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...
I think you need new friends. No one should s**t on you for living within your means.
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Looks can be deceiving too, though. Just because someone drives an "expensive" car does not always mean they paid a lot for it. It may have been used, or inherited, or their circumstances may have changed. A lot of people get unfairly judged for accepting needed assistance like food stamps and then leaving in a nice car or what have you. But how do you know they didn't have that car and then lose everything to cancer bills or something? Are they supposed to just go buy a car that "looks like" their income level?
I bought a used Cadillac for $6000. Everyone gave my husband s**t because his wife drove a Cadillac. He said "yeh, she doesn't have to work either ( I was a nurse for 30 years.). We are not poor but we are not even middle- middle class. We finally sold it to shut everyone up. Now my car costs 3-4 times the Cadillac and no one ever mentions it. It is a Ford fusion.
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Yeah in North Philly their home costs $30,000.00 but they're driving $65,000.00 cars. If their kids go outside to play they get shot by drug dealers and robbers. But they sure have nice cars.
I have never heard of a poor person who buys expensive cars, clothes, or other luxury items.
This one shouldn't be here. If you cannot afford food, but spend money to look good then you ARE trashy
You, Madam, are very responsible. When you have finished your studies and are on your career path, your friends will still not be able to afford take-out.
It is trashy if you spend more money on your car, man-toys or clorhs than you do on your family, and it happens a lot
I think it depends on the luxury item I mean in Nora's position the computer is needed for school but I once worked with a girl who could barely afford rent but managed to get a professional manicure every other week.
Ah yes. The friends and family who don't understand when your money has to go for other things like rent, food, bills, etc. Instead of going out drinking and eating at expensive restaurants. Been there more than I want to remember!
Or poor: Buying something expensive = followed by loss prevention/security until you check out.
Owning multiple animals.
Note: this post originally had 88 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
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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