to wonder why we worship rich people?

[kindlypudding]

Or to put it in context, why are there so many posts over the years that presume rich people (including the the established upper class) have better ideas about how to dress, spend money, behave and go about the world?

I am 50 and recall being a very young teen in the early 90's.
I was bog standard middle class, and had a good amount of privilege, compared to todays' world. Yet my friends and I would have preferred the ground to swallow us up than to emulate the wealthy. We sure as heck didn't presume they were the arbiters of taste, in fact, if anything, we considered it all a bit fusty, behind the times, etc.

I noticed a shift towards emulating wealth again around 2012, where everyday teens were suddenly starting up blogs to show off their Chanel handbags. And then Mumsnet, post after post asking how the upper class lived and how it could be copied. A presumption, I presume, that considered wealth and high status to be the pinnacle of good taste.

Perhaps it is my own background that puts me in an odd space with this. Maybe our particular entourage were subversive, alternative? But it never struck me back then, both amongst my middle class and working class peers, that anyone wanted to worship the upper echelons.

I know that there might have been many people who chased the money, where property and investment were paramount, but it didn't feel quite as consuming as it does today.
What do you think altered that? Did the internet have some effect, or perhaps was it the growing divide of wealth that brought it home to people?

‘Everyone’ is a big word.

I think when the OP said worship, it is more pay undue attention to their views beyond their expertise.

Trump is the archetypal example. He got on to The Apprentice purely because of money, he wasn’t even successful in business. He then leveraged this up into the presidency. He isn’t very clever and his areas of expertise are limited.

And then we have Musk. The UK government responds to every tweet on areas as diverse as child abuse and industrial policy, none of which he has any expertise on.

It is worst in the U.S but money is just money. I would far rather read the views of a brilliant scientist or economist. But most wouldn’t, which explains what the OP meant I think.

When I was a teen, during the 70s, 'everyone' tried to be as working class as possible, or to emulate them. People were ridiculous and wearyingly pretentious about it. Then, in the 80s, yuppies, Sloane Rangers, Thatcherism came in. I think that when there's a lot of money around, when the economy is good, people have the luxury of dismissing money. When there is less, people want it more.

Why would inheriting a lot of wealth be any better?

Any better than what?

Than making your own

I didn't say that inherited wealth was better than making your own money.

Odd post, I think. People have always (presumably throughout human existence) envied and tried to emulate those who have more, whether that's more wealth or more status. The fact that there have been phases when ostensible wealth has been less fashionable than street-chic doesn't change that, and it usually doesn't last long before wealthy chic is back in. That's just how fashion works. And how human (and animal) nature works. Resources/status = better chance of survival, finding a mate and success in passing on your genes. We may like to think we've evolved beyond that, but evidence points to the contrary!

Is this a joke reply? They are better than no one and they don't have nicer lives than anyone except people in poverty. If you can afford the cost of living with a bit of disposable income left over giving you freedom of choice, then you are likely to be as happy as anyone richer than you.

You talked about people drawing attention to money, but only referenced 'new money'.

If it's about drawing attention to money, why reference new/old at all?

I was referencing crass displays of wealth which tends to be associated with new money. There is nothing whatsoever wrong with working for a living.

That's nonsense though. Old money have plenty of ways of being ostentatious about their wealth in their owm way.

I think there's a default 'animal' instinct to align yourself with the most powerful individuals in your group or society.
Many people will follow this impulse without necessarily realizing what they are doing, particularly if they have not benefited from the kind of education that promoted critical thinking.

It's nonsense in your opinion. I have noticed that people who haven't been brought up with money and aren't used to wealth, have a tendency to display it.

You just may have experience of or understand slightly different ways of signalling/displaying one's status and money.

Yes, I probably do. Enjoy your day.

I think it's because humans want a comfortable life and to enjoy stuff.

If you are friends with a wealthy person, there is an idea (true mostly) that it will give you access to enjoyable fun stuff that you wouldn't get otherwise. They own a villa in Tuscany that they will invite you to stay in. They will hold massive extravagant birthday parties in their country house. They will buy you a bottle of the most expensive wine as a birthday present because the cost is nothing to them.

People aspire to be 'in' with a wealthy person and try to move into those circles by pretending to be wealthy with a designer bag they can't afford.

Obviously.