this post was submitted on 12 Feb 2025
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There's a certain type of wealthy-person stuff that proves its value by being incredibly impractical or fragile. "Not only did I spend way too much for this, I already know that it'll probably fall apart soon, and I'll have to buy another." Being able to bring up again how expensive it was and how pissed off you are that it fell apart is just another good opportunity to let everyone in the vicinity know that you buy absurd rich-girl stuff. That's actually better than still having the stupid spiky shoes.
Martini glasses:
Art deco French cocktail ware from the 1920s designed to be dumb but bold and it's ease of breaking showed a wealth during a terrible time.
Wealthy people love to break their stuff almost on purpose to make sure it stays special and then regular people buy into it
For a while, I used to sometimes pack up wealthy people's stuff as part of my job. At one point I was packing up wineglasses that were, no joke, about a foot and a half (0.5m) tall made of thin crystal. When the job was done, the guy gave the workers checks for $500, as a tip.
Those are about $200-300 each if they are the glasses I expect they are. They don't make that much of a difference from the $75 glass. That $75 glass is an improvement over the $25 glass but that really depends on if you are putting any effort into tasting.
Ha, reminds me of how grassy lawns started out as a status symbol to show off that you were so rich that you needn't use your land for agriculture or gardening.
There's tons of conspicuous consumption that goes on just to prove how much money that consumer has. But there's also those rich people who do the "buy it once" thing. They'll spend a mint on a durable, handmade pair of shoes that last 20 years, and then they'll get them re-soled for less than a new pair would cost.
Boots Theory.
Those are just reasonable people and I have never met one that has been rich that way through frugality alone and anywhere near the level of wealth of those that aim to show it off even if the frugal person's bank account is far more in the green than the consumerist.
No of course not: the rich get rich because they acquire lots of money (usually via inheritance, but whatevs). I didn't claim frugality can make a person rich, just that some rich people are frugal, in contrast with the conspicuous consumers we most often hear about, nor am I advocating it as a financial strategy. Being rich makes a person an asshole, but it doesn't necessarily make them the kind of person who'll buy $3,000 shoes that don't work.
You have met them, you just didn't know it.
They'll be the people with a slightly nicer house who seem like they're retired but are only 40. They'll secretly have $25m in their investment portfolio but only draw 80k/yr for living expenses. They're not trying to live ostentatious lives because they prefer the 'American dream' likestyle over the wealthy 'travel all over the Western world and flaunt your wealth to be the main character' lifestyle.
The husband dresses like a skater out of the 90s and his wife teaches music or art at the local high school and is also the largest booster (well in excess of her salary). These are honestly the most common type of 'rich' people. By rich, I mean financially independent rich, not 'private space program' rich or 'overnight celebrity/lottery winner' rich.
I worked for a years at a financial advisor, the owner had tens of millions of dollars. He drove an ancient civic, brought leftovers for lunch and wore the same set of Vans for as long as I knew him. Most of the clients were like this, though sometimes they'd have a spouse/partner that wanted a luxury car, or they'd take a vacation once a year that was more expensive... but if you ran into them at the grocery store you'd think they were just some guy.
I gave my dad riedel crystal martini glasses twenty five years ago. He still has 3 of the 4. Some people take care of stuff they own.