I had no idea that my friend is a multi millionaire!!

One could aruge farmers are rich, but their millions of pounds are in assets for their farms. They are certainly not rich. The same works for companies.
I think yabu on this occasion.

Net worth of a business is not the same as personal wealth, plus business value can go down as well as up. They run a successful business but would only realise potentially (no guarantee) £20m if they sold it. They may only pay themselves £60k a year they may take £500k a year from the company, you don’t know. Sometimes turnover is huge yet the company makes a loss, even businesses worth £20m could be loss making

My post was meant to be a reply to this.

I am just baffled as to why you think their financial situation has anything to do with you, to the point you took the time to look up the ins and outs of their business online.

It’s one thing to use Zoopla to see how much a house cost, but this is appalling. So invasive and weird.

Struggling to see how this is any of your business.

Why do you think it is?

You don’t even know that he has any money!!!!!

Thats insane to me.
I can't understand the reasoning.
Is it because they want their friend to give them money? Or treat them to stuff? Take them on holiday? (Rhetorical questions)

I can't understand feeling entitled to a breakdown of a friend's assets unless there is an expectation of being given stuff.

Unless the friend was claiming poverty and asking for handouts then it turned out they were sitting on millions of course. But apart from that? It's nuts.

And yet people earlier in this thread are literally saying they are really, really annoyed with their friends for NOT telling them exactly how rich they are!

People have said they are annoyed their friends havent told them how much money they have in reality.

People have said they are annoyed their friends havent explained how they made their money and havent suggested their poor friends make money in the exact same way (yes because suggesting someone buys 6 houses as an investment always goes down well when someone is struggling to pay their rent doesnt it?!)

People have said they feel betrayed that their friends are rich because they havent shown off their wealth or been extravagant in their spending because then they see it as some kind of huge shock/betrayal/secret that theyve deliberately hidden from them.

Yet if they had done all of the above, they'd get your classic response of "humble brag"!

These people cant win can they. They seem to attract fury no matter what they do.

I would say my attitude is the least bad thing about this ridiculous thread tbh!

What are you basing your valuation of £20m net worth on?

What is cash vs debtor position?
How many shareholders are there?
What liabilities do they owe?
How liquid are the companies assets?
What are the reserves like?

The number of companies with massive turnovers barely making losses a hair’s breadth from failure would surprise you.

I agree.

And in fact, most people I know of who wear the loud designer labels (I'm not talking quiet luxury, but the very obvious stylings), have strings of designer handbags, flashy cars are people I don't actually consider all that wealthy from what I know of their total wealth (they tend to talk).

The really loaded ones (or at least those who have learned to manage and live with money) wear cashmere with moth-holes and ideally grow their own veg (not without a sprinkling of pride and affectation!) They do often tend to have land, and look to re-wild a few acres, and slightly weather-beaten homes (both of which have proper re-sale value). But expenditure and wealth are not the same thing.

Exactly. And in addition there has already been a comment on the thread about how someone would be pissed off if their friend with money didn't invest in their business to help them out.

That's exactly how some people react. My own uncle who lives a long-haul flight away came to stay with us while travelling. Within 24 hours he had made a comment about the likely value of our house based on the local real estate windows and within a few hours after that he'd asked us to invest in his failing business. Our polite declining to do so (it was a vanity project and he drank away any tiny profits he made) then triggered a rant about how I need to remember where I came from and lots of comments to extended family back home that I am a stuck up posh bitch.

We never reveal financial details to anyone. Why would we? We like the people we like because we like them.

Turnover isn't income. DS turned over £125k the first year in his first business 15 years ago. His profit was actually £7k. He has moved on since then thank goodness.

Why is it humble bragging? This is exactly the kind of response that makes people want to keep quiet.

It's easier to "other" people with money. Talk sh1t about them buying silk Dior kids' pjs and shopping in Harrods food hall.

I'm in a similar position to the pp s
Who talked about Lidl, Asda and older iPhones. Im the same. Dye my own greys/love a matalan splurge/drive a 2nd hand fiesta. Not all of us with money are vapid, shallow spenders who live in an alternate universe. I grew up in a 3 bed semi with parents both working 2 jobs. I know how fortunate we are.

Could do without attitudes like yours, though.

Top quality humble brag post.

OP - you literally have no idea about this person's finances. As others have said, turnover is not profit. And in the case of a £20m profit - this would go to all shareholders. Even if you mean £20m for this friend specifically, it's probably ploughed back into the company if it's a family business. Much will likely be in the form if shares. What do you think happened here - £20m cash just appeared in their current account? You must realise half of that would have instantly disappeared in tax if they tried to take the money as profit into their personal accounts. So there would have been no incentive to take it out the company. If not reinvested in the company, they will have invested it elsewhere (maybe overseas) and will have an asset manager and an investment portfolio. But it will be tied up somewhere - not just sat in a current account for people like you to gossip about.

We have a significant amount of money.

I’m not getting into figures but we could buy our children 5 bedroom detached houses outright in our area tomorrow if we wanted (they’re 4 and 11) but their immediate housing needs are being met at present.

My daughter needed new pyjamas at the weekend - I went to Asda. We drive perfectly fine cars, we holiday in nice places. Do we go out all 5*? No. My friend does my hair in her kitchen. I like M&S but only for certain things, I’m more likely to be found in Lidl. My son got his first phone for his transfer test results - refurbished iPhone 14 from Amazon.

Lifestyle is not always indicative of the entire picture.

God just carry on as normal......they obviously like you and your family for who you are and that cannot be bought.

They sound great, level headed and sensible with their priorities in the right place.......the sort of people anyone would want as friends.

I wouldn't be so quick to get those rounds in in future though 😌

Compare yourself with someone homeless on the streets of your local town instead. It might make you feel grateful for the life you have.

Dividends are not earnings, they are available profits after tax. If you have product/stock that is seasonal, and or salaried staff, you need more working capital than a lot of companies and it’s normal. Retail based businesses often have tighter margins. If it’s just lumpy trade, again quite normal and profit distribution should not be seen as monthly income.

The number of people who know multi millionaires on this thread! 🤯

But the bit you’re not understanding is that you have no idea what there personal financial position from the company financials.

they could be in a lot of debt from setting up the business for all you know

What? I don’t know the company. How on earth can I explain their finances to you.

It really does bring out the worst in people. Combine that with someone trying to create a narrative that you've "changed" and you can see why it causes rifts.