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Born Rich Documentary


Guest hellsten

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Guest deepValue

I haven't watched the documentary so I don't know what its message is, but life for most kids of the 'super rich' isn't all that different from an upper-middle class life. There are celebrity heirs like Paris Hilton and brats like 'the rich kids of instagram,' but they're not representative of most old money offspring. The typical rich kid grows up with a nice home, a couple of vacation houses (usually not nearly as nice as the primary residence), and takes more expensive vacations than the average American. You can toss in things like country club memberships and expensive hobbies, but there isn't much else that separates the rich from upper-middle class citizens.

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Guest deepValue

I want to add that it also depends on how many generations ago the wealth was created. I know a kid whose dad was an entrepreneur and sold his company for ~$1 bn; their house, cars, parties, etc are all way over-the-top even for the richest neighborhood in the city. It tends to be these newly-rich types that give the super rich a bad name.

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There are as many examples of rich ‘kids’ doing well as there are of them doing badly. As with most things, the ‘flame-outs’ get the press.

 

For many rich, the fear is the possibility of ever becoming poor again. There is a lot to lose, & kids typically circulate within their own set to minimize the risk & preserve the wealth. Left unchecked, the resultant inbreeding tends to go to seed.

 

Life & maturity broaden experience, & dilute ‘claustrophobia’. Trophy wives have made their fortune & moved onto the 2nd husband. Husbands have established their positions & had one/two affairs. Outside friends, &/or acquaintances have injected a different thinking. The 60yr old is not the 40yr old they once were - or the 20yr old ‘a*** h***’ they were many years ago.

 

The magic kingdom has always been accessible. Fashion model to mistress to wife; flattery to scandal to husband, title for wealth. Drugs & paparazzi just make the process quicker, & more reliable. Offsetting which; the targets have hardened, & gotten smarter. Why buy if you can lease?  Why not spin scandal as an asset versus liability? 

 

As the expression goes: The scum will always float to the top!

 

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I haven't watched the documentary so I don't know what its message is, but life for most kids of the 'super rich' isn't all that different from an upper-middle class life. There are celebrity heirs like Paris Hilton and brats like 'the rich kids of instagram,' but they're not representative of most old money offspring. The typical rich kid grows up with a nice home, a couple of vacation houses (usually not nearly as nice as the primary residence), and takes more expensive vacations than the average American. You can toss in things like country club memberships and expensive hobbies, but there isn't much else that separates the rich from upper-middle class citizens.

 

You sound a bit defensive here, especially not having seen the film. Out of curiosity, are you a "kid of the super rich"?

 

I'd be curious to see what you think after seeing the documentary.

 

I agree that there's no one-size-fits all and we should be careful about judging individuals based on stereotypes, but at the same time, as a group on average, if your family is worth hundreds of millions of inherited wealth, you probably live in a bubble of exclusive privates schools, exclusive stores and clubs and exclusive resorts for the wealthy, always hanging around with other super-wealthy people.. This isn't like the kid of a doctor or lawyer (upper middle class), this is more likely a completely different world, as the film shows. Not for 100% of them, of course, but nothing is true for 100% of any socio-economic class.

 

The most telling part of the film is where they show how they all know each other and most haven't even considered dating outside of that pool of people, and how most haven't even realized that it's not normal to have servants and many houses and horse carriages and to fly fish with an helicopter in the mountains of Chile and such until they are pretty old.. This isn't upper-middle-class at all, unless you define it in a different way than most people.

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I thought it was very well done.  It showed the things these kids have to deal with to avoid going crazy.  They have their problems, I have mine.  Of course, the poor have more serious problems and less means to deal with them, than me, or the kids in the film.

 

Everyone with any intelligence asks the questions that the film maker focused on.  I dont have to work for a living, now what?  Its not an easy question to answer.  Who am I? 

 

Maslows hierarchy of needs puts self actualization at the top - It can also be the hardest, most painful, and least obvious need to get a handle on.

 

William Shatner was interviewed recently and asked why he still works so much?  He replied "i have to do something, and its still alot of fun". 

 

 

 

 

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http://www.nytimes.com/2003/10/12/style/biting-the-silver-spoon-that-feeds-him-on-film.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm

 

Mr. Johnson was then asked how much money he had inherited on his 21st birthday, the event that was the cornerstone of his film. He paused for a second to think. ''That's not really the point of the movie,'' he said. ''I don't think I want to say.''

 

;D

 

 

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