Well, this may not be a “rich thing”, I don’t know, maybe an unexpected rich thing, but it was memorable. One year about 15 years ago, I was taking some vacation days right before Christmas. I took my AR-15 down to the Scottsdale Gun Club shooting range, which is a pretty public range that also rents guns. So I’m in my lane with my AR and a few handguns, shooting away. Next lane to me I notice two elderly guys, one in a suit, one dressed more casually. They’re shooting a pistol, like a .38 or 9mm. I can’t help noticing the guy in the suit looks familiar. 10 minutes later, I realize who it is, it’s the self-made billionaire founder and owner of Discount Tire company. I know him because my wife worked there and I’d seen him at their annual company Christmas parties. Super nice guy, first name is Bruce. Basically the richest person in Arizona. So when I next have a chance, I get his attention, and he’s all smiles because he’s a nice guy, super friendly, shakes my hand, etc. Like an idiot I’m trying to talk to him and tell him my wife works there, etc, which is silly because we’re in an active shooting range with hearing protection on and he’s like 80. Anyways, I notice as he’s addressing me, he keeps kind of peeking around me, into my lane. I notice he’s eyeing my AR, which is picatinny’d out, has a bipod, and looks bada*s. Noticing this, I step aside and gesture to him if he’d like to hold it. I give him a quick runthrough of the magazine operation, trigger, charging handle, and safety. He’s watching and grinning. Then I hand it to him, and hand him a mag and show him how to load it. By now the other guy he was with has stopped shooting and is now watching us. Mr. Billionaire steps into my lane, squeezes off about 10 rounds at the paper target, his smile increasing with each one. Then he turns, puts down the rifle and turns to me with a huge smile, clasps my shoulder and gives me a vigorous handshake. I give him a quick salute and he goes back to his friend, they zip up their gun and head out of the range area back into the main showroom. So I finish my session, I’m there for maybe 20 more minutes, then I pack up and get ready to leave. As I leave the range area and exit back into the main showroom, I find that the other guy is now there waiting for me. He shakes my hand and starts thanking me profusely, saying “Mr. Halle really enjoyed that.” (Mr. Halle is what everyone called him.). He pulls out a small notebook and asks me for my name, my wife’s name. So I say, “sure” and give him that info. I then stop to ask him what happened, what was he doing there? What was that all about? He tells me that this is an annual tradition for Mr. Halle. His wife hates guns, and won’t let him own one, but once a year, he’s allowed to go down to the range and rent a pistol, and fire it, and this was that time. (meanwhile this dude could afford to buy the building we’re in 100 times over.) He thanks me and tells me again how much it meant to him, I say, OK, cool, and then we part company. I go home and that evening tell my wife the story, she’s like, “That’s cool.” but doesn’t think too much of it. A few weeks go by, and one day she’s at work, and her phone rings, it’s Billionaire’s assistant. “Are you at your desk? Mr. Halle is on his way down.” She’s frozen with panic and like “WTF?” There’s like 2,000 people at that office and why is he coming to see her? So 2 minutes later, he shows up, and he’s got a big box of stuff with him. He starts by greeting her and begins telling her the story about me and the shooting range. After she stops panicking, and relaxes, he comes into her cubicle and, pulls up a chair and starts chatting her up about the photos of our kids, starts asking about me, photos from vacations, cruises, etc. and various other stuff. He tells her again how glad he was he ran into me. The box he brought is full of gifts for our kids, toy cars, books, stuffed animals, and other tire-related stuff. Nothing real fancy, just some thoughtful gifts. He clearly had done research because he knew we had 2 boys and he knew where to find her cubicle, so he’d checked it out before he approached her. And that’s my story. I guess it goes to show money can’t buy everything and sometimes even billionaires could use a little kindness, and appreciate it.
Like there was no second thought. We were all taking up a collection to help a bit and he just dropped the whole bill just like that! I mean I see a lot of really rich behavior… But that one was just so mind-blowing. .
Bob, my car didn’t even have air conditioning…
Apparently he owned like half the town and others at the store would kiss his a*s. At $9 an hour I wasn’t paid enough to kiss his a*s even if I cared who he was.
I wasn’t from there and had only seen him come in a few times to buy random s**t. But either way, the federal f*****g government requires you produce ID to purchase a firearm and I was doing my job.
It’s been over 20 years and my husband, who has heard the story, will randomly look at me and bust out “you seriously don’t know who I am?!”.
One Xmas I was standing in line. The man in front of me, had one case of wine, 12 bottles of various variety.
The checker said….. OK that will be $27,455.
WtF??! Guy hands over his Credit card.
Followed him out, Drove away in a Bentley.
Edit: $3,000/month being the average rent in the area.
Before I was to take it, I asked for the manufacturer so I could take measurements for my house, to make it all fit.
They responded, “oh, we’re not sure, it’s pretty old.” Here I thought it was maybe from the 70’s.
Yes, it was from the 70s. The f****n 1870s, from France, and it was all handmade Louis XV pieces.
When I showed my home decor-obsessed mother, she appraised it all. Some were north of $5000, just for a small hallway desk.
We’re both upset about it to this day. .
He said it in such a shy manner like he was embarrassed to say he flies privately. This is a 75 year old that looks like he’s a regular middle class Joe and gives off no hint that he’s extremely wealthy.
I watched a guy walk into a car dealership and buy a suburban. He literally walks in, goes up to a sales guy, points to the one in the lobby, and goes “I’ll buy it, I don’t want to haggle or any high pressure b******t. I’ll pay sticker and I need to be done in 10 minutes.”
He was driving it out of there 10 minutes later. I asked the other sales guy “who the f**k is that?”
He goes “He owns a bunch of fast food places, pizza huts and KFCs and stuff I think. He comes in every few months.”
“What does he do with the cars?” I asked.
“Sometimes trades even in, sometimes signs them over to friends or family members. He gave our secretary his old corvette. Said it was about to die anyway. Only had like 50k miles on it. She still has it, been three years.”.
As you drive towards the back of the neighborhood you start heading up a mountain that’s divided into two parts. Upper Canyon and The Summit. There are probably 100 houses up there. The houses start close to 15 million, but several are over 20-30. One of the builders I work with is developing a house he’s asking about 60 million for.
I work Upper Canyon every month or two and even though all of the houses are owned, half or less are lived in. For some, it’s a vacation home they might visit for a few weeks or months of the year, and for others, it’s an investment and a place to park their money.
I photographed a 15-million-dollar house there a few years ago. The owner was selling it because he bought a 29 million dollar house literally 2 or 3 lots up because he liked the views more. He’s a Canadian business owner and spends maybe a few months of the year in the valley if that.
I’m used to it now but for a long time I couldn’t wrap my head around how much money some people have…..
Most of my clients are multi-millionaires, and most of them do *everything* casually.
Especially housing. They have zero concern of what stuff costs, and will approve nearly anything. I once set the alarm off at a clients ski house, and I called them to tell them its just me, i’d never talked to this particular client before andI told them to ignore it. They didn’t even ask me to verify who I was and at the time I had no reason to think it wasn’t *just* their second home. They were very appreciative of the phone call but said “which house was it?” which caught me off guard and I said “oh at the ski resort” they said “yeah, but which one?” i died inside. It was a 8-ish million dollar home and in the whole 2 years i’d worked for them at that point, they’d never even been here. I later learn their family has expensive homes at nearly every popular ski resort in north america.
Another example is im currently doing a remodel. It is the THIRD full remodel in 10 years at this multi million dollar house/condo. They remodel the house everytime a new kid is born in the family. This is a half million dollar remodel to undue exactly what we did 4 years a go, which was 300k ish remodel. Other clients i’ve seen replace their full kitchen appliances every 3-5 years. They have to have the absolutely brand new stuff. They’re also super crazy and don’t want the stuff sold, they’re worried about the “PR” so i have to provide proof 30k in appliances were in fact scraped at the landfill.
Our world is broken.
**tbf** about 20% of them are really nice people, introduce themselves, even cook for me. They give great bonuses and are generally good humans, they’re happy to have someone they can trust, and they do trust, they let my friends stay at their million dollar Nth homes for free, but these people are almost exclusively the rare rich that are rich through labor. People who spent 40-50 years in law or medicine. Contractors who got lucky. The occasional crypt “bro” who was blue collar, gambled life savings and won. The ones that are cliche rich, the born intos, the fortune 500s. They’re a******s, and have called me “the help” more than once.
As we are installing a wireless access point in their home theater:
“My son crashed and totaled his Mercedes, will you guys be done in time before he gets back? We need to take him to get another one.”.
I worked a million dollar wedding once, they dumped 50,000$ worth of flowers in the trash after the ceremony. They didn’t even wait til the wedding was over or donate the flowers. I was walking to the portapotties they made the help use, passed the dumpsters and there they were. I thought it was an apt metaphor for the rich.
My friend asked me to help him take the curtains/drapes down in his hiuse because they block the sunlight.
Baffled when i told him they can be opened.
Years ago I helped coordinate an event in the Cayman Islands for my job for the companies main clients. I worked closely with a small business that sets up events. Not only did they make my work infinitely easier, but they offered us discounts on several events. Really good people that would work around the clock to make sure everything was getting set up properly.
On the island, right before we were going to one of the events, my boss’s wife tells my boss (and me indirectly, always got the feeling she did not like talking to me) that we need to get a discount on the upcoming event. She was not involved in the setting up process and didn’t even know any details or the costs involved. She just wanted the discount. It was a private catamaran tour which ended with swimming with the stingrays for a few hours and it was for about 20 people.
I had to call the company and ask them for the discount while apologizing profusely. The boss’s wife wanted to knock $4,000 off the total. After a lot of conversation and back and fourth I got the discount. I was disgusted with the look on her face after I told her we got the discount. For the rest of the trip I stayed away from her, as I knew that she would continuously ask for me to fight for discounts, just because.
When she passed, I looked her up and found out that not only was she rich, she was Texas oil baroness rich. Money edging towards the billions. $4,000.00 is nothing to that family, like finding pennies in your couch cushions. My boss and his wife had kids who felt neglected and the oldest would, without fail, destroy something expensive. I was in the room when a secretary told the wife that her son had destroyed another antique roadster (the boss collected them). She barely shrugged her shoulders.
I think she just wanted the discount because she was such an empty person, maybe the power trip makes them feel something.
Went to a wedding as a +1 at a mansion in Greenwich Connecticut (the brides parents home). Her father was talking about the landscaping and how his wife liked a rock (which was about the size of a small car) that was at their *other* home outside of Denver, so they had the rock moved from Denver to Connecticut. Seriously, they moved a rock halfway across the country. A f*****g rock.
We used to summer in the Hamptons. From my SO at the time. I said, “We used to summer in a trailer park which was also our home.” .
This isn’t as extreme as most of the stories in this thread, but my in-laws casually have Chicago Cubs season tickets and attend 70ish% of their home games. Not so crazy, except that we all live in Nashville. I come from a very poor family so the first time I learned that I was absolutely blown away.
Like there was no second thought. We were all taking up a collection to help a bit and he just dropped the whole bill just like that! I mean I see a lot of really rich behavior... But that one was just so mind-blowing. .
Bob, my car didn't even have air conditioning...
Apparently he owned like half the town and others at the store would kiss his a*s. At $9 an hour I wasn’t paid enough to kiss his a*s even if I cared who he was.
I wasn’t from there and had only seen him come in a few times to buy random s**t. But either way, the federal f*****g government requires you produce ID to purchase a firearm and I was doing my job.
It’s been over 20 years and my husband, who has heard the story, will randomly look at me and bust out “you seriously don’t know who I am?!”.
One Xmas I was standing in line. The man in front of me, had one case of wine, 12 bottles of various variety.
The checker said..... OK that will be $27,455.
WtF??! Guy hands over his Credit card.
Followed him out, Drove away in a Bentley.
Edit: $3,000/month being the average rent in the area.
Before I was to take it, I asked for the manufacturer so I could take measurements for my house, to make it all fit.
They responded, “oh, we’re not sure, it’s pretty old.” Here I thought it was maybe from the 70’s.
Yes, it was from the 70s. The f****n 1870s, from France, and it was all handmade Louis XV pieces.
When I showed my home decor-obsessed mother, she appraised it all. Some were north of $5000, just for a small hallway desk.
We’re both upset about it to this day. .
He said it in such a shy manner like he was embarrassed to say he flies privately. This is a 75 year old that looks like he's a regular middle class Joe and gives off no hint that he's extremely wealthy.
I watched a guy walk into a car dealership and buy a suburban. He literally walks in, goes up to a sales guy, points to the one in the lobby, and goes “I’ll buy it, I don’t want to haggle or any high pressure b******t. I’ll pay sticker and I need to be done in 10 minutes.”
He was driving it out of there 10 minutes later. I asked the other sales guy “who the f**k is that?”
He goes “He owns a bunch of fast food places, pizza huts and KFCs and stuff I think. He comes in every few months.”
“What does he do with the cars?” I asked.
“Sometimes trades even in, sometimes signs them over to friends or family members. He gave our secretary his old corvette. Said it was about to die anyway. Only had like 50k miles on it. She still has it, been three years.”.
As you drive towards the back of the neighborhood you start heading up a mountain that's divided into two parts. Upper Canyon and The Summit. There are probably 100 houses up there. The houses start close to 15 million, but several are over 20-30. One of the builders I work with is developing a house he’s asking about 60 million for.
I work Upper Canyon every month or two and even though all of the houses are owned, half or less are lived in. For some, it’s a vacation home they might visit for a few weeks or months of the year, and for others, it’s an investment and a place to park their money.
I photographed a 15-million-dollar house there a few years ago. The owner was selling it because he bought a 29 million dollar house literally 2 or 3 lots up because he liked the views more. He’s a Canadian business owner and spends maybe a few months of the year in the valley if that.
I’m used to it now but for a long time I couldn’t wrap my head around how much money some people have…..
Most of my clients are multi-millionaires, and most of them do *everything* casually.
Especially housing. They have zero concern of what stuff costs, and will approve nearly anything. I once set the alarm off at a clients ski house, and I called them to tell them its just me, i'd never talked to this particular client before andI told them to ignore it. They didn't even ask me to verify who I was and at the time I had no reason to think it wasn't *just* their second home. They were very appreciative of the phone call but said "which house was it?" which caught me off guard and I said "oh at the ski resort" they said "yeah, but which one?" i died inside. It was a 8-ish million dollar home and in the whole 2 years i'd worked for them at that point, they'd never even been here. I later learn their family has expensive homes at nearly every popular ski resort in north america.
Another example is im currently doing a remodel. It is the THIRD full remodel in 10 years at this multi million dollar house/condo. They remodel the house everytime a new kid is born in the family. This is a half million dollar remodel to undue exactly what we did 4 years a go, which was 300k ish remodel. Other clients i've seen replace their full kitchen appliances every 3-5 years. They have to have the absolutely brand new stuff. They're also super crazy and don't want the stuff sold, they're worried about the "PR" so i have to provide proof 30k in appliances were in fact scraped at the landfill.
Our world is broken.
**tbf** about 20% of them are really nice people, introduce themselves, even cook for me. They give great bonuses and are generally good humans, they're happy to have someone they can trust, and they do trust, they let my friends stay at their million dollar Nth homes for free, but these people are almost exclusively the rare rich that are rich through labor. People who spent 40-50 years in law or medicine. Contractors who got lucky. The occasional crypt "bro" who was blue collar, gambled life savings and won. The ones that are cliche rich, the born intos, the fortune 500s. They're a******s, and have called me "the help" more than once.
As we are installing a wireless access point in their home theater:
“My son crashed and totaled his Mercedes, will you guys be done in time before he gets back? We need to take him to get another one.”.
I worked a million dollar wedding once, they dumped 50,000$ worth of flowers in the trash after the ceremony. They didn’t even wait til the wedding was over or donate the flowers. I was walking to the portapotties they made the help use, passed the dumpsters and there they were. I thought it was an apt metaphor for the rich.
My friend asked me to help him take the curtains/drapes down in his hiuse because they block the sunlight.
Baffled when i told him they can be opened.
Years ago I helped coordinate an event in the Cayman Islands for my job for the companies main clients. I worked closely with a small business that sets up events. Not only did they make my work infinitely easier, but they offered us discounts on several events. Really good people that would work around the clock to make sure everything was getting set up properly.
On the island, right before we were going to one of the events, my boss's wife tells my boss (and me indirectly, always got the feeling she did not like talking to me) that we need to get a discount on the upcoming event. She was not involved in the setting up process and didn't even know any details or the costs involved. She just wanted the discount. It was a private catamaran tour which ended with swimming with the stingrays for a few hours and it was for about 20 people.
I had to call the company and ask them for the discount while apologizing profusely. The boss's wife wanted to knock $4,000 off the total. After a lot of conversation and back and fourth I got the discount. I was disgusted with the look on her face after I told her we got the discount. For the rest of the trip I stayed away from her, as I knew that she would continuously ask for me to fight for discounts, just because.
When she passed, I looked her up and found out that not only was she rich, she was Texas oil baroness rich. Money edging towards the billions. $4,000.00 is nothing to that family, like finding pennies in your couch cushions. My boss and his wife had kids who felt neglected and the oldest would, without fail, destroy something expensive. I was in the room when a secretary told the wife that her son had destroyed another antique roadster (the boss collected them). She barely shrugged her shoulders.
I think she just wanted the discount because she was such an empty person, maybe the power trip makes them feel something.
Went to a wedding as a +1 at a mansion in Greenwich Connecticut (the brides parents home). Her father was talking about the landscaping and how his wife liked a rock (which was about the size of a small car) that was at their *other* home outside of Denver, so they had the rock moved from Denver to Connecticut. Seriously, they moved a rock halfway across the country. A f*****g rock.
We used to summer in the Hamptons. From my SO at the time. I said, “We used to summer in a trailer park which was also our home.” .
This isn’t as extreme as most of the stories in this thread, but my in-laws casually have Chicago Cubs season tickets and attend 70ish% of their home games. Not so crazy, except that we all live in Nashville. I come from a very poor family so the first time I learned that I was absolutely blown away.
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