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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)

#781

Post by ricardobayes »

akdor1154 wrote: post #307
theodric wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not a universal view. I don't have a modern apartment (I've lived in them and don't enjoy the æsthetic of a straight, unornamented beige and glass box full of postmodern slab furniture). I have a stone cottage from the 1600s. If anything, my 19th-century solid wood furniture is too modern!

> I have a stone cottage from the 1600s. Is that a thing wealthy people buy but ordinary people know nothing about?

In the UK. I know a couple who bought a really old house then spend 3 million on renovating it "period correct", even down to the paint to use plant-based materials only as that was how it was done in the 17th century.

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

#782

Post by ricardobayes »

magicalhippo wrote: post #197
JohnBooty wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah I think this is something that people in countries like the US don't instinctively understand, or at least I didn't. My Filipino friend explained to me that back home, if you have more than a certain amount of money, it's seen as incredibly selfish not to employ people as housekeepers, etc. I'd imagine that's true in a lot of places with income disparity and/or high unemployment numbers. It made a lot of sense t…

My mom visited a professor in an African country a few years back, as part of a project. She told me the professor had a guy employed to open and close the gates for when he drove to work and came home in the evening. That's all the guy did. Full time job. Sounded so preposterous at first, but after thinking a wee bit I came to a similar conclusion that the alternatives might be a lot worse. It was steady income, alb…

Sounds like any gated community with a security guard post at the entrance.

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

#783

Post by emilycole0 »

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

#784

Post by randomcarbloke »

confidantlake wrote: post #723
randomcarbloke wrote: post #620

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is reddit level oversimplification.

Oh the irony.

taxation or it's condoned avoidance/evasion does not create wealth or at least not to the same level as actual in-demand products and services, unless you believe that it is supposed to act as a filter between transactions by default rather than the standard accounting practice to tax after-the-fact.

I suppose this naiveté is a by product of swallowing the media's constant garbage about the reason Jeff Bezos (et al...) has a yacht is purely down to avoiding tax.

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

#785

Post by coldtea »

song wrote: post #593
pjc50 wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More generally, it can be hard to distinguish between "luxury" products that are primarily more exclusive with very little functional benefit (or in some cases more fragile!), versus products that are Actually Good. The display luxury category: anything by LVMH, Birkin bags, limited edition sneakers, Ferrari, etc The "better product for more money" category: Miele, wood furniture, Lexus etc

> The display luxury category: anything by LVMH, Birkin bags Birkin bags are also actually better products for more money, they can last quite a while with minimum care. They are display goods for sure but there is a qualitative difference between a good quality handbag from certain brands and a much cheaper one. Just as an example, my wife's only handbag is a balenciaga bag that she's had for 12+ years, she's been u…

>* they can last quite a while with minimum care.*

People don't buy such crap because it "lasts log". There's tons of products with same or better quality than Birkin bags, better leather and materials, and so on, that are cheaper. It's the brand that sells.

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

#786

Post by IshKebab »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #764
IshKebab wrote: post #719

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah honestly I think this attitude is shit. Maybe you were born with beauty and charisma but not everyone was. You're really going to say "you're not allowed to learn what I got for free"? Pretty low dude.

Oh don't you worry, I also had to learn how to fit in the world, and I'm not particularly beautiful. But getting coaching, or thinking of attractiveness as a problem to solve, optimise and streamline ? This is where I object.

So if you're naturally unattractive you deserve to stay that way... I mean... that's depressing...

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

#787

Post by [deleted] »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #764
IshKebab wrote: post #719

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah honestly I think this attitude is shit. Maybe you were born with beauty and charisma but not everyone was. You're really going to say "you're not allowed to learn what I got for free"? Pretty low dude.

Oh don't you worry, I also had to learn how to fit in the world, and I'm not particularly beautiful. But getting coaching, or thinking of attractiveness as a problem to solve, optimise and streamline ? This is where I object.

[deleted]

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

#788

Post by arkey »

4gotunameagain wrote: post #764
IshKebab wrote: post #719

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah honestly I think this attitude is shit. Maybe you were born with beauty and charisma but not everyone was. You're really going to say "you're not allowed to learn what I got for free"? Pretty low dude.

Oh don't you worry, I also had to learn how to fit in the world, and I'm not particularly beautiful. But getting coaching, or thinking of attractiveness as a problem to solve, optimise and streamline ? This is where I object.

> This is where I object.

Why?

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

#789

Post by refurb »

blharr wrote: post #666
refurb wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s easy to determine what income would be if everyone made the same amount - average income, which is $72,000 per worker. That includes everyone who filed a tax return from the kid working at McDonald’s to Warren Buffet. Not sure what you’d call a comfortable life but a single mom making $72,000 per year would be struggling in many major cities.

What a complete non-sequitur. A wealth cap of, say, a billion dollars would have none of the same implications

It’s not a non-sequitor.

The comment I replied to referenced a “wealth cap” and “redistribution” so “everyone could have a comfortable life”.

My point is that take to an extreme of equal redistribution to everyone, people would end up in a barely comfortable position.

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

#790

Post by refurb »

al_borland wrote: post #408
refurb wrote: post #235

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s easy to determine what income would be if everyone made the same amount - average income, which is $72,000 per worker. That includes everyone who filed a tax return from the kid working at McDonald’s to Warren Buffet. Not sure what you’d call a comfortable life but a single mom making $72,000 per year would be struggling in many major cities.

People don’t become ultra wealthy from a high income, they generally own a business that increases in value.

Sure, but the only way they can access that wealth is to sell ownership, which would produce income.

So all those people who sold $100M businesses are included in that $72,000 figure.

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