To think that lots of people fawn over people with money?

[Hikea]

I have always found this to be the case, but in the last few years a woman who is a FB friend of mine got together with a bloke who is well off and who has a lovely house, huge top of the range 4 by 4, goes on exotic holidays etc. They have had a child together recently too.

Since she has been living her new 'wealthy lifestyle' she has become much more popular than she was before, to the point where she is getting hundreds of FB comments about how fabulous she is and hundreds of likes on each photo she puts on. It was her child's birthday the other day and people kept doing statuses about her child, wishing her a happy birthday. Local friends literally treat her like a celebrity, like they are waiting on tenterhooks for the next installment of her glamorous life.

Likewise there is a mum at my DCs school who appears wealthy, and isn't really a very nice person, yet is probably the most popular parent at the school, and is fawned over and treated like royalty (not by me!)

Why do people with lots of money get put on a pedestal like this? I can never understand it! I like a person because I like the person, not because of how much money they have or have not got!

[Katenka]

It's weird because the people I know with money, you wouldn't spot a mile off.

My brothers best friend had his own building firm and is a multi millionaire. He would agree with you.

He has a stunning house on a very exclusive road, but you never here him say where it is. He is very private.

He loves nice cars but always goes and looks at them in his work gear. Because people leave him alone until he approaches someone and says he wants to buy it. Even then, they don't seem interested. Until he mentions it will be paid direct from the bank.

He acts the opposite of someone with money and is generally left alone.

So on the whole, although there are execrations, I would say Yanbu

[ppeatfruit]

Some people are just fake or jealous. I agree with you about liking people for what they are.

I always stay well away from very popular people, because of what you say which I suppose is just as bad as 'fawning' over them. If they're nice people they'll get to know you and like you for what you are too.

[Hikea]

The woman on my Facebook friends does put a lot of photos on there of things she has bought and things she and her husband are doing, so their wealth is effectively forced in peoples' faces. However I don't understand why some people are so impressed by it all.

At Christmas time her husband bought her a designer bag, designer shoes, and tickets to Paris. She put a photo online about it and comments were things like "Wow, no one deserves these as much as you". She even gets people telling her she is an inspiration as a mother when she puts a photo on of her child at soft play or feeding the ducks. I don't think they would be saying these things if she and her daughter weren't in designer clothes, and her daughter wasn't in an expensive buggy.

[Katenka]

Putting stuff on FB doesn't bother tbh.

People always put their highlights on there.

The responses, do sound like fawning though

[Funinthesun15]

It's weird because the people I know with money, you wouldn't spot a mile off.

About to say the same thing.

My DH works with people who are multi, multi millionaires. Some of which drive around in old banger cars and trousers with holes in

[CottonFrock]

This sounds like very new, shouted-about money, though. Some of the wealthiest people I know look like bag ladies with titles and chocolate labs. An internationally-famous actor lives not far from where I grew up, and he looks as if he was dug up out of a slurry pit a lot of the time, rides around on a muddy, battered motorbike, and his idea of a good time is playing the fiddle, rather badly, in local pubs. I can't imagine he is short of money, and that he's doing anything other than living exactly as he wants, but it's a bit more interesting than 'house, car, exotic holidays', isn't it?

I think it may also be generational, as well as temperamental. The titled bag ladies around here are older, though I can't imagine they would FB their tiaras etc even if they were twenty again. They would think that shrieking about your 4x4 was terribly vulgar.

[Hikea]

Yes I think it does tend to be those with new money that are more showy off about it, and have the followers and fans.

[cocochanel21]

I think it has a lot to do with what kind of person you are. Showy off people will always like to brag about what they have and how much money they have.

I'm very lucky to now be financially secure but that wasn't always the case. I would never put anything on FB or talk about what I have. The type of people who do I've found to not really be very happy or secure about themselves.

[KERALA1]

Cringe. Don't know anyone like this all sounds very footballers wives.

[ilovesooty]

Do you actually like her?

[ABetaDad1]

Not everyone puts wealthy people on pedestals, however, some people tend to try and court wealthy people because they hope to get business deals or favours from them.

Unfortunately it happens a bit at DSs school. There is a certain crowd. The rest of us just get in life. You don't have to look at their Facebook page or even talk to them but not everyone who is wealthy is horrid or parades their wealth.

Most people figure out roughly how much people earn from their job, car, the house they live in - even if they live like hermits and never socialise or post on Facebook.

[Lilifer]

This sounds like very new, shouted-about money, though. Some of the wealthiest people I know look like bag ladies with titles and chocolate labs. An internationally-famous actor lives not far from where I grew up, and he looks as if he was dug up out of a slurry pit a lot of the time, rides around on a muddy, battered motorbike, and his idea of a good time is playing the fiddle, rather badly, in local pubs. I can't imagine he is short of money, and that he's doing anything other than living exactly as he wants, but it's a bit more interesting than 'house, car, exotic holidays', isn't it?

cotton If this is the same guy Im thinking of does he own a pink castle in west cork?

[rosewithoutthorns]

Mega wealthy = doesn't even have to worry about anything else than security
Wealthy = want to be mega wealthy
Rich = want to be wealthy
Middle class = wants to be rich
Working class = wants to be middle class
Under class = wanting to be working class

Its a natural teir system

[Borninthe60s]

The millionaires I know are all extremely frugal (that's where I'm going wrong) and if you met them in a room full of people you'd struggle to pick them out.

Put it this way they will not spend 5p on a carrier bag!!

[rosewithoutthorns]

Not sure they'd have a cockney accent though Born

[LimitedSedition]

I used to work with someone who was married to a low level footballer and the sheer number of people who would basically kiss her arse was astounding.

[rosewithoutthorns]

Its aspirations I suppose to want better (what ever that may) and the money that come with it.

[FirstWeTakeManhattan]

I've been chatting with a guy every week, takes his lunch to a sunny spot where I sit while DC are doing gym class. Really nice guy, very interested, good at asking normal but thoughtful questions. Turns out he's a multi millionaire who owns everything nearby. Not sure why, but I'd really prefer not to have been told that.

I'm not on Fb. Generally speaking, I honestly don't give a single shit who owns what or how much they paid for it.

[rosewithoutthorns]

Buying your way into aristocracy (old money) is very rare.

I live in a very affluent area, been here for years when everyone down the street were working class. Now, you must be joking if you think they want to fraternise with me and vice versa, we live in different worlds.

[RumBabaPudding]

Yes, and FB encourages this.

Years ago I had a 3 way friendship, and 'friend B' always found 'friend A with wealthy parents' far more interesting, even though we were both middle class, SAHM mums with similar interests and lifestyle.

She would always ask her loads of questions, always agree with her, remember more about her, copy her even. I still makes me laugh as Friend B is an intelligent, well informed, educated professional, but obviously gullible, rude and shallow.

[ppeatfruit]

dh has a good friend who is a billionaire and getting on a bit, you'd never realise if you saw him. He's lovely and we chat on the phone quite a bit. I DO admit to having fantasies that he leaves us one of his houses which is in the best part of London.

[LovelyBath]

I don't recognise this myself from the parents at school who are very wealthy. For example I know a family who have family money and own part of a Georgian Crescent, probably worth about 1.5 million, who have children at our state primary. They are quite hippy / creative looking, ride around on a bike with the kids on the back. You would never know, apart from they do quite creative businesses, I think one is a furniture maker the other a crafty type person which you would probably need to have money behind you to do.

Another family also live in a huge old house of roughly the same value. They do occasionally go on random holidays to quite exotic places but never would 'mention' it. They also go youth hostelling in Wales, as they found one which is vegan friendly. They don't seem to have any idea about showy stuff in fact she had a broken down brolly at one stage and they are the most lovely, kind and sweet people.

I can't imagine either of them on FB to be honest.

[ppeatfruit]

Lovely part of a crescent Worth MUCH more than that surely? . They're just people though like all of us and I know our friend HATES being known as a rich person.

[LovelyBath]

Possibly is, although is one of the more out of the way crescents.

[CottonFrock]

Lilifer .

Then maybe FB is the issue here, not the actual wealth of individuals? I've never used it, but from everything I see on here, FB involves a culture of somewhat juvenile showing off, from piles of Christmas presents to new cars to holidays, rather than other forms of putting yourself out there on the internet like, say, blogging...?