Most of us have no idea what it’s like to be wealthy, but I imagine the life of the extremely rich to be a little something like this: purchasing the fanciest vegan products at the store without even glancing at the price tag, snagging that expensive vintage coat you’ve been eyeing online without a second thought, attending every festival and concert you like because money is no object, and owning a home or apartment that actually has a dishwasher. Okay, maybe those are just the things I would do if I had all the money in the world, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming, right?
Unfortunately, it’s a two-way street, and most rich people have no idea what it’s like to be middle class or poor either. Because of this, affluent people have a tendency to ruin things for the rest of us. One curious Reddit user reached out last week asking for examples of things that rich people have ruined, and readers did not hold back.
Below, you’ll find a list of some of these things that just aren’t as fun or as accessible as they used to be, so be sure to upvote any of the responses you wholeheartedly agree with. Let us know in the comments if anything else has been ruined for you by the upper class, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda article that might make you want to eat the rich, look no further than right here!
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The easy answer: Everything. The harder answer: Interclass solidarity and quality of life. They've worked so hard to separate the have-nots into their own little groups, we're too busy fighting each other instead of taking the fight, politically speaking, to the rich and the 1 percent. You have more in common with your fellow man than you EVER will with a Bill Gates or Elon Musk.
RENTING
The over abundance of air bnbs and $2000 studio apartments in rural/suburban places is outrageous and ruining the possibility for low income and working class people to have a roof over their heads. I live in New York State, and ever since covid all these city richies are buying up all the cheap places in the country to try and make a profit - as if they need any more money!
Environment. Ah yes I will just turn off the light in my living room when I'm not using it, I'm sure it will combat the billions of tonnes of co2 created by those private planes
The middle class family’s ability to live comfortably on a single wage
Music festivals….used to be a bunch of hippies having a good time and doing drugs. Now its rich kids taking selfies dressed as hippies and doing drugs.
Sadly accurate. A big part of why I've shifted to working events; now I'm at least being paid to be there, I know when the specific shows are that I don't want to miss (and often have backstage access), and more often than not the pre/post parties for crew are a lot more fun than the ticketed thing people buy into
Every single piece of water with accessible waterfronts.
Bonus points for privately owned water-front properties on public waterfronts trying to close off public access points.
College. The rich killed the market price for low income students, then gutted tuition assistance programs and turned them into for profit loan sharking.
Theme parks.
Gone are the days when everyone was equal and you all had to queue, regardless of your income. And even until recently some theme parks gave fast passes periodically throughout the day. Now if you've got deep pockets you can queue jump, making your day a little better and everyone else's a little worse.
Jeans. Used to be cheap, durable, wear them for years doing hard labor. Now they’re expensive, poor quality and come made with holes already in them, to ape the aesthetic of the working class.
I was shopping in a name-brand jeans store and the guy pulled out one ripped pair of jeans after another to show me. Finally I said "Look at me! I'm a 65 year old grandma. Do you really think that's what I need?"
Housing - used to be the only people buying houses were those that were intending to live in them. Now you have rich people looking into investing in real estate, and guess what rich houses are poor investments. So rich people are buying up all the affordable housing driving up the price and creating scarcity.
Yes. Not only that but the costs are so high, especially in cities, that the people living there are moving to 1-3 hours away and commuting to work. It used to be hard to do that but now with podcasts and technology to listen to you fav music, etc, it's made a long drive more bearable so more people are willing to do it. This is causing landlords in our areas to hike up rent, too. An area that was reasonably priced for the average income bracket before is now completely out of budget for the people actually living there. There really needs to be some kind of rent regulations based on the type/condition of the building and area to stop people from other places in the state from taking our living options because they can't afford theirs.
Concerts….. you can’t even buy a beer at one for what a general admission ticket used to cost and people still pay for it
It was only $10 Cdn to see a good rock concert at Maple Leaf Gardens back in the day(1980's). Now ppl are paying $300 for nose bleeder seats.
Cheap foods - donuts, cupcakes, hamburgers, wings - that have all been given the "foodie" treatment and went from good cheap eats to gourmet pricing without a corresponding increase in quality.
Democracy.
Democracy was never intended to be for the masses. In ancient Greece only upper class males vould vote. It remained this way for most countries until the late 1800's. For instance, it wasn't until the 1800's working class could vote in the UK and then decades further for women. There was a brief period there where something like true democracy was achieved but politicians then got too greedy and politics became the domain of self serving twats again.
There used to be a really nice big park in the center of the city where I live.
Everyone would go there, it was a nice open space, take your kids, take your dogs, enjoy the fresh air.
Then some people from the rich part of town along the edges of the park decided they didn't like the noise coming from the park and pulled some b******t to buy it out and walled it off so you couldn't go to the park unless you lived in that specific neighborhood anymore.
The worst part is a ton of money was spent when they first bought it building it up, adding fountains and childrens play areas and redoing the flower beds, and then no money or attention was given to it again and the whole place feel into disrepair so now even if you live in the neighborhood you can't go there because everything is falling apart and over grown.
So the aasholes took the really nice park from everyone else and then neglected it until it became a s**t hole in the middle of the city
Food trucks used to be a way to get good food for cheap, now it's a premium without any of the advantages of a restaurant. Not to mention that they all expect a 20% tip for handing you food from a window.
Tipping a food truck always gives my angst. I don't think I should have to tip the owner and I am not sure the workers, if any, are getting my tip.
Old school ski mountains with family vibes and stoner lifties rocking to music. We always watched those silly “ski patrol” movies about the big corporations coming in and making them yuppyville and then it happened…
Living near the coast used to be a poor people thing a long time ago.
I didn't actually know that. I've always assumed living near water is a rich people thing.
I’m going to just say it, as it’s the season- Christmas! Corporations really did a number on Christmas. Plastic junky decorating starting as early as Halloween, REALLY dated irritating songs playing in every store starting November, all the consuming and now this ‘buy gifts for yourself’ narrative, the more you can ignore all this the more meaningful the holidays are.
100% agreed, it's a marked up tacky obligation. The most meaning I've found in it is to use the holiday as reason to go break bread and share supplies with our outdoor neighbors without seeming condescending and without the "law" interfering (and it's probably the most f****d up thing in wealth inequality that makes it illegal to feed the hungry)
The American Dream
Socioeconomic mobility has been completely perverted due to a “rigging of the system” by the ultra wealthy over the past few decades. When someone is born into poverty, now more than ever are they likely to stay impoverished. 400 families control more wealth in this country than the bottom 50% of Americans
We have re-created the middle ages feudal system. Why didn't we learn ??
*gestures at everything*
EDIT: Thank you kind strangers for the awards.
I stopped going to professional sports because I can only afford s****y seats. Not worth the effort any more.
Or seeing all the empty seats because corporate bought the tickets and no-one would leave the hospitality bar.
theater- used to be the entertainment for the masses and now it's ridiculously expensive and inaccessible to most people.
Collecting
In the past few years the price of little collectibles and things of that sort have gone insanely high. Cards, action figures, you name it, just look up any sub for a hobby and you'll see people dropping your entire salary in 1 day
The UK's economy...
Or at this point the UK. Just...all of it...
Send help/politicians who don't hate their people. Please.
Video games. They've found a way to sell unfinished games while also maximizing microtransactions in some.
Some companies are better about this but the big ones are all about the money with as little effort as possible.
Healthcare
I've just spent £400 for a weeks worth of antibiotics 2 X-Ray's and a single filling at the dentist. It's ridiculous.
My hometown, a lot of the long time locals here are working class and it used to have a bigger sense of community. In the recent decade rich people have decided that its a cute small town with pretty scenery to buy a second home to rent out to other rich people who want to visit. Many of the long time residents here are struggling to keep/find homes meanwhile rich people who just discovered this small town can easily buy a home or rent an overpriced airbnb. Literally disgusting here now!
It might sound socialist to you, or communist, but lots of towns in Europe have (or make) laws against just this.
So many things, but I'll say trucks. Once upon a time, a humble working class vehicle for people who need to be able to do things themselves, now they're all luxury vehicles with massive margins, unaffordable to anyone who needs them to do real work.
Unfortunate picture choice, since this seems to be referring to passenger trucks (or "pickup trucks"), but this is not wrong. I've parked next to ridiculous road wagons I could barely see over the hood of, purporting some amount of horsepower that's clearly never been utilized, to judge by the pristine cleanliness and lack of dents. All they're accomplishing is burning more fuel
Empathy
Don't let anyone take your empathy away. No can do that. It's yours to have. We need more empaths in the world.
Nerd paraphernalia like Star Wars or Marvel/DC stuff (action figures, comic books, etc). Used to be just a fun hobby for kids and kids-at-heart, now it's almost totally purchased by richer, dedicated speculators solely for profit.
Can relate. I bought comics from the time of the Indie / Black&White explosion of the '90's to the Diamond distributor consolidation to the Marvel/DC/Image Publisher buy-outs. From Cross-Overs to Metallic covers to Collectable covers that combine to make up posters, Marketing really catered to the speculators.
Government
Especially since the US Supreme Court okayed the wholesale purchase of politicians. 'Citizens'? 'United'?
Being poor. I cant even be homeless without trying to fight for a camping spot
Tipping. The history of tipping has roots in rich a******s not wanting to pay their workers or just showing off their wealth. Now (Americans + others) need to solve a math problem before they can leave a restaurant.
Lobster and crab used to be “poor person food” because “ew water bugs” now it’s literally seen as some of the highest class food.
CO born and raised here! Forever priced out of my hometown. Me and all my friends have moved, just can’t afford to live there anymore. Mostly expensive due to housing. Also skiing used to be affordable, now it’s not
Any hobby where there’s potential profit. Now you’ve got dickheads like the Logan Paul ruining Pokémon cards. Not because they’re into them because they like Pokémon but because they read the stories about the rare cards and just hammered their endless piles of cash into getting everything. Same with those a*****e sheiks with massive comic book collections. They don’t give a f**k about comics. They just collect popular valuable stuff.
Crafting and sewing etc. Since people have started having Etsy shops the raw materials have jumped in price. I love to knit and I can afford to buy manufactured yarn but wool from an actual sheep is out of my budget. I wouldn't mind so much if the farmers were getting a decent price for the fleece but they aren't, it costs them more to have someone in to shear their flock than they get from the fleece.
Housing flipping for sure - looking to potentially buy at the moment and everything has been fitted with new grey kitchens and modern lighting etc which isn’t my style. I may be in the minority here but means paying way more for a house and then having the job of ripping everything out.
And then there's those if us happy for a hole with a piece of corrugated iron over it.
Clothing brands. Carhartt, dickies, Levi’s and many more. Like why did a dickies tshirt go from $15 to almost $40 in a few years
Champion sweatshirts in the 90s were considered cheap and uncool. I wore them all the time because they were comfy and I could buy them for a low price at a local outlet. Now that they’re trendy, you can’t get one for less than $40.
I’m sure someone already mentioned this but CAMPING. It used to cost close to nothing to reserve a camp site (some are still cheap) but now they’ve gone all boujee and some sites charge you ridiculous fees to pitch a tent in the woods. Same with music festivals in the forests. People would go to get away from bullshit societal hierarchies and enjoys music and self expression. Then they got all mainstream and it lost its original meaning (think Burning Man).
In the last years we went canoeing and Camping (here in Germany) but it is nearly as expensive as an all inclusive vacation. And for just tent camping the night was nearly always like 20-30€. And everywhere we tent Camper have to Set up the tent near the restrooms and garbage places, mostly without grass and woods/shadow.
Toast. Now I know toast isn't a 'poor person thing' but hear me out. Years ago, when I was counting pennies to get by, I would make "fancy toast" like avocado toast, cinnamon and sugar toast, or peanut butter banana toast, as a meal or snack because it was super cheap. I went to brunch a few weeks ago and saw avocado toast on the menu for $11, wtf.
"Fancy toast" with avocado is not what I'd call cheap for someone who's "counting pennies to get by".
Why is pork shoulder and oxtail so expensive? It literally used to be the parts nobody wanted.
Where do I start...rural living. They keep migrating like locusts and devouring all the woods and land. How many yogurt shops and fancy neighborhoods do theese ***** need?! Also, Aldi. I don't shop there anymore. I liked it better back in the day when it wasn't fancy, aisles narrow, and other poor or frugal people were shopping. Now the 'Live Laugh Loves' are in there with no sense of personal space. Watch out when the spiral hams are on sale! lol. I think we covered thrifting, housing, and cheap eats. (I hope they never think beans and rice are trendy! Those are my staples.) I also hate that they are now into prepping/survival too. (I think they were the ones crazy buying TP because poor people already know how to shop sensibly and keep a working pantry. I learned from my grandparents who lived during the depression.)
Instagram. When it first launched we were content to post grainy pics of our average looking sandwich that we made ourselves. Or a mundane selfie. The background and the angle didn’t matter.
Studies show that since the wealthy started sharing their lives on IG, our collective standard of living changed. And it’s trickled down to our influencers mimicking wealth down to average users. We’re exposed to yacht parties. expertly organized and color-coded walk-in closets, high-end facials and party-planned gender reveals. We’re benchmarking our posts with professional photographers and videographers, elevating our expectations for everything.
Edit: For those saying, “just don’t use it,” it’s influenced every aspect of society whether you’re on it or not. Collectively society aspires to a flashier existence. Instagram has inspired new aesthetic-forward businesses like restaurants and coffee shops, [tourism](https://openaccess.nhh.no/nhh-xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2678242/masterthesis.pdf?sequence=1), home decor and types of homes, gyms and gym bodies. Fashion.
This is true. Everywhere I go, including the public library, seems to have some picturesque background where you can pose and take a picture with some specific hashtag.
Walking. You can’t walk anywhere anymore everything is built to be driven to.
Cheap cuts of meat in general. Pork belly and oxtail specifically. Growing up, oxtail used to be less than $2 a pound, now it’s well over $10.
Growing up in a poor Mexican area (Detroit) skirt steaks were the cheapest cut you could get. Since Fajitas got popular/gentrified they cost as much as tenderloin now.
80s and 90s cars. The market is super hot right now and all the rich guys are buying them up. Sorta like 50s and 60s cars in the 90s
Formerly cool towns:
Denver, Austin, Asheville, etc.
Montessori schools. The method was created to be able to teach poor orphans well despite little funding. Now it’s some sort of “elite” schooling for $20K+ a year.
Everything really, mofos have more money than common sense and Jack up the prices for the rest of us.
The goth subculture it used to always be make everything yourself, build it with basics I’ve been part of the subculture for the last 15 years. Now if I don’t wear dollskill or killstar (luxury goth clothing) 14 year olds on the internet tell me it’s not goth.
The economies and well being of natives of a c**p ton of islands. I'm talking Hawaii, places in the Caribbean, etc. Becoming economically dependent on tourist culture that is created and ultimately profited on by rich foreigners sucks. Ppl can argue about whether or not their trip to these places are helping the economy or not, but what's undeniable is that the people creating these tourist economies don't give a single s**t about the natives as they bulldoze through sacred sights and native neighborhoods in order to hand out culturally inaccurate hula skirts at 3 star hotels.
Bourbon, it used to be the most expensive bourbon you could find was like $100. Now, with everyone “collecting” the prices have sky rocketed. The secondary market is completely insane.
Thailand. It used to be a back packers paradise.
You used to be able stay in huts on the beach and eat in local family run restaurants. All taken over by 5 star spa resort hotels, international chains and businesses moved in.
People need to stop posting their favorite locations on-line. If you find a great place and post pics on-line you've just ruined it in the future.
When I was 21 and single, fish mongers used to give away\throw out fish heads. They now charge.
Flank steak was way cheep until people learned how to cook it. Now it's bloody expensive.
Yes with the flank steak for sure. All of these cooking shows have really ruined the cost of previously low cost foods because they've figured out how to cook it in a tasty way. I remember when flank steak was practically thrown away and now some of the largest sandwich shops barbeque them for like 10 hours and slice it on sandwiches and charge 20 bucks a sandwich for it. And there are lines out the door for it.
I used to thrift a lot and found it it got ruined right when that damn Macklemore song came out, it's like he told everyone a secret. I used to be able to go thrifting and come back with like 3 new work shirts and a pair of pants for like $15, good clothes too, some with the tags still on it. After that damn song, good luck finding my size at all, the clothes that were left were all shit, and they want $10 for a shirt now.
Sailboats.
Used to be you could on a working man's salary get a decent day sailing boat that you could go out with for the day with enough cabin space and amentities to live aboard for a long weekend, maybe a week. Like the MacGregor 26.
But nobody makes mere sailboats anymore, they make... YACHTS. Expensive, over designed yachts.
Even with smaller catamarans. You're talking almost a million dollars and not a lot of space, never ending maintenance and huge fees for docking or anchoring anywhere. The cost to live on these tiny boats is really crazy and I understand it's a nice way to see the world and travel but it's not a cheap way to live by any means and it doesn't feel worth it unless this is the life you want to truly live. Most people think they do and then end up burned out within a few years with a boat they now can't resell.
Hockey.
The equipment is now super expensive, and ice time fees are becoming exorbitant. This isn’t even getting into levels of play. If you want to have a shot at the NHL, then your family better be able to fork over $20k-$30k for AAA prep schools or the like because Tier I Junior teams and Major Junior, which are the leagues that the NHL scouts, only select from AAA leagues.
Hockey equipment has always been super expensive. That is why soccer has taken off. Cheap kit. Jersey, shorts, socks and a pair of cleats and you're good to go.
Cheap cheap meats canned and not canned: Vienna Sausages, Corned Beef, Gizzards, Oxtail, Tripe, Crawfish, and so forth and so on. But now it's considered "Exotic" to eat like this.
cheap and simple dishes. ramen, tacos, sushi. now everything’s gotta be labeled premium only to taste the exact same…if not, worse
and it's all 'gourmet' and fancy but tastes like a$s. The reason a taco is good is because it's not fussed with and it's greasy and delicious. I saw a menu with 3 tacos taco with truffles and caviar sold at this fancy restaurant near me being listed for like 150 bucks and I wanted to blow my brains out.
Tulum, Jackson Hope, Aspen, many rural areas of Colorado, Antigua Guatemala, Land Rover Defenders, etc.
Tiny houses or organic farming, free range chickens or egg , now everything is expensive because it's in trend
Avocados
When weren't they expensive in the U.S.? I grow my own here, and I have for 20 years. And I've been telling people about how expensive they are in the U.S. the whole time.
I'm surprised there isn't an entry labeled "justice". In the US, at least, we've been given repeated proof that if you've got enough money, you definitely aren't subjected to the same laws or consequences as everyone else.
Rich people ruin their children. The WORST people I have met were raised in privilege. Zero clue about the real world, zero clue how to treat people, with zero ability to handle adversity.
Only 75? ... BTW, my SIL yesterday enjoyed a gourmet picnic meal in a field of llamas for her day, which pretty much is the most ... so, yeah, the rich *are* different. She sees no conflict between that and her alleged leftist values. Feel free to facepalm here as she and her 7-figure income-making hubby travel 1st class by private helicopter to their next destination...
I'm surprised there isn't an entry labeled "justice". In the US, at least, we've been given repeated proof that if you've got enough money, you definitely aren't subjected to the same laws or consequences as everyone else.
Rich people ruin their children. The WORST people I have met were raised in privilege. Zero clue about the real world, zero clue how to treat people, with zero ability to handle adversity.
Only 75? ... BTW, my SIL yesterday enjoyed a gourmet picnic meal in a field of llamas for her day, which pretty much is the most ... so, yeah, the rich *are* different. She sees no conflict between that and her alleged leftist values. Feel free to facepalm here as she and her 7-figure income-making hubby travel 1st class by private helicopter to their next destination...
