was not accepted at all in the Fieldhouse. The same was true for a Miami Dolphins game a few months ago. These are just two examples. I could site a lot more.
Shopping at Aldi. Growing up lower working class I was embarrassed about my parents shopping there. Now it's trendy for upper-middle-class folks to shop there I guess.
I freaking love Aldi. I started shopping there in college because it was the way to save money, now they are in the upper class neighborhoods and it is THE place shop. Prices are still low so I still shop there.
Poor manners
This is trashy no matter what. I don't care how much or less is in someone's account or their prestige, if someone is speaking to others like crap then they are just crappy people with possibly ill-gotten wealth.
Dressing simply/in basic clothing pieces
Not having a TV.
The life of a student lmao. My teachers are mad when I tell them I get my news from internet and not the news channel.
Walking with your whole family to the store/get something to eat/shop.
Spending copious amounts of money on things like designer items, expensive cars, gadgets, etc
Smoking in a bathrobe
Welfare. Not a new question or a new answer, but still true as ever.
Horses
I don't think having a horse is ever a meager income matter or trashy
Having a lot of pets.
With rich people, some of them may see it as an opportunity to flex all of the different animals they have. 3 dogs, 4 cats, 2 birds, a piglet.... but they have the money to ensure that all of those animals are properly cared for. Whereas if you were poor and you have all of those animals, some people might say you were hoarding them and it's unlikely you're able to give them all the care they need. So a crazy amount of animals in a poor person's house might look like walls destroyed by teeth/claws, a landmine of poop in the yard, destroyed furniture, dirty/unkempt looking animals, etc whereas, in a rich person's house, they can just hire somebody to do all of that if they really wanted to. So you likely will see a very different picture.
Now granted, in my example, I am imagining two very opposite extremes. One incredibly rich person and one incredibly poor person. So like… Multi-million dollar home vs beat up shack. But the point still stands.
Regardless if you are broke or not you still need to keep your pets well taken care of,provide them with food,shelter,water,love,safe environment,medical care and clean up their messes. Rich people can afford to hire people to do all of these things and if you can't afford help then you need to do it yourself. If you can't/won't take care of them then you shouldn't be having pets. But there are rich people that hoard animals and keep them in unsanitary conditions. I read an article a few years ago about a lady with a $7million dollar home and she had hundreds of cats. When someone reported her it took the SPCA about a week to catch all of them and a months worth of veterinary exams to do a wellness check and they had to spay/neuter them all which took about six months to get them all fixed and once all the animals were out of the house a city inspector and the woman's hired inspector went in to evaluate the home and they both agreed it needed to be torn down immediately.
One I picked up from watching American tv, so might not be accurate is using a communal pool. You pay fees to a country club, just like you pay entry into a public pool and the experience is the same, but kids that use the public pool are looked down on.
That's a good one and should definitely be up towards the top of the list.
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How come you never see reality TV shows like 'Cops' or 'Live PD' filmed in rich neighborhoods? I would love to see the police shutting down a house party, being attended by a bunch of snotty, loud, entitled rich teenagers.
Maybe in those neighborhoods they don't call the police and complain about the party..
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All I'm gonna say is that if Trump hadn't been born into wealth, he'd just be another creepy, trashy guy.
He would be long since dead of Covid-19. He's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier...
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Pole dancing in front of your young daughter, frowned upon, unless it's the Super Bowl Halftime show
Wearing a suit to work. I used to sell cell phones and one company literally had us wear a suit every day. It made everyone look like a used car salesman.
Now the real question: what's trashy if you're rich but classy if you're poor?
It's like going to the doctor from your home vs being taken by ambulance from a motel. They think the most horrible things about you! All of a sudden they want to test you for STDS! No kidding!
Passing judgement on others because you don't like whatever. Done by all should not be done at all.
How many poor people can afford multiple animals? I don't get this one.
You think people never do anything they can't afford?
Load More Replies... One I picked up from watching American tv, so might not be accurate is using a communal pool. You pay fees to a country club, just like you pay entry into a public pool and the experience is the same, but kids that use the public pool are looked down on.
That's a good one and should definitely be up towards the top of the list.
Load More Replies... How come you never see reality TV shows like 'Cops' or 'Live PD' filmed in rich neighborhoods? I would love to see the police shutting down a house party, being attended by a bunch of snotty, loud, entitled rich teenagers.
Maybe in those neighborhoods they don't call the police and complain about the party..
Load More Replies... All I'm gonna say is that if Trump hadn't been born into wealth, he'd just be another creepy, trashy guy.
He would be long since dead of Covid-19. He's not the brightest bulb in the chandelier...
Load More Replies... Pole dancing in front of your young daughter, frowned upon, unless it's the Super Bowl Halftime show
Wearing a suit to work. I used to sell cell phones and one company literally had us wear a suit every day. It made everyone look like a used car salesman.
Now the real question: what's trashy if you're rich but classy if you're poor?
It's like going to the doctor from your home vs being taken by ambulance from a motel. They think the most horrible things about you! All of a sudden they want to test you for STDS! No kidding!
Passing judgement on others because you don't like whatever. Done by all should not be done at all.
How many poor people can afford multiple animals? I don't get this one.
You think people never do anything they can't afford?
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