Why are the rich so cheap?

[Miss Neecerie]

The Top 100 Foundations by Asset Size

There's a lot of old and new money there. There are many, many smaller foundations as well.

Barry

I will just pipe in here with a tidbit about corporate giving. Corps -must- give a certain amount of profit to charity.....so depending on things...they arnt really being all that charitable in some cases.

Please note this was not said to knock those that are giving out of heartfelt wishes at all. Merely stating that sometimes it's a requirement and not a desire.

 

[Senator Jack]

Twenty replies and no one's called me out on having the gall to crash a party and then complain about it.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Twenty replies and no one's called me out on having the gall to crash a party and then complain about it.

Seeing as it was you...I was 'ignoring' that part of the story.....

although maybe you accidently crashed some sort of foodless event...

just the facts....

 

[MudInYerEye]

Pshaw, really. I find much of the Jibberish on this thread to be utter nonsense. As a very wealthy person of an "old money" family I must that say that you proles are a behaving like a bunch of spolied school children. Resume your seats in society and class and complain no longer, and we will see about your "tips".

 

[Fletch]

Thanks for that editorial, T. Herman Zweibel.

The question, it would appear, is not, "Why are the rich so cheap?" so much as, "Why are any of the rich so cheap?"

My take, FWIW, is that our attitudes toward money get formulated at an early age, and are very hard to change. Self-made tycoons who had it hard as young folks often credit that very hardship, having to watch the little expenses, with later success.

That's entirely apart from the almost ostentatious shabbiness of certain old-money crowds, who wear desiccated suits and let their outsoles flap because they don't have to impress anyone, or because of that good ethic of Yankee thrift taken a bit too far.

Finally, there's the basic truth (I think it is one, anyway) that if money is at all important to you, then all money is important to you, whether it's a dollar or ten million. This, too, of course, can be taken too far.

 

[K.D. Lightner]

Whether they have little or a lot of money, I have found that people in the generation before mine, who were affected by the depression, have a different attitude about money.

They hang on it, sometimes for dear life. I have a friend whose parents had stashed away a considerable amount of money. They were both in ill health, in their mid-80's and, unable to spend it, although they had things they wanted to do, like go on cruises, take trips abroad, etc. They had trouble even hiring a housekeeper when they could no longer do the work.

When she asked them why didn't they spend some of the money they so scrupulously saved, her 86-year-old mother replied "We may need it when we're older."

My friend's mother died last June without doing any of the things she wanted to do. And her father is too sickly now to even leave the house. She gets to inherit it all, but says, sadly, they could have done so many things with the money.

My father, too, was incredibly cheap, so cheap he never gave himself the opportunity to get rich -- wouldn't invest, wanted to hang on to every dime.

You may have some rich folks out there who are still acting poor, or who were raised by people with a "depression mentality."

karol

 

[Fletch]

Now about that foodless do in NY. In some circles in the cultural capital - particularly those that make a fetish of big-ticket elegance and admire a size 0 figure as the ideal of beauty – food is basically thought of as a necessary evil, the gateway to bulging unloveliness. For some, it calls up an unspoken collective memory of immigrant starvation and first-generation overfeeding. Putting on a substantial spread would be as tacky an act for the host/ess as digging in would be for hi/r like-minded cronies. Better to have everybody stand around with mineral water or chardonnay, admiring the furniture, the view, and the spotless stainless loft kitchen that's bare as a winter orchard.

 

[Barry]

Not all of those are corporate foundations. I'm guessing quite a few were private family foundations and independent foundations. I think Bill and Melinda Gates is a PFF.

Also, the Jack Kent Cooke foundation (I'm only mentioning this because he was a local celebrity when I was growing up and he once owned the Washington Redskins) was created upon his death (he willed it). It's a huge foundation. He didn't leave everything to his daughter who was just recently in the news. Not only does it grant a large number of scholarships each year it employs dozens of people.

Barry

 

[griffer]

Whether they have little or a lot of money, I have found that people in the generation before mine, who were affected by the depression, have a different attitude about money.

They hang on it, sometimes for dear life. I have a friend whose parents had stashed away a considerable amount of money. They were both in ill health, in their mid-80's and, unable to spend it, although they had things they wanted to do, like go on cruises, take trips abroad, etc. They had trouble even hiring a housekeeper when they could no longer do the work.

When she asked them why didn't they spend some of the money they so scrupulously saved, her 86-year-old mother replied "We may need it when we're older."

My friend's mother died last June without doing any of the things she wanted to do. And her father is too sickly now to even leave the house. She gets to inherit it all, but says, sadly, they could have done so many things with the money.

My father, too, was incredibly cheap, so cheap he never gave himself the opportunity to get rich -- wouldn't invest, wanted to hang on to every dime.

You may have some rich folks out there who are still acting poor, or who were raised by people with a "depression mentality."

karol

So true. I saw it in my family, and in others.

And in the same families, it gave rise to a backlash. Seems like for every mizer, there was a spend thrift. Financial yin-yang balances out!

"I can't possibly spend it, I might need it to spend tomorrow!" says the solvent martyr.

"I might as well spend it today, who knows if I'll have it tomorrow!" answers the overdrawn hedonist.

How do you strike a balance?

 

[Bebop]

Not all rich people are cheap. Some are quite giving indeed. They just have different priorities than the non-rich. Just because you are rich does not mean that you know how to be a good host. Money does not bring manners. Generally speaking, the rich don't have to be anything but cheap. They still get people to crash their parties ( How dare you, Sir Senator ) and people that want to sit on their $10,000 couches. If they are cheap it's because us regulars let them get away with it. Money brings power and people are attracted to power. They are not attracted to generosity or humility. It's like being with a beautiful woman that is dumb as a wall. Great for a little while but after a couple of blank stares when you want to have an adult conversation, you forget how beautiful she is and you move on. Same with the rich. Nice to walk around their homes, sit in their cars, wonder why they would spend thousands on a simple watch but after a while, you want to get back to real people. That happens to me with gay friends. Nice for a party or two but my life yearns for what I consider " my level ".

 

[Senator Jack]

I seem to routinely have people crash my parties so I have no qualms about crashing others'. I can be in a bar and someone whom I don't know will come up to me and say, 'I was at your Christmas party last year. I had such a great time.' Of course you did. I made sure the bar was fully stocked and I cooked for three days. I expect the same from people with far greater means. (Okay, I will accept the cliche of 'unmitigated gall' now.)

 

[Phil]

I've crashed a few parties around here. The alcohol isn't in short supply (let me remind you these are highschol kids) and neither are the parents, don't drink the alcohol though, usually just get some free food and leave. Anyways, come around my neighborhood, I'll point you in the direction of a party. Just wait till they're good and drunk, all the food and drink you could want.

 

[Lincsong]

I've crashed a few parties around here. The alcohol isn't in short supply (let me remind you these are highschol kids) and neither are the parents, don't drink the alcohol though, usually just get some free food and leave. Anyways, come around my neighborhood, I'll point you in the direction of a party. Just wait till they're good and drunk, all the food and drink you could want.

Sounds like my town. When my buddy turned 17 his mom and grandma bought beer and he put it in some old garbage can he said he cleaned. No way was I going to drink that beer. bahahahahahhahahalol

 

[Brian Sheridan]

Some rich are generous; some rich are stingy. Some give their money to charity because its a way not to pay taxes and to get recognition; some give it because they remembered they are lucky to have it give away.

I think Senator was at a party hosted by people who used their money to buy the status symbols associated with our new media-generated idea of wealth. All the glamour - none of the responsibility.

Someone who is truely rich makes sure, as someone once told me, "their ego is so large it embraces everyone." That means all who come in contact with them benefit from the meeting - be it some food or a huge medical center with their name on it.

BRS

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I don't think the "rich" are any cheaper than the non-rich.

And a lot of it depends on definitions anyway. Having a lot of stuff doesn't make you wealthy. You can have a $3 million house with a jumbo mortgage, with a $200,000 a year income that all goes to pay it off with assorted leased luxury cars, european vacations, HDTVs, etc, etc.

Or you can have a guy with a $150,000 house and old Detroit clunker with a $10 million stock portfolio.

From my experience the "cheapness" of the party relative to what the host can afford depends entirely on the person, not their wealth.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I don't think the "rich" are any cheaper than the non-rich.

You haven't been to Chile, then.

.

 

[jamespowers]

Whether they have little or a lot of money, I have found that people in the generation before mine, who were affected by the depression, have a different attitude about money.

They hang on it, sometimes for dear life. I have a friend whose parents had stashed away a considerable amount of money. They were both in ill health, in their mid-80's and, unable to spend it, although they had things they wanted to do, like go on cruises, take trips abroad, etc. They had trouble even hiring a housekeeper when they could no longer do the work.

When she asked them why didn't they spend some of the money they so scrupulously saved, her 86-year-old mother replied "We may need it when we're older."

My friend's mother died last June without doing any of the things she wanted to do. And her father is too sickly now to even leave the house. She gets to inherit it all, but says, sadly, they could have done so many things with the money.

My father, too, was incredibly cheap, so cheap he never gave himself the opportunity to get rich -- wouldn't invest, wanted to hang on to every dime.

You may have some rich folks out there who are still acting poor, or who were raised by people with a "depression mentality."

karol

I couldn't agree more. We cannot understand what people back in the Depression Era had to go through in retrospect. The fear of having nothing when you need it made them quite the savers. They have/had a phobia about being penniless---especially if they were once. The "never again" phrase applies to them for sure. Even when they have more than they could possibly spend---old habits die hard. [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[Brian Sheridan]

I don't think the "rich" are any cheaper than the non-rich.

And a lot of it depends on definitions anyway. Having a lot of stuff doesn't make you wealthy. You can have a $3 million house with a jumbo mortgage, with a $200,000 a year income that all goes to pay it off with assorted leased luxury cars, european vacations, HDTVs, etc, etc.

Or you can have a guy with a $150,000 house and old Detroit clunker with a $10 million stock portfolio.

From my experience the "cheapness" of the party relative to what the host can afford depends entirely on the person, not their wealth.

He's right about that - ever see Warren Buffett's house, clothing, car? Nothing that would indicate how stinkin' rich he is except for if you got a look at his bank statements.

 

[jamespowers]

He's right about that - ever see Warren Buffett's house, clothing, car? Nothing that would indicate how stinkin' rich he is except for if you got a look at his bank statements.

He would be classified as old money though. His father gave him about $500,000 to start investing in the 1950s if I remember correctly. Not likely his father was hurting either. [huh]

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In Chile, the rich hide their wealth from the eyes of those outside their class ... except for their maids and gardeners. Rich Chileans build very, very high walls in front of their homes, and it's not only to deter robbers.


A wealthy Chilean doesn't want you to see what he owns, so that you won't realize how much he has taken. For this reason, rich Chileans donate very little to philanthropies, museums, etc., let alone build them. One exception: they'll donate anonymously to the Catholic Church, since it helps to gain them admission to paradise ... or at least it protects them from hell.


You'll never, ever see a marble "wall of donors" with those donors' names at a Chilean museum or concert hall. Who wants 'the unwashed masses' to know that rich Chileans have money to give away? So they don't give it away. Through taxes, the middle class ends up paying for the maintenance of concert halls and museums that the upper class makes the most use of. (Rich Chileans pay relatively little in taxes, due to massive loopholes made for and by them.)


God bless the U.S.A. Seriously.

.