What do wealthy people buy, that ordinary people know nothing about? (2015) • Hacker News Board

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

#521

Post by bluGill » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:50 PM UTC

candiddevmike wrote: post #9

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…

Yet people still hate the thought of a "maximum wage" or limit to wealth. Everyone should have a life of comfort, not just those who won the lottery or were born into it.

Some of us believe in liberty of property and maximum wages is not compatible with that.

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

#522

Post by geodel » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:51 PM UTC

fragmede wrote: post #495

throwanem wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But yup: buying x times the exact same car when times comes to change cars is kinda just weird. Is it? I'm on my second iPhone 13 mini, this one being the replacement after the first died of a drop. There are two more stored in the attic, each preconfigured with the accessories I like and with a SIM from my provider in the box. So if anything happens to this phone, as soon as I get home I just break out #3, restore…

> Scale the dollar amount up a few orders of magnitude But that's what makes it "weird". Most people can't afford to do that. As you point out, it mashed a certain amount of sense, but we're in the midst of an housing crisis. People who have enough money to own, not just multiple houses, but so many cars that they got tired of different cars so they just bought more of the same? Weird because I've never done that. Ho…

I don't know if its weird. This seems to me using money to reduce hassle. At my even lower level of existence I do similar thing in sense I keep one pair toothbrush and paste in upstairs bathroom and another pair at main level just to avoid whatever inconvenience I've thought of in my mind. Same with multiple pair of glasses at different location I work from.

I have not done these things when I had less money and now I think removing minor hassles with extra money is worth it. At another order of magnitude of money I'd definitely acquire multiple copy of things I need.

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

#523

Post by nerdsniper » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:51 PM UTC

drfuchs wrote: post #482

tough wrote: post #467

Earlier quoted context omitted.

he got the new cars every 6 months because he could avoid then putting car plates on it (california weird law on new cars) and then not be able to be given tickets when he would park on his disabled spot at cupertino classy mfer lol

No, they always had legit California "temporary plates" for the allowable (at the time) 6 months. They were very ticketable; his motivation was to keep his car relatively anonymous when driving around. Source: Me, living near his house and walking by regularly.

This article has a picture of one of Steve Jobs' actual cars with no plates at all (temporary or otherwise). It explicitly talks about a "new" requirement for new cars to be issued temp plates. Before that, brand new cars from the dealer had a 6-month grace period.

> "From 2019, California joins most of the other states in the nation by requiring newly bought cars to be issued temporary license plates."

https://arstechnica.com/cars/2016/07/steve-jobs-loophole-clo...

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

#524

Post by nerdsniper » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:52 PM UTC

tough wrote: post #483

drfuchs wrote: post #482

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they always had legit California "temporary plates" for the allowable (at the time) 6 months. They were very ticketable; his motivation was to keep his car relatively anonymous when driving around. Source: Me, living near his house and walking by regularly.

oh ty ty that does make much more sense than my absurd simplification (note that they owned the parking, so its moot if they parked on a reserved spot on private property of theirs) I guess not being localizable by press/random people is a nice plus if you can afford. but didnt he buy always the same model?

You were actually right. See sibling comment to yours.

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

#525

Post by rfrey » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:52 PM UTC

Damogran6 wrote: post #512

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…

In covid had a whirlpool dishwasher that lasted less than 3 years (4 subsystems failing all at the same time)...it was either wait 2-X months for the Miele we wanted, or pay twice as much to have it today. ($2k vs $1k) I'm uncomfortably enamored with this dishwasher. (Bought it over a Bosch as the percentage needing repair in the first year was 8% instead of 12% and I was flat done with it.) The dishwasher is fully e…

Do I understand from this that they lock you into... proprietary soap?

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

#526

Post by johnisgood » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

dagw wrote: post #450

JKCalhoun wrote: post #390

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beds, tables, chairs. Only "style" has changed.

Beds I disagree with. Modern high end mattresses are far more comfortable and ergonomic than old mattresses.

I have a >40 years old spring bed. I prefer it over modern beds, but I have never had the luxury to try out modern high end mattresses though.

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

#527

Post by gruez » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

Damogran6 wrote: post #512

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…

In covid had a whirlpool dishwasher that lasted less than 3 years (4 subsystems failing all at the same time)...it was either wait 2-X months for the Miele we wanted, or pay twice as much to have it today. ($2k vs $1k) I'm uncomfortably enamored with this dishwasher. (Bought it over a Bosch as the percentage needing repair in the first year was 8% instead of 12% and I was flat done with it.) The dishwasher is fully e…

>The dishwasher is fully enclosed...the typical DW is open at the back with all the guts just barely contained in an open structure.

That seems.. fine? Why spend a bunch of money/effort on dressing up something that'd get seen for a few hours max?

>It has pucks full of detergent, a load now a days costs about $1.80...more than I'd like, but the simple avoidance of pouring soap and having a sixpack delivered when you need it is a crazy luxury.

Is pouring out detergent powder really that much of an advantage? At best you're saving a few seconds because you don't have to portion out the soap. Using loose detergent also means you can sprinkle a bit outside of the dispenser, which improves the per-rinse cycle. That means you're getting a worse wash by using tablets, because there's only detergent for the main cycle.

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

#528

Post by RGamma » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

al_borland wrote: post #405

atwrk wrote: post #385

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are decidedly a result of the taxation system of a country. The country decided they wanted to have this class of people to exist. (The degree of) Wealth inequality is always a product of society.

Poor people pay next to nothing in taxes, yet they don’t end up wealthy from this. The tax systems doesn’t create wealthy people, it just doesn’t cut their legs out from under them.

Public wealth vs private wealth. Trump has correctly identified that rising public debt is a problem, but not that the missing liquidity is trapped in his own class's pockets.

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

#529

Post by liveoneggs » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

adhamsalama wrote: post #404

ta1243 wrote: post #302

Earlier quoted context omitted.

His business practices in the 90s and 00s were terrible. His actions since then have been far better. The hate he gets now tend to be from people attacking his more recent actions. "Trying to cure malaria - clearly mind control" sort of stuff.

Well, his company does help Israel in its genocide against Palestinians.

the gates foundation?

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

#530

Post by rwmj » Mon, May 19, 2025, 1:54 PM UTC

lm28469 wrote: post #499

madaxe_again wrote: post #424

Earlier quoted context omitted.

8% is an awful return in today’s markets. 30% is eminently achievable with foresight and an appetite for risk. I started investing a decade ago with about £100k, as that was all I could afford to risk, and have a return of between 20% and 200% year to year. Shit, you’ll get 15-20% cash-on-cash just running an Airbnb, which is what provides our day-to-day living income.

Cool, do you know about statistics and survivor bias ? If it was that easy why isn't everyone a millionaire ? Why doesn't everyone make 20-200% per year ? If you can guarantee 20-200% of return per year consistently over 10-20 years go to wall street they'll pay you millionS per year to work for them There is a big gap between "I'm in the top 1% earners and lucked out in the market" and "Literally every software engi…

People on huge salaries live paycheck to paycheck, spend money on ridiculous cars, and live in huge houses full of junk that they bought stuff on credit. What we're saying is, instead of that, save a large proportion of your salary so you can retire early, and even if you don't choose to do that, be in control of your future.