Being rich gets you access to quality products and services. But unless you’re lucky enough to be incredibly wealthy, you may not know just how much freedom large amounts of money can truly afford you. And we’re not talking about superficial luxury either.
People online spilled the tea about the surprising and jaw-dropping things that the ultra-wealthy do that regular folks—like you and us—might not even know are an option. We’ve picked out the most intriguing posts to show you what generational wealth really gets you.
#1
My in-laws were just complaining about their recent move. They had to spend the day at the country club and wait for it to be finished.
Now, that’s already incredible to me. Not being present or moving the majority of your own stuff? If I’m lucky, I have couple movers putting in some work too. But having movers do it all without them present wasn’t all. I asked how they packed so fast.
They looked at me with confusion, because they didn’t pack! They didn’t pack up any of their stuff! The movers come in, pack, move it to the new place… and UNPACK! When they got to their new home, their bed was made! I’ve been thinking about this for months.
Image source: 1dayaway, RDNE Stock project / Unsplash
#2
I have a buddy who’s family had a family manager. 2 or three people who had an office and their job was essentially making the family more money.
That’s it. But they were paid super well and well taken care of with insurance and bonuses/
Takes money to make money is an understatement here.
In this world it was “takes a large amount of money to make a ton of money”.
Image source: TheCountryBreakfast, Yan Krukau / Pexels
#3
Use seasons as a verb.
“I summered in Madrid, and wintered in Aspen.”
Image source: davesoverhere, cottonbro studio / Pexels
The undeniable fact is that money improves your life in many ways. You get access to better food, higher-quality healthcare, proper education, etc. You can buy property and not worry about having a roof over your head. You can save for your retirement without living paycheck to paycheck. You can travel the world!
That being said, being super rich may actually have unexpected downsides, too.
According to David H. Rosmarin, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a program director at McLean Hospital, wealth can create unexpected risks to mental health and relationships.
#4
separate entrances and quarters for house employees. I lived in west palm beach, and on palm beach island these mega mansions have whole wings on their houses on the end of the property with their own gated entrances and driveways away from the front of the house so they don’t use the same driveways the owners park their luxury cars on.
Image source: ContentDot8973, Robert So / Pexels
#5
Borrowing money to live on so they never have to pay taxes.
Most people live in a world where money equals a paycheck, and paychecks get taxed automatically. The ultra-wealthy don’t use paychecks. They take out loans.
If a billionaire needs $4 million for a new house or a yacht, they don’t sell $4 million in stock (which would force them to pay hundreds of thousands in taxes). Instead, they go to a bank and say, “Hold my $50 million in stock as collateral, and lend me $4 million at a tiny interest rate.”
Legally, a loan isn’t income, so the IRS can’t touch it. They spend the loan money completely tax-free, while their actual wealth keeps growing in the market.
Image source: joemondo, Stephen Leonardi / Pexels
#6
I worked for a billionaire. When he was at the end of his life, sick from cancer, he was moved into a hospital here (major US city). People I know who visited him say that he was in a special area of the hospital that was “like the Taj Mahal”. Basically very high end, beautiful, expensive, everything you can imagine. Nothing regular people would know existed.
Image source: b30, Yaroslav Shuraev / Pexels
Rosmarin, who provided concierge mental health services to wealthy individuals and families around the globe, writes in a piece in Time magazine that he was at first captivated by them.
“Clients arrived with car services waiting outside, returning to lives defined by extraordinary luxury and comfort. It did not take long, however, to notice a pattern of significant loneliness, family conflict, and emotional distress beneath the surface. In many cases, immense wealth appeared to weaken the very foundations that sustain psychological well-being.”
#7
I read a comment a long time ago that said that rich people could buy multiples of the same clothes to have in different houses that they own. Imagine traveling without having to pack clothing.
Image source: Waffle-Crab, Chalo Garcia / Unsplash
#8
Bringing a maid to a family gathering so they can bring the baby and don’t have to worry about being interrupted from mingling.
Image source: NyriasNeo, Jonathan Borba / Unsplash
#9
A mega wealthy speaker came thru my town recently and I was tangentially involved. A large team came in about a week ahead of her and rented a big nice house that’s currently for sale thru the real estate agency. They furnished it with all her own things, organic everything. Brought large air purifiers that ran for days before she landed. Brought in all organic food and household products and cleaned the house top to bottom. She stayed a little less than a week before going to the next town on her tour. She has multiple teams so while she was here the next house in the next town was being prepped. When she left, it took her team about another week to remove everything and move on to their next town to prep for her arrival there. She has multiple teams so there is always a team somewhere preparing next week’s house, a team taking down last week’s house and a team with her taking care of her current needs.
Image source: Exciting_Radish_1008, cottonbro studio / Pexels
Rosmarin points out that money changes relationships. Wealth allows individuals to avoid daily frictions like compromise, negotiation, accountability, and shared sacrifice, which would generally strengthen bonds.
The result is that riches lead to relationships that tend to be more transactional and less interdependent. There’s more emphasis on control, expectations, and access.
#10
A buddy of mine has a personal assistant who does every mundane thing for him. Pack for trip? He just gets in his chauffeured car and everything is waiting for him. Gets to fbo and someone puts it on his leased jet. Someone meets him on the other end with a car standing by next to the plane and off he goes. I told him that normal people can’t do that. He said: I know I’m lucky.
Image source: RaNdomMSPPro, cottonbro studio . Pexels
#11
I had no idea about the sheer amount of things that could be completely custom bespoke. Like obviously rich people get custom clothes made, but I never realized everything has the ability to be custom.
Like growing up I had hand-me-down or craigslist mattresses, I don’t ever remember going to a store and picking out a new one.
But last month I got to design a completely 100% custom mattress. The size, the materials, the stack, everything. Got custom sheets for it too, and my god it’s the comfiest bed I’ve ever had. It never occured to me that was even an option for things like beds until I was there doing it, but for The Rich I’m sure that’s probably just another Tuesday.
Image source: missmadime, cottonbro studio / Pexels
#12
Concierge Medicine. You text your doctor at any time of the day or night and they come to your house and bring you whatever meds you want. They can also order tests and get discounts on things so you end up paying a lot less than someone using insurance. The vibe is completely different than a regular doctor and you’re the one suggesting things and they’ll do whatever as long as it probably won’t hurt you.
There’s also something similar that’s a lot cheaper called Direct Primary Care. You pay a monthly or yearly fee for unlimited appointments and texts. I started this year and it’s great. They don’t take insurance but also get deals on stuff. My doc does virtual or in person appointments (won’t come to my house) but mostly I text her if I have a problem and she looks it up and gets back to me. She has limited patients so there is a lot of individual attention and if she’s going to be out of town she has another doctor monitoring her messages.
Image source: BaylisAscaris, Antoni Shkraba / Pexels
The result is straightforward: more isolation, even as you’re surrounded by other people. Meanwhile, real connection requires that you practice expressing emotions and needs, being honest, being authentic, etc.
These are not things that money can buy.
#13
You can pay your children up to $16,100 every year tax-free if you have a business. They don’t even really have to do anything. Tax-free income for them and a tax write-off for you. But you don’t give them the money you put it in an investment account. They don’t even have to know anything about this. By the time they are ready to go to college they have more than enough money to pay for it and not only did they not have to pay any taxes on it, aside from capital gains, it was a tax write off.
Image source: ResponsibilityAny858, Mikhail Nilov / Pexels
#14
Never shop for groceries they are just at your house. Never knowing how the car got tires, oil change, repairs because they are just done by someone. No idea who even cuts the lawn, no idea who even calls the plumber, no idea who pays the electric bill but all of these things are just done for you.
Image source: thesaltysquirrel, Cabri Caldwell / Unsplash
#15
Just never having to go to the grocery store or pumping your own gas or planning your own vacation. The rich like to tell the poor how lazy they are, but the ultra rich are like, the most overconfident lazy people on the planet. They can’t do anything for themselves.
Image source: tmotytmoty, Renato Leal / Unsplash
“In most families, life imposes limits. People must compromise and tolerate frustration because they depend on one another. They must work through disagreements because there are few alternatives. These experiences can be uncomfortable, but they are also how trust, resilience, and intimacy are built,” the mental health expert writes.
“Money can remove many of those pressures. It can smooth over conflicts, delay consequences, and create options to avoid uncomfortable moments. It can make it possible to ‘solve’ interpersonal problems financially by using money to control others. The result is emotional distance and pain for all parties.”
#16
Stand up a non-profit NGO charity. Put your kid in the CEO slot and friends + a baby sitter to prevent a bad paper trail. Then you donate your charitable contributions for tax write offs( something you do anyway) to the NGO that then you get your pet senators to fund with tax payer money. Now your tax write offs+ tax payer money goes to giving your kid and their friends 500k+ salaries.
Image source: Chuck_the_Elf, Ron Lach / Pexels
#17
A rich couple I know has their primary residence in an HOA. They put whatever they want on the lawn and they painted their rocks gold because they don’t care about the fines and the association isn’t about to kick them out.
They also pay a woman to live with their dog and take care of it in one of their other homes.
Every conversation I have with them makes me realize how we live in two different worlds.
Image source: MonocleComplex, Wally Holden / Unsplash
#18
This is a small silly thing, but I worked as a cashier at a designer clothing store in a fancy mall. Rich folks would come to our town on vacation and spend thousands on clothing, and after the purchase we would ship the clothing to their home for them so they wouldn’t have to deal with hauling their new clothing/handbags/shoes home.
Image source: Goth-Sloth, Getty Images / Unsplash
We want to hear what you think about the topic. What are the most important things that you would focus on if you were to become wealthy overnight?
Regardless of your income, what are the areas of your life where you refuse to lower your standards and buy truly high-quality products and services?
Do you have people in your life who you are 100% sure would stay honest and authentic in their relationships with you, no matter how amazingly rich you get?
Once you’re done reading these posts, share your opinions, dreams, and experiences in the comments at the bottom of this list.
#19
They say, “I made that.” and they truly believe it –when they paid someone to make it for them.
I knew a guy that attends cosplay conventions. He had all his costumes made for him. He thinks he made them. weird.
Image source: Phi_fan, Mario Spencer / Pexels
#20
Worked for an Arab royal family member. We would use the private jet frequently just to move luggage, furniture and art around the different estates globally.
Image source: Danger__fox, Alen Kajtezovic / Unsplash
#21
I worked for a foreign born billionaire that hated paying US taxes even though he lived here. The IRS would follow him to the airport and watch him board his private jet and fly back to Europe for a day so he wouldn’t be a legal resident. The tax laws are written by and for the wealthy.
Image source: Complete_Yam_4233, Getty Images / Unsplash
#22
House Managers that schedule all the cleaning of the rooms, laundry, order groceries and supplies and keep the staff running smoothly doing everything that needs to be done.
Image source: 1320Fastback, Getty Images / Unsplash
#23
Not paying or carrying money.
When you own the restaurant and the hotel and the farms and the shops you don’t pay. You just use your stuff.
Image source: ThlintoRatscar, Ron Lach / Pexels
#24
Seasonal addresses. I worked in development for a large university (i.e. fundraising). Many rich people live in 2-4 mansions based on the weather season. Most just had two regular addresses, but some people had as many as four.
Image source: mark_able_jones_, Gaye Kırkın / Pexels
#25
I am working with rich teenagers for the first time, and they all network like crazy. Poor kids don’t realize that to get into college, get high school internships, get jobs, they should be cold emailing professors, authors, etc. just to ‘connect’ over a shared interest, or say something complimentary to them. The rich kids have 1 million ways that they get ahead in life, but this is one that is more accessible to poor kids if they only realized that if they cold email 20 university professors as freshman in high school, a couple may respond and really smooth their way as they grow up.
Image source: Educational_Win8556, Yan Krukau / Pexels
#26
We were offered a service where the day or two before our vacation, a car would pick up our checked bags for us. We’d fly with just carry on and when we arrived at the hotel, our bags were there waiting for us. That seemed super convenient and something that would be worth something that most wouldnt think about.
Image source: knaak, Timur Weber / Pexels
#27
Borrow against their assets to avoid paying taxes on gains.
Image source: Fun-Personality-8008, Gustavo Fring / Pexels
#28
I remember reading a comment on a (pretty much identical) thread where someone was saying they rebound entire private libraries worth of books because some people want the content of their shelves to fit the aesthetics of their homes. They said people pay hundred of thousands for this nonsensical service.
Image source: highgroundservitude, Dilan Ceviz / Pexels
#29
Concierge service from high end credit cards. My uncle has a centurion card ( the Amex black card) he wanted to goto the final four 3 days before it started. Made one phone call to Amex. They booked his flights, hotel, car service, tickets and dinners. He didn’t have to do a thing he just gets sent an email saying here’s everything.
Image source: Thick_Cookie_7838, Vlad Vasnetsov / Pexels
#30
Working with exponentially less effort to make exponentially more money. Poor people don’t even think it’s possible even if they hear it’s an option.
Image source: So1ip, Gustavo Fring / Pexels
#31
I’ve worked for people who have a house man who travels ahead of them to whatever home they’re going to. He makes sure their clothing is ready and laundered, beds are fresh, florals are fresh, prescriptions are filled, groceries are stocked, meals are prepped, gardener and housemaids are clicking along and cars are serviced. They have different staff, clothing and cars in each home, so they dont pack. Or carry luggage. They fly private in the jet they own.
Image source: Trickfixer32
#32
Buy houses they don’t live in.
Image source: C1K3
#33
Little to no country borders. Customs barely exist when you fly private.
Image source: 4ever_youngz
#34
Live life without shame. Significantly easier to become and stay wealthy if you aren’t distracted by how your actions impact others. Nearly impossible if you have a sense of empathy or concern for others. Obviously a range in between, but that’s it at the extreme.
I don’t think it’s a conscious choice in any of us to be one or the other; it’s all up to the genetic hand we were dealt and the environments and people who showed us what “normal” was as we grew from babies to adults.
Source: 30+ years working in IT for wealth management firms and observing billionaire behavior from a very short distance while having access to their balance sheets.
Image source: ArtificialTrousers
#35
Buying everything under a “corporation” nothing in their names.
Image source: Dopehauler
#36
Never ask or consider the price, if it’s what you need you get it.
Image source: Dijstraanon
#37
Being able to solve almost any inconvenience by throwing money at it. For most people, problems cost time. For rich people, they just have a price tag.
Image source: Mindless-Yogurt2109
#38
You can create a trust online to protect your assets from probate when you pass away. Your family/heirs don’t have to go to court to prove their ownership, can avoid unnecessary taxes/lawyer fees.
Image source: kirbstompjk
#39
Never touch luggage, including packing or unpacking. Your clean clothes just appear, already put away, in your hotel room. At the end of your trip you don’t touch the dirty laundry, it just reappears, clean and nicely put away at your house.
Image source: FamousLocalJockey
#40
Rich people get tutors for their kids. The tutors show up to the house and work 1:1, for whatever subjects the parents think would be cool to have a tutor in. Maybe the kid isn’t doing well. Maybe doing just fine. Parents pay the tutors a modest brick of money for this.
Generally, “the less rich” you are, the less likely you are to know that there’s even such a thing as tutors. (Or: maybe you know, but you somehow got the impression that tutors exist, but are just for remedial work.)
When I was in university, I worked as a tutor (paid and volunteer) for high school kids, in several subjects. It paid bills! And tutoring some subjects kept me them fresh in my mind. (If you walk away from linear algebra for ten years and come back, it’ll just look like a scary ransom note made out of letters and numbers.)
Image source: pongmonk
#41
They park wherever they want. They just pay the tickets.
Image source: PixieStar17
#42
I didn’t grow up in poverty, but my parents were living paycheck to paycheck and barely making enough to give my siblings and I a semblance of a middle class life. I’ve done well in my career and by 35 I had a net worth of $3MM. I’ve reached a point where compounding interest is actually noticeable and I don’t flinch at a $50k loss like one of my accounts suffered on Thursday. One thing my wealth advisor does that my dad has probably never heard of is tax-loss harvesting, where portfolio losses are realized to offset taxes on gains.
Image source: Geng1Xin1
#43
Chartered jets – Recently got to try this, surprisingly more affordable than I previously thought if you split the bill with your friends on a trip but retail airline prices are bonkers so I would’ve never know outside of this one novel trip.
Image source: rick6426422
#44
Airport lounges. It’s another, hidden world in some airports. The istanbul one with its private marble bathrooms units in the business lounge was crazy to me.
Image source: EliHarb
#45
The truly rich don’t necessarily seek out publicity and are treated as old friends at some of the most expensive stores. They never pay bills. They have accountant for that. So, I know some who as a result who lose touch with what ordinary things cost and how hard it is for people to live on the salaries they pay people.
Image source: VoxFugit
#46
Instead of going to McDonald’s, you can hire a chef to go get it for you.
Image source: lirecela
#47
Night nurses for newborn babies so the mom can sleep.
Image source: wickedclever
#48
Buy groceries without checking their bank account first.
Image source: Informal-Cupcake2730
#49
Have a major expense or financial set-back and pay cash and don’t even look at an account.
Image source: NinjaProfessional853
#50
An executive with a relatively small salary and most of his compensation in stock options can use the stock as collateral on a loan and hence pay interest on the loan instead of taxes on cashing out the options.
Image source: BitterStop3242
#51
Setting up trust fund for your kids.
Image source: highschoolshadow
#52
I had an email saying that a customer missed their delivery as “Helen had a shooting lesson”.
Image source: Little_Cat_3153
#53
You make money by understanding things, and by determining the difference between truth and lies, because most money is made from investing. Poor people think they are supposed to be told the truth, rich people assume everyone is lying, but they also assume they can figure the truth out for themselves, and they do. This is the main thing that is skipped on school. Don’t study for a job, study so you can’t be lied to.
Image source: samurai0
#54
lol my aunt married into money and the first thing she learned was ‘concierge medicine’ where you pay like 25k a year just to have a doctor who actually answers the phone. no waiting rooms, same day appointments, theyll even come to your house. my mom thought i was making it up when i told her.
Image source: Adventurous_Goat_94
#55
They pay to eliminate problems instead of spending their lives solving them.
Image source: These-Barber-5984
#56
I heard in a similar thread once that rich people hire someone to come fill their car with gas so they never have to go to a gas station.
Image source: AlexCail
#57
Travel around the world.
Image source: Impossible_Level_198
#58
Calling the bank and reminding them to reset the interest rate on your HYSA.
Image source: VacuumSealedFresh
#59
This is something some well off people do that is indeed not available for people without savings: they can put their debt related stuff (loans, rent) from their income in a fund/etf/term acc until they actually need to pay.
Image source: anomanderrake1337
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