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What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

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Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#271

Post by sgt101 »

HardCodedBias wrote: post #5

I really like this post since it shows how very little there is for the wealthy to buy other than status goods. The life of the rich, other than status, is very much like the life of upper middle class. The same phones, the same digital entertainment, the same appliances in their homes. We have very few items for the rich to buy. Honestly, it is a problem it breaks incentives and it drives the rich more towards statu…

Well - there is an alternative take. Whisper it... but we don't actually need to have ultra rich people in our society. They serve no purpose that normal rich people don't, and arguably introduce distortions that are profoundly corrosive.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#272

Post by ta1243 »

KeplerBoy wrote: post #258
dehrmann wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there any scenario where a pro runner can gross $4M in lifetime running earnings?

absolutely, but let's just say the distribution is a bit skewed to making nothing from pro running ventures. It has an extremely bad effort to potential reward ratio. By putting in the same level of extreme effort into any classicaly well paying profession you would highly likely become very rich and successful.

It's really sad that you equate "reward" with "earnings"

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#273

Post by em500 »

tinco wrote: post #199
IshKebab wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but I really wanted to know what rich people buy that I don't know about. The top answer - while vaguely interesting - didn't actually tell me anything I didn't already know. I think the conclusion is probably that they don't buy anything we don't know about.

One thing I didn't quite realize is that they accidentally spend significant amounts of money. At a party I talked to someone who was like a financial coach for super wealthy people and he helps them clean up their shit. The way we might accidentally have a running $50/mo subscription for something we don't use any longer, they might have a $500/mo club membership they never go to. Or prebooked vacation rentals they…

If you're over 100m net worth and get 5% returns, you get over 400k/month income on capital. At that point it might not be worth your time and attention to save $50 or even $500/mo if it takes any effort.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#274

Post by nickd2001 »

socalgal2 wrote: post #218
alexey-salmin wrote: post #176

The referenced reply is dull. It's very pretentious but just reiterates common knowledge, it doesn't convey any useful information. For example I wish someone told me about the existence of Miele kitchen equipment before I accidentally rented an apartment of a well-to-do woman. She renovated it for herself but then rented out when circumstances changed. Similarly it took me a long time to realize just how much better…

Worst experience I've ever had was with a Miele dishwashing machine at an AirBnB in the Netherlands. I like my Miele vacuum cleaner though

What happened to that then? ;) We bought a Miele dishwasher to replace a Neff which broke down after 10 yrs (probably 16 yrs worth of "official" usage) due to a silly design fault that caused it to leak. Thought a fairly basic model Miele worth a shot, as because it a stupid built-in, there's extra costs getting it installed, so longer it lasts the better. So far, it seems to clean to fairly similar standard to the Neff. Key thing is how long it'll last. Not made in Germany anymore , says made in Czech. Might be fine. But think they've cut some costs. We also own, assumingly, a "Tesco Value" microwave which cost £22 in 2006. Fairly ugly. Has just 2 controls - power level and time. Absolutely hammered, used every day for 19 years, still works fine. I kind of worry whether after this time it will emit more microwaves out into the open so I stand back even more when using it ;)

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#275

Post by ffwd »

madaxe_again wrote: post #208
lm28469 wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buying "things" really is the level 0 of wealth. What matters is that you don't have to sell your time for money, that alone changes your entire existence. Then you have access to better healthcare, education, seeing your kids grow, &c. That's why a lot of poor people who unlock large amount of money go broke quite fast, they still think like poor people

Time is indeed a very major thing, but it’s more accessible than most realise - I am only marginally wealthy, high 7/low 8 figures, and that’s ample for me to not need to work for a living and live very comfortably. Frankly, once you have even $1M in free liquid capital, you are in the endgame, as money makes money far more efficiently than labour. I spend perhaps 20 hours a year farting around with our finances, pla…

This could be true but it depends on the person. Marc Andreesen is a billionaire and he wears Rolexes quite prominently. In fact a lot of rich people wear Rolexes lately.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#276

Post by coldtea »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #192
coldtea wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unfortunately you need years to notice such long-term differences, unless someone tells you. Hardly rich, but that "veneer wood furniture and doors" are much better than "laminated chipwood" is common knowledge. But back in the day, poor and rich alike wouldn't look twice at either, but opt for solid wood furniture.

Well that falls under the "unless someone tells you" part. It depends on your background. I grew up in Russia in the 90s, back then it was considered cool to put plastic panels on the walls of your apartment. Fresh and modern look, easy to wash, clearly superior to wallpaper. It was called "euro-renovation" as opposed to soviet-style or "grandma" apartments.

>Well that falls under the "unless someone tells you" part

Well, everything falls under "unless someone tells you" in the grand scheme of things.

But as far as furniture knowledge goes, it's of the most basic type, not something "just the rich would know".

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#277

Post by clan »

alexey-salmin wrote: post #192
coldtea wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unfortunately you need years to notice such long-term differences, unless someone tells you. Hardly rich, but that "veneer wood furniture and doors" are much better than "laminated chipwood" is common knowledge. But back in the day, poor and rich alike wouldn't look twice at either, but opt for solid wood furniture.

Well that falls under the "unless someone tells you" part. It depends on your background. I grew up in Russia in the 90s, back then it was considered cool to put plastic panels on the walls of your apartment. Fresh and modern look, easy to wash, clearly superior to wallpaper. It was called "euro-renovation" as opposed to soviet-style or "grandma" apartments.

Exactly this. Fashion often conflicts with sense. That is a universal truth. Even though the fashion might be rooted in some form of sense.

Mahogany and teak was in fashion around here for a while and oak went out the door.

Oak was considered cheap so we painted it. The fashion then change to lye treated. Then we went with soap treated oak.

And then one day Ikea came into fashion.

Price is an important function of choice. But we should not discard the fashion trends.

Rich people might have good sense. Or they may have a sense for fashion. But they are still just people like the rest of us.

So the "unless someone tells you" really rings true to me. Rather than equating rich with good and hence equating good sense with common sense - I think it is a really interesting question.

What opportunities and choices are not obvious to us have-nots?

I never believed that that getting rich would make me happy and solve all my problems. But I am quite sure that I would get a nicer set of worries and problems than I have now.

Would I like to experience that for just a day? No, thank you. Ignorance can be a bliss.

It is one of those Schroedingers cat like questions.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#278

Post by blitzar »

rienbdj wrote: post #226
anal_reactor wrote: post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> but it lasts 5-10 times longer I find it such a weird argument. Ok, your furniture from 1900 is still doing great, fantastic. The problems are: 1. Your great-grandfather had a different sense of esthetics, so shit just didn't fit your modern apartment. 2. You moved to a different country, and shipping fees of the furniture were ten times the cost of brand-new chipwood furniture (literally). 3. The furniture was des…

The best interiors feel lived in but not stuffy. A few old pieces of furniture can help achieve that. Part of the skill of interior design is making these pieces work together in new ways. You don’t want your home to feel like an ikea catalog surely!?

> best interiors feel lived in but not stuffy. A few old pieces of furniture can help achieve that

I have a few old Ikea pieces for that.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#279

Post by tuyiown »

socalgal2 wrote: post #218
alexey-salmin wrote: post #176

The referenced reply is dull. It's very pretentious but just reiterates common knowledge, it doesn't convey any useful information. For example I wish someone told me about the existence of Miele kitchen equipment before I accidentally rented an apartment of a well-to-do woman. She renovated it for herself but then rented out when circumstances changed. Similarly it took me a long time to realize just how much better…

Worst experience I've ever had was with a Miele dishwashing machine at an AirBnB in the Netherlands. I like my Miele vacuum cleaner though

The only thing people look up on Miele stuff is to last 20 years minimum. That and maybe the cutlery tray on dishwashers, but the patent expired some time ago. Everything else barely matters if the thing is workable one way or another.

Re: What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015)

#280

Post by lm28469 »

madaxe_again wrote: post #208
lm28469 wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buying "things" really is the level 0 of wealth. What matters is that you don't have to sell your time for money, that alone changes your entire existence. Then you have access to better healthcare, education, seeing your kids grow, &c. That's why a lot of poor people who unlock large amount of money go broke quite fast, they still think like poor people

Time is indeed a very major thing, but it’s more accessible than most realise - I am only marginally wealthy, high 7/low 8 figures, and that’s ample for me to not need to work for a living and live very comfortably. Frankly, once you have even $1M in free liquid capital, you are in the endgame, as money makes money far more efficiently than labour. I spend perhaps 20 hours a year farting around with our finances, pla…

> it’s more accessible than most realise

> I am only marginally wealthy, high 7/low 8 figures

We must have a very different definition of "accessibility"

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