To wonder why some people are so in awe of people that have money?

[LucyTory]

I've seen it happen quite a lot in the town in which I live. It's quite a small town and everybody seems to know everybody else, and it always seems as though people that have money get put on a pedestal by many and treated as local heroes.

Most recently, an aquaintance's financial situation has changed a lot in the past couple of years. Her DH started a business and it's gone really well, and they've gone from living in a 2 bedroom semi to a 5 bedroom detached house, upgraded their car, have nice holidays, buy nice things etc. Since this has happened she seems to have acquired hundreds of fans on Facebook, that ooh and aah at everything she is wearing in photos and gush about how nice her house is, and how lovely her kids are. This didn't really happen before she appeared to have money.

On Saturday it was the birthday party of one of her DCs. It was in a soft play place locally where loads of people have their DCs parties. During the course of Saturday I must have seen 6 or 7 Facebook statuses each tagging her and saying they'd had a great time at "The Party of the Year". It's so weird! It was just kids playing in the soft play followed by kids eating fishfingers and chips!

Basically it seems that since this woman has been better off financially she gets treated like a queen!

Does anyone else notice this kind of thing regarding people who have a bit of money? As I said, I have seen it happen quite a bit locally.

Maybe she's actually a really nice person and has great style. . .maybe it really was the party of the year. . . maybe people just like to celebrate other people's success. . .maybe you sound a bit jealous tbh.

I've experienced this too. 3 years as a student then landed myself a very well paid job compared to my peers, in a largely secret environment (as in, no-one can envisage what it is like unless they have been somewhere similar). Suddenly I'm a "professional". Both my partner and I own 15 year old BMWs with private number plates, but people seem to think we are rich all of a sudden?!?!? Now I'm getting invited to cocktail parties and more middle class events such as going to the opera, going to the races etc. Everything has changed within 3 months. All very odd. I'm still the same person, it is bothering me a bit actually....

there is a difference between being interested or even fascinated by how the other half live, to obsequious fawning over them and thinking they are better though.

I can understand to an extent a kind of Hello magazine fascination with the extremely wealthy (in the sense that we might all wonder what exactly we would do with our lives if money was no object at all), but what I'm talking about is more people being bizarrely attuned to the cars and kitchens and holidays of neighbours they perceive to be slightly better off than they are, rather than fascinated by someone's private Learjet and polo ponies!

Because some people are idiots who are dazzled by wealth. 'Twas ever thus.

We have acquaintances locally who engage in this sort of thing. DH owns a business and does well from it. He's the least show-offy person on earth but at one of the DC's friends birthday parties recently a Mum I know went all giggly and fawn-y over DH when she realised he owned the business and had recently flown back from the UAE on business. She's never given me time of day before but after seeing my new car as we left shouted "oh it must be lovely to have married someone successful". Cheeky twat, and the worst part is that I paid for the bloody car myself.

DH's University and school friends are very much like this. They compete over everything. I think it's odd; they were all privately educated so come from money, but are so focussed upon it that it makes them awful to be around.

I can understand aspiring to be wealthy - most would agree that having a bit more money makes life a bit easier. I do not understand gushing about a bloody soft play party, they are a selfless loss of free time to make your kid happy.

When I was growing up my family's business did quite well and some were very intrigued. I later bumped into an old neighbour who told me that we had won the lottery with a confirmed amount - the street must have been intrigued enough for the rumour mill to start.

I wonder if people following someone wealthy/seemingly wealthy on facebook is the 21st century version of the self-help book?

They follow, watch and mimic what others do in the hope it works for them.

Its fascinating to watch it from the outside.

Yopu've heard of guilt by association? this is its evil, social climbing twin.

Some people are shallow.
My cousin is lovely but a little bit shy and doesn't have a lot to say. I have always got on with her but my sisters have always made fun of her calling her dull and boring and avoided visiting her. They took the piss out of her wedding calling everything naff and tacky.
That was until her and her DH's business took off big time and they now have several houses, cars and shitloads of money.
Now she is not dull at all, and they are all over her.

Makes me want to puke.

People are aspirational...if you are friends with a successful, wealthy person you must be too kind of thing.

I have never understood it...I have worked in some loaded industries and know some very wealthy people. Money is just money.

This has got me thinking. It happens where I'm from too. The wealthier people are definitely better received than poorer, ordinary folk, and people almost treat them like mini celebrities. I actually don't know why! Maybe it's just a status thing?

This has happened for millenia... look how in awe the average peasant was of the lord of the manor, forelock tugging bowing and scraping and all that. It's only been in this century that that hasn't been the norm!

there was an audible gasp and the comment "oh, I didn't realise that he was at that kind of level" cue, she has been very friendly since then
Really??

And I love that this is one of those threads where everyone agrees that all the people round them do it, while they watch in mild amusement

Actually I have genuinely never experienced this. Round here flaunting wealth would be seen as cringey, I felt guilty somehow when we transformed our house from dingey to fab and found myself emphasising all that had gone wrong with the project etc.

You're looking especially beautiful today kerala :)

A friend of mine isn't especially rich, but she has a very 'cool' job which puts her in the limelight a bit.

The comments on FB are hilarious and cringeyworthy in equal measure. Someone actually commented on a random photo of her kids at soft play saying 'I LOVE your life!'

OH GOD! I see the 'I love your life!' comments loads.

Stealth I'm not sure many posters are saying that all the people around them do it, but I think most people are acquainted with at least a few impressionable types who indiscriminately flock around wealthy / powerful / famous / glamorous / whatever people.

And I love that this is one of those threads where everyone agrees that all the people round them do it, while they watch in mild amusement

I'm cross about it on the rare occasions I think about it. Or I feel like a bit of an idiot for genuinely not realising why virtual strangers seemed to be angling for an invitation to come into our house when we'd just moved here, and were obviously looking around when they did, or found excuses to go to the upstairs loo. I thought it was my London stand-offishness not getting village friendliness, and only figured out a year later that the notorious local gossip was trying to 'place' us according to some arcane algorithm of car+kitchen+?= something or other.

(In fact, I discovered later on, when I saw the same two women do the same thing to someone else, that these two would call by together on purpose, one would excuse herself and go to the loo, and then after a minute the other would jump up and claim she needed to go desperately, and would just nip up to the upstairs bathroom/ensuite/whatever gave her a better chance to snoop! )

Actually I have genuinely never experienced this. Round here flaunting wealth would be seen as cringey,

I don't think it's so much 'flaunting wealth', here it's more some kind of set in stone expectation that if you do job X which we figure must pay Y, then why on earth don't you have the blowdries/cars/Smallbone and Devises kitchen/Maldives holidays we think are compulsory with that income?

Which we don;t actually have, anyway.

Handmaid I have a friend who is an actress. She's fairly newly out of drama school and not especially successful yet, but she is strikingly attractive and I think a lot of people think she might be the next Angelina Jolie some day, and do the OTT cosying up on Facebook. It's so transparent and cringey!

Around here (West London) I think cultural capital tends to attract the sycophants, which is fair enough I guess.

Smsllbone and what???
We need a new kitchen* but I bet they don't sell that up here!

• pictures will appear in either hello or ok! Keep an eye out

what I'm talking about is more people being bizarrely attuned to the cars and kitchens and holidays of neighbours they perceive to be slightly better off than they are, rather than fascinated by someone's private Learjet and polo ponies!

agree - but then I couldnt care less about new kicthens its just not my thing, nor cars.