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.

Smsllbone and what???

Nope, I just think oh lord wouldn't like your credit card bills

Wow that's nice.

twas ever thus. 19th century novels are full of this. people who think these sycophants love them for themselves should be made to read vanity fair and wise up PDQ.

Same here in South Wales. People whom have alot of disposable income, expensive card and holidays = wonderful, fascination royalty. Poor people who scrape by and don't have disposable income tend to be ignored or spoken badly of. As many posters have already said it's very old behaviour.

This is a very particularly British thing - it's built into the culture. What's the royal family only a bunch of very rich people, yet everyone's expected to bow and scrape and treat them like they're better than everyone else. It's not surprising that people associate wealth with respect.

I like in a pretty affluent area and have seen similar. I like to think I take people as they come.

It appears to me that one of the main reasons people pay for private education is so that they can ensure their children mix with the 'right' sort, ie, the sort that are wealthy enough.

I think people must think if they make friends with people with money they are "moving in the right circles" and seen as more classy and wealthy by association. Maybe it's the same as the notion of "marrying well", "friending well"??

Oh gosh. I have a friend who bought a holiday home somewhere European... I don't want to say exactly where as the details may out me, and her husband's business has recently done well, so she bought herself a new Mercedes through the business. She's been a bit of a show off about it all (good on her, they've worked hard for it) but I have realised that all of a sudden, everyone acts like her best friend, and oohs and ahhhs about everything, and acts like they are her best friend.

I'm saddened that she plays up to it though...which is quite obvious to those of us who REALLY know her.

I see this all the time where I live. 'Tis basic social climbing.

It's either money, or a glamorous job that leads to the gushing social media comments.

There is also a tendency to drop your friends as soon as your DC moves to one of the local private schools, as you can the associate with the richer and more glamorous parents at the school (which in turn, leads to very a interesting demographic of parents at several of the local private schools ).

The attitude I grew up with in Ireland is very much the opposite to the one in the UK - people who did well were closely monitored for signs that they were 'getting above themselves' and people were always quick to point out that they were no better than anyone else. It can be just as pernicious when it goes in that direction - people have to play down their achievements all the time.

My son's best friends mum loves to brag about how wealthy her and her husband are, how much their house is worth and how successful they both are 😥 made the mistake of inviting them for lunch 😉don't think she'll be back in a hurry x

It's totally a going, where my children go to school it's a very affluent area (we live further away) and there are some very wealthy mums and they defo get fawned over, as if some of it will rub off! Think huge house, pool, top of the range porches etc and they mum always has an avid following (although she is a nice person too!)

It's totally a thing a meant!

Pall why is that?

I find this to be the case in the small town where I live. But it depends on the social skills of the person with money. Often people with money will entertain more, go out more and do more social activities, so they end up making more friends. It might not be that those people going along to the events are pawing over them because they are rich. I know a couple of rich people who have very few friends and very rarely get likes of facebook because they keep themselves to themselves and certainly don't hold lavish parties and social events.
That said, I have noticed that some people do gravitate towards the rich people and will almost kiss the ground they walk on. It's a bit disturbing.

This is a very particularly British thing

Nope, I don't live in the UK. It happens everywhere.

Our children are at private school for the small class sizes and the work ethic. The assumption that everyone at private schools is influential and very wealthy is not always the case. There are a lot of children at my DC's school who are there because they are only children. If they had siblings they would need to go to state school. That doesn't change the parents income levels and social class.

Not everywhere Caiprira - it's not something I came across in Ireland, but I'm sure it does happen in other countries too.

I must live in a bohemian bubble - here the aspiration is to be a completely penniless artist / photographer / writer.
I'm "ok" as my job is quite creative (although I'm no artist) but Dh is dismissed as a "suit"

I would think that the people fawning over her still believe that having money brings you happiness. And therefore I would feel sorry for them. All money gives you is better choices, surely?

Better choices, better security and more luxuries

A lot of stealth boasting on this thread

I live in a well to do area mainly so that my kids could got to the local schools. Sometimes I think I haven't really done them any favours as they compare our lifestyle to their peers and we cannot compete with swimming pools, range rovers and 4-5 trips a year.

I probably go the other way and would not actively seek out people richer than me I don't want to feel inferior or dissatisfied with my life and have, in fact, come off FB for that very reason

My neighbour is a millionaire but a bit of a hard man, Ill gotten gains etc. I wouldn't be fawning over him far from it!

The attitude I grew up with in Ireland is very much the opposite to the one in the UK - people who did well were closely monitored for signs that they were 'getting above themselves' and people were always quick to point out that they were no better than anyone else. It can be just as pernicious when it goes in that direction - people have to play down their achievements all the time. Same in Scotland where I live (not Edinburgh) There is a saying 'Ah kent yer faither' meaning you're no better than me.