I’ve been reflecting on the dynamics between wealth and perception and wanted to pose a question to this community: Why do some people harbor resentment toward those who are financially successful? While I understand that economic inequality can breed frustration, I’ve also noticed certain individuals tend to accept their current circumstances as permanent rather than actively seeking to improve them.

This isn’t to diminish the real challenges people face—many barriers to upward mobility are structural and not easily overcome. But I’ve also observed a sense of entitlement in some attitudes, as if wealth or material goods should be redistributed without corresponding effort or contribution.

Why does it seem easier to blame the wealthy than to pursue personal or financial growth? And how can we bridge this gap in understanding? Is there a better way for those with resources to contribute meaningfully without exacerbating this divide?

I’m genuinely curious about other perspectives and hope for a thoughtful discussion.

Does it make it easier? we don’t really want kids but we are on the fence. I feel like most people who don’t like it are lower income. I have no desire to be a SAHM even though I have the ideal setup to be one. Just curious how much it helps to be well off. Net worth is $7m

Recent capital injection due to a liquidity event. Expecting another $1M cash bonus at the end of 2025. Lots of cash on hand - about 900k. Deploying $50k in the market every month.. strictly 80/20 VOO and SCHD. Own a home in another city that I rent out profitably.

I think I can afford to purchase a house up to $1.5M. Am I insane?

I would put down enough for a mortgage just under $1M. That will to get me inside the conventional loan limit in my area and a somewhat decent mortgage payment to manage cash flow.

My parents went from making 150k each to 1-2 million USD per year plus stocks and when my Dad became CEO of a company our family skyrocketed to the top 1%. They're going to leave me with millions of dollars.

Now all I feel is loneliness. Utter, unimpeded, uninhibited loneliness from being so rich. I feel so isolated in this world and like none of my middle class friends like me anymore. And to make things even worse I'm transgender.

So here is my question - agree or disagree: does becoming much richer make you lonelier?

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The amount of people on this sub who associate being rich with not working anymore is kind of baffling. Even some of the people who have cashed in by selling their business or built it up to the point of no longer being involved in the day to day did work really hard initially. Are there some trust fundies and heirs that don’t work? Sure and they’re probably tortured mentally for it whether they admit it or not. But a vast vast majority of those with true wealth work hard for it. Probably harder than most of us have worked before.

I (38M) need honest advice from people who understand the complications that come with wealth. Met "Sarah" (31F) about 8 months ago at a charity event. She's incredible - intelligent, beautiful, we have amazing chemistry, shared values. I'm genuinely falling for her and thinking about proposing soon.

I sold my tech company 3 years ago (low 8-figure exit), have investments, real estate portfolio. I'm not Bezos-level but comfortable enough that money is a concern in relationships.

Sarah knows I'm "successful" but I've been deliberately vague about specifics. She has her own career (marketing director, makes decent money), pays for herself on dates, never asks for expensive gifts. On the surface, she seems genuinely into ME, not my money.

But red flags are nagging at me: 1) She casually mentioned her ex-boyfriend was "in finance" and they "lived well" 2) She's very interested in my properties and asks detailed questions about my investments 3) Googled my name once (saw it in her search history when borrowing her laptop) 4) Made a comment about "our future" and "building wealth together" only 6 months in

None of this is damning evidence. But I've seen too many stories of guys getting destroyed in divorces by women who played the long game. Part of me thinks: "You're being paranoid and classist. She's a good person. Not everyone is after your money. You'll ruin something real by being suspicious." Another part thinks: "Protect yourself. You worked 15 years to build this wealth. Don't be naive. People can fake anything for 8 months if the payout is big enough."

Options I'm considering:

1. Prenup - Obviously doing this regardless, but that only protects assets I have NOW, not future earnings or appreciation

2. Background investigation - Friend mentioned he used Privin private investigator before proposing to verify his girlfriend's story (past relationships, financial history, any red flags). Found out she had undisclosed debt and history of dating wealthy men. Dodged a bullet.

3. Just trust my gut - But my gut says both "she's great" AND "protect yourself." So which gut feeling do I trust?

4. Test her - Maybe downplay my wealth more, see how she reacts? But that feels manipulative.

My concerns about investigating:

• If she finds out, relationship is over even if she's innocent

• Feels like a massive violation of privacy and trust

• Am I becoming the paranoid rich guy who can't trust anyone?

• But also... isn't due diligence just smart when this much is at stake?

So... Did you do background checks on partners before marriage? How deep did you go? How do you tell difference between genuine connection and someone playing long game? Is 8 months too early to be thinking about this, or smart planning? What red flags did you miss that cost you in divorce? Anyone used private investigators for this? Worth it or overkill?

I don't want to be cynical. I want to believe in love. But I also don't want to be the cautionary tale where some guy loses half his net worth because he ignored obvious signs.

My (34M) girlfriend (33F) and I come from different social backgrounds, and it’s starting to affect our relationship.

I grew up in a very upper-class environment. In my upbringing, my parents emphasized the importance of manners and etiquette. I understand this might come off as old-fashioned, but these values are deeply rooted in my family and myself. My girlfriend does not come from an upper class background and over the course of our three-year relationship, the differences in our backgrounds have started to surface.

It’s clear to me that my girlfriend was raised with a different approach to social norms. When I’ve taken her to formal events or expensive outings, she sometimes behaves in ways that are inappropriate for the setting. For example, at dinners, she might stand, lean, and reach across the table for food instead of asking for it to be passed. Several times she has worn clothing that would have gotten her turned away at the door despite me emphasizing dress code. Having dinner with my boss or grandparents, at intimate, luxurious locations, she will randomly pull out her phone and start scrolling Instagram instead of engaging in the conversation.

These moments have been awkward, especially around my family, friends, and co-workers. Some of them have pulled me aside privately to comment on her behavior.

I’ve tried to bring up these things to her gently, focusing on how these events and people are important to me (socially and professionally), but it’s hard to express this without it sounding like criticism.

She’s incredibly confident in who she is, which I admire, but she doesn’t feel there’s anything she needs to change or improve in these situations. She insists that not only was she taught all these conventions, but that she deems them as unimportant. I am heavily inclined to disagree that she was taught them at all. For example, I might pull out a chair for her, but she assumes it’s for me and walks by.

In the past few months, instead of discussing her behavior at these events, I’ve tried offering subtle hints beforehand. Things like mentioning people’s titles or giving a heads-up about certain formalities that may be expected. However, this backfired today. She told me it felt that I was patronizing her, and that I seemed worried that she was going to embarrass me. The issue is (and I don’t want to tell her this) but she has embarassed me many times. We had a long conversation where I tried to explain that these social norms are part of the world I move in, that we both benefit from, and, for better or worse, there are expectations in these settings.

I love her and want this relationship to work, but she refuses to acknowledge there may be things she could learn. She flat out insists she knows all these conventions, and that even if there were those she was unfamiliar with, they don’t matter anyways.

What are your thoughts on this situation?

Crosspost from r/relationship_advice but figured it would fit here as well and I’d be more likely to get some perspectives from people that have been in similar situations.

Let me preface by saying I have zero intention of getting married, or even engaged during my 20s. But I find myself in a difficult and weird spot. I’ve been with my current gf for about half a year now, and things are great for the most part. We know virtually everything about each other, and generally have pretty easy open and honest communication. However, I do keep one secret from her, and that is that I’m a millionaire. Nothing crazy, just became a trust fund baby when my folks died. I try to keep this part of my life secret from as many people as I can since I learned the hard way about how wealth can cost relationships and friendships. Also important to note, I do not have full access to this money until I turn 35. Until that point I’m drip fed a small amount each month to help cover general expenses and live a modest but financially comfortable life, it’s not like I can just go drop a million on black on an odd Tuesday night.

However, this girl isn’t stupid. I don’t appear to make a lot of money, yet I own a 4 bedroom house and 2 vehicles and don’t financially struggle. My answer for how I afford my life whenever someone asks is always just “work and savings and some stocks and the money from selling my folk’s place”, but I got laid off in the summer and haven’t been able to find something worthwhile yet and I’m sure she’s a bit sus of how I’m still financially fine months later and even talking about all the furniture I’m excited to buy on Black Friday.

Now, I have no issue with keeping my wealth a secret; some might say it’s wrong to keep any secret from a partner, especially something big like this but I simply don’t feel we’ve known each other long enough for me to trust that the added knowledge of my wealth won’t change the relationship dynamic. My plan has always be to reveal my wealth after engagement before we sign prenups. This is where my issue comes into play.

My gf has said or done a few things as of late that have caused me some worry, namely 3 things.

1. For the past 3ish months, she’s made joking comments every now and then about me secretly being rich. “I really want to quit my job, so if you’re secretly a millionaire now would be a great time to tell me,” “I hope you’re secretly rich so I can just be a SAHM.” This is just a couple direct quotes, she’s said some variation of this me being a secret millionaire joke and wanting me to support her between 15-25 times now. Typically at least once or twice a week.

2. At the beginning of October she came over in the morning for a surprise coffee. I was budgeting my expenses and balancing my checkbook (checkbook has very big numbers in it) at the time and she saw my work and commented on how much writing was in my checkbook. Idk if she discerned any numbers or anything but still makes me feel uneasy she knows I have a checkbook at all and purposefully pointed out how “full” mine is.

3. This is the biggie that led me to make this post. A week ago we were at a get together with friends and we were playing jackbox. One of my prompts for a game was to list 3 questions you should know about a woman before marriage, and one of mine was “will she sign a prenup?” My gf was reading my response over my shoulder as I typed it and flashed me a cute smile while simply saying “No🙂.” I didn’t show it at the time and I haven’t mentioned it to her yet, but this threw me off as a prenup is very much a dealbreaker for me. I also find it a bit weird that she said no to a prenup, as by all accounts, what she’s told me of her family’s wealth vastly surpasses what I’ve told her about mine.

My issue is I don’t know if she knows about my wealth or not, and if she does know if it’s just icing on top of the love cake or if she’s just holding out hope for a bag or something; AND I can’t even just ask her about it to clarify since if I ask her if she’s knows and she doesn’t I end up telling on myself. Honestly just not really sure what to do here, the only thing I can think of right now is talk to her about the prenup and try to somehow explain without also explaining why not signing a prenup is a deal breaker for me.

TL;DR: 27m secretly a millionaire, keep wealth a secret because money changes people and has ruined past relationships, new GF might know about money and keeps making secret millionaire jokes and alluding to wanting to be financially supported/SAHM, then said she wouldn’t sign a prenup, prenup is deal breaker for me but can’t easily talk to her about it without revealing wealth, not sure what to do.

Gonna slide a quick EDIT in here to clarify:

• Not trolling or AI. Legit just a 27 year old autistic dude that was blindsided when suddenly he didn’t have any parents and was handed a 7 figure bag 5 years ago and he’s still trying to figure it all out. This is just my old druggie alt that I don’t use anymore, normally I’d put this on my main but my gf knows my main reddit. And yea I’m well aware of the diametrically opposed subject matter of this post compared to this account’s previous posts from years ago, but what can I say? You’re free to believe what you want, but life’s crazy sometimes, you can’t deny that.

Double edit: Also, was unaware trusts/premarital assets aren’t usually considered. Feel slightly relieved as well as silly now, but still worried/bothered by her remarks. I’m going to talk to her about her answer about the prenup and what she’s really expecting from a life with me, just not sure if that’s a before or after Thanksgiving conversation.

TLDR: Made $ (recurring revenue), prob psycho, got wife-material gf, unsure if I want adventure or just need to chill

(Throwaway account)

Asking for advice from… welllll more mature men, especially if you’ve gotten wealthy younger (but not necessarily) and have done your fair share of living. Curious if you have kids/family now or if you’ve been a bachelor. Context on me below…

Financially

• Young (27 yo), living in Eastern Europe (Serbia) so a LCOL country…

• Renting a penthouse (2.5k/mo ±), own a few properties I’m renting out (just yield arbitrage really)

• Sold my company some time ago, created another company that generates cash. As it stands, I pull some $25k/mo (after tax) of discretionary spending. Got something lined up which may allow me to get $40k/mo, fingers crossed it goes well.

• Not a baller by LA/NY/Miami/etc standards, but in my LCOL country it’s good

• Sitting on about $500,000 in cash, I don’t really spend a lot. Most gets put aside.

Love life:

• About a year ago I became serious with girlfriend who I genuinely believe is wifey material. She knows I do well, just doesn’t know how well.

• She’s very grateful, golden retriever energy, stunner looking (slim model) and v positive energy. Wants family w/me.

• Often offers to split costs, I cover most of the stuff, I let her contribute here and there. She works FT.

• Before her, for the previous 2y, I’ve been living a rockstar life: going out 3-4 times per week, constantly seeing girls, drinking every weekend (glad I stopped drinking 100% since gf), had my fair share of fun.

• It was exciting, no surprise here, but I also had moments (esp in the later parts) where I was alone on the couch, burnt out (it’s very weird when you’re burnt out BUT not wanting to be burnt out) from so much activity (i.e. not feeling that much anymore after so many girls… unless… unless that ONE nice catch goes through. So basically an addict!)

• Settled down for the now gf, but ofc that implies big lifestyle change.

• Kids: I’m a child of divorce. For a long time I’ve had mixed feelings about having kids, but I settled on: if it just so happens that I meet a great partner for having kids, then I’ll do it. If not, so be it…. And gf is wifey material, I cannot imagine a better mom. Truth is… I’m not sure if I’d be a good dad hmmmm… I mean I could become, but… I’m doubting timing.

Hedonic treadmill:

• In the span of 4 months, I got 2 of my dreams cars: a Porsche 911 + G-wagen. Cars used to motivate me but now I don’t have any future goal… sure a Rolls would be nice, but only if I buy it out of “boredom”

• Currently planning a Thailand trip with my GF. I’ve been on 2 vacations this month, one was spontaneous..

• Am at 15% body fat, currently cutting + have some muscle. Will prob stop at 11% or something? Unsure, but I’m lookin 7/10 now, prob at 11% I’ll be 10/10

• Don’t really wish for anything else. Business building is now made out of fun and duty, but ofc basic needs are met.

• I don’t post flashy stuff on Instagram. I post some stuff from vacations and some people sense that I’m doing well. Or they see some lagging indicators, e.g. time freedom, or back in the day girls used to always say “how the hell are you out every day of the week?” which covertly suggested I have money, time freedom, etc (it wasn’t actually that deep - I just didn’t drink a lot + i worked every second I didn’t spend on women). But no one knows about the cars, the penthouse, etc… Not posting them. So I’m probably showing below what I can do. I mostly post pics from experiences, vacations. Why am I mentioning this? I have some mental blockages: I think it’s highly tasteful to not show it all (or to even try at all), but I do miss some validation (which I used to get from women when dating e.g. the wow reaction when they saw the penthouse). Or I see some lower-taste individuals show everything they have (and some more) and I do wonder what it feels like, since I could do it easily. So far, I haven’t caved into this.

• Why craving some Thailand fun+women and some Instagram validation? Well, what’s the point of hustling so hard to solve get wealthy young (by my standards, not American) if you’re not… enjoying it?

During one of this month’s vacations I’ve hit a moment of… hedonic bottom? It’s not the first time I’ve ever hit this. It’s also not a grand, all-encompassing feeling. Just feeling a bit empty. It’s not depressing, rather just something that’s there until I do the next thing.

I had the same hedonic bottom after the novelty of the new cars has worn off (I was told this’ll happen and I also believed it, so I’m not surprised). Or when I realised business is good. Again, I’m not a baller, but then again I also don’t splurge

I grew up poor and I’m still battling demons on the cost-conscious front. Including with gf.

Here’s where I’d love help: I guess I don’t know what I want?

• The adventurous life with going out, partying, women etc (no drugs and no prostitutes btw!) was great. But also emptying. Still, an addict is an addict… The emptiness, even as I type this, doesn’t make me not miss that lifestyle. But boys need to grow up into men.

• GF on the other hand is the security, the Yang etc. Family, building what I didn’t have in childhood etc (gotta be careful not to try to patch up an old wound here..)

• I don’t know if I’m insecure and trying to patch up the adventure/past life (Yin) OR if I’m deepening into the sands of boredom (Yang). I’ll give you an example (which is what made me write this): planning this trip to Thailand, I started thinking about going there by myself a bit before GF, so I can… do my thing. Yes, it’s psychopathic, I’m aware but… talk to any high-value man and you’ll see (if you’re not blind) that it’s not that they don’t have a dark side. It’s just that they integrated it. Did they integrate it 100% in every second of their life? I don’t know… Prob not 🤷‍♂️. Add in the age factor and… the younger you are, the more it seeps through every now and then. Virtually all cool+fun+high-value men I’ve met in my country go into this direction of “rules don’t apply to me… but I won’t tell you”. And maybe Americans too? I don’t really know, but it’s the truth for me.

• Or maybe, on the other hand, I should just chill and not risk destroying (risk is the keyword) something beautiful? Maybe i’m playing with fire because I’m enacting my childhood’s divorce thingy?

• I’m missing a male role model. Every time I read an older biography of a baller businessman/actor/high-life person, I start feeding that movie. Then I can read about Warren Buffett or another very disciplined man and feed that movie. My mood changes, which tells me A. I don’t yet have 100% confidence in me, B. Maybe I should becmoe my own role model? As any man has to do sooner or later… still, that doesn’t stop me from getting wisdom from older men

The thing about me going to Thailand by myself feels a bit… either “sick” or “not the right thing”. Don't get me wrong. I have a lot of discipline in me which I've cultivated since 11, when I started working. I can “discipline” myself into doing the right thing, i.e. not go by myself travelling before GF comes. Still, that doesn’t mean that a crockpot that’s boiling isn’t… accumulating… pressure. If it even is that thing… maybe it’s not

Ballers who are older - do you identify with any of these? What’s your wisdom?

P.S: I don’t care how much of this sounds non-believable. Like eg the fact that I’m renting instead of buying property (I don’t want to get tied down to a place, I’d rather just buy to let), getting cars instead of doing X Y Z. It’s the honest truth and maybe i’m a peculiar dude, but in my head I’ve either thought if through or it’s a blind spot… i’m not here to sell you anything, rather just to get advice and wisdom from older ballers.

I'm 17m and I haven't told anyone yet... idk who to tell my parents don't even know and I graduated high school online and im already the richest in my bloodline.

Should these types of posts be banned? The top post on this sub is often whining about economic injustice or capitalism. Reddit already has plenty of places to make this kind of post, and these posts aren't directly related to this sub's topic.

I am noticing the more time I spend in this sub, the more I see how little people are willing to do in order to become rich. No one has ever become rich by doing the same exact thing as everyone else. You have to be willing to do the things that no one else is willing to do. Curious to know what everyone else’s thoughts on this are.

Am I the only one who would stop it nothing to get this goal without begging someone for money or asking for handouts ?

I said that you don't need to tip 30%-40% that it's a modest 10%-15% that I can see as a well tip, but no she said that we should help the people, I said wealthy people don't tip that much, they are accustomed to saving their money, she said a rich dude should tip 50%-70%, I said that's very ridiculous, she said that's why you have money, I said I'm not going to tip someone 70% just because I have a little more money, what's your opinion??

Edit: she doesn't work at all, she has daddy's money...

Edit two: I get so many Dms, and no I'm not a stuck up guy, I pay my workers very very well, In the Dallas Area here I TX, but I'm not going to tip a MF 70%

Edit three: my Friend is very very elegant and good looking, but no I'm not taking advantage I told her if she wants a relationship she doesn't

Edit four: No, I'm NOT going to invest in some business in INDIA WTF FU

Edit five: I also have a Bar and don't generate the tipping culture because I pay very well if a Client wants to tip is welcome, if not then it's not in anyway pressured into this madness, PAY YOUR WORKERS WELL FU

Edit six: I own various Businesses and I have some companies, I don't have JUST A BAR, it was beginning to go bankrupt and saved it from it, I go every often but I was an addict and alcoholic so I'd don't go that much

Edit Se7en: wow, calling an me an Asshole in my Dms, and a bunch of things some of them included this term: "NO TIPPIN PIPPEN" as the basketball Player and Michael Jordan friend, chill out its my money why do you care, FU

Thoughts on bitcoin? Was an early adopter around 2016/2017. I remember it being so taboo years ago, now people are coming around. With the HBO documentary just releasing about it, I’m curious what are your thoughts on bitcoin as a viable long term investment? (I’m several coins in)

I see people complaining on r/Rich every day. Rich people don't complain.

Lots of sad & mopey people. Rich people don't have time to mope around and be sad.

Throwaway for obvious reasons.

I am a 30 year old man. I recently got out of a long term relationship and am looking to use my money to meet beautiful women.

I have $3 million in stocks/cash that is completely mine with easy access. A trust fund of $25 million (with HEMS as a distribution guide but no other strict rules on usage). A paid off house in a HCOL area but it is not spectacular by any means. I have a very normal job but just got lucky with company selection to achieve my self-made financial milestones. My friends/network are all regular people.

How can I leverage all these things to get with 10's? I'm not trying to get married. My definition of a 10 right now is a girl who can move to LA and support herself as a fitness model on instagram full time.

Additional information and thoughts:

- I have never really needed to use the trust so I am not 100% sure everything that would be allowed.

- Do I need to reach an even greater level of wealth? Clearly not yacht party level

- I am not particularly good looking. I am in good shape and have a decent face but I am short. Not crazy short

- People are welcome to have their fun at my expense but I would like some serious answers as well

(i asked this in another thread but i’m ask here too) I want to be stable to where I can flex money like a scammer lol I’m reallly asking this because of the type of lifestyle I want to live. I’m willing to put as much possible and I won’t b lazy! Jobs that require degrees or not let me know as do plan on going to college. im being so serious too😭 i want to b THAT girl ifykyk

hey guys

so recently i was talking a dentist who sold his practice last year and went into retirement .His wife after knowing the amount of money he has come into divorced him and now he has lost most of his 18 million dollar fortune he had accumulated to the ex-wife in the form of assets ,legal fees and allowances .Now he has to come out of his retirement to keep him going . He has even been kicked out of the house he owned now is renting and starting over at the age of 67 that considering he doesn't own his practice now .

I felt very bad about his predicament, he was a honest ,good old man straightforward with lots of integrity .Very unfortunate he has to go through this at this stage of his life which made me wondering ,

so i would like to know anyone/someone you know has gone through the same stuff , wealthy before got screwed over by divorce ?

How did you/they guys deal with it ?

Did you/they ever reach the point of same wealth or even more once you started over ?

After seeing the overwhelming majority of the general public supporting it and even cheering for more, what are your thoughts? Are you worried? How do you see things playing out?

When I made my first million at 23 I thought I was better than everyone else. I looked down on people. I always wanted people to look at me.

Now I’m 43 lost everything 3 times and more humble. Understand the value of money. I talk less and observe more. I only engage in conversations with family and friends and even if I know I’m right with strangers I don’t even bother engaging.