Rich People Have Their Own Quirks

Strangely enough, but as it turns out, I’m a part of a certain group of people who occupy 0.2 (maybe even 0.1, not sure) percent of people living on Planet Earth. This statement was invented, or rather proclaimed, by my accountant-lawyer, who has  been  annually managing my taxes in America for the past seventeen years. Americans always tend to say: “Surely, there are only two things — taxes and death.” It is impossible to “escape” from these two aspects, yet it is not always clear for a Russian person how one can’t avoid taxes. It is a fact though — you can’t.

Somehow, my husband and I ended up in that 0.2 percent of people in the world, who have been earning amounts with 6 zeros for almost 20 years. It’s not a secret. This is official information. Now, I’m not showing off, I’m not boasting, I’m just talking about the life of a person who accidentally fell into these 0.2 percent of humans on the planet. In this regard, a variety of things happened in our life. Luxurious and very luxurious, expensive and very expensive. Airplanes, helicopters, yachts and other attributes. However, paraphernalia is  just  paraphernalia which is meant to be an inanimate object. Compelling, sophisticated,  and unique attributes of opulence should merely be the guides of a rich individual to another world. A world inaccessible to a poor person. This   is why poor people dislike rich people.

Indeed, by the will of fate, we turned out to be the individuals who were given that money to experience all of its delights. Moreover, the most fascinating thing is that this money was given in order to observe rich people in their natural habitat. It is interesting to exist in this small circle. It seems both entertaining and instructive.

I understand that in the course of this text, some of my contemplating might sound like an excuse for many. Many might also start to dislike me after this. It doesn’t bother me though. I certainly don’t feel guilty. Especially because I inherited all this, and then my husband earned this

money too. Many might ask, what’s my merit, since he earned all this? Many people might even say, I was just lucky — I got married very successfully. This might also annoy someone, but even here I do not feel guilty. If you go into details and discard the incomprehensible phrase about “wife — neck, man — head”, providing the rear is exactly why my husband has four children, who speak three languages and study the fourth, execute excellent athletic results, and are dignified young citizens of the world. Without me, whatever one might claim, my husband would not be able to build this family. Without me, he would be a wonderful person and an athlete. If you dig deeper, then I know and I feel that if it was not for me, this motherfucker would not have achieved anything. And although we are both crazy motherfuckers, absolutely crazy, I am still very aware of who I am, where I am and why. Because where I am now is ONLY MY MERIT AND NO ONE ELSE’S. Nobody made life decisions for me. Moreover, most of the decisions I made in my life were contrary to many given advice and edification.

By the way, have you noticed that the poor often dislike the rich, feeling a lot of contempt towards them? Why? Do you think they are just envious??? Maybe. Yet, as another nasty saying goes, “it’s better to be rich and healthy than to be poor and sick.” Poor people don’t enjoy this saying, and it’s understandable. Therefore, individuals with a

low-income come up with their own excuses like the phrase, “the rich have their own quirks.” And yet again, here is an explanation of why rich people have “quirks”. Quirks, from poor people’s point of view, are the norm for the rich society. For example, Angelina Jolie and her daughter Shiloh organized an asylum for hippos in Africa. Sounds like a quirk, doesn’t it? Maybe. But if we take into account the initial data of Shiloh and Angelina herself, then such “quirks” for them are a natural call of the heart. It’s just that if you grew up in Beverly Hills, traveled only via private jet, and always had access to the most beautiful things in the world, then you’d feel the need to explore something else besides the luxurious lifestyle. That said, according to the same Maslow pyramid, such people NEVER have to worry about how to feed their families, find

a decent place to sleep, or dress in comfortable warm clothes. And you can’t not love them just because of that. They are not guilty of anything.  I decided to write about wealth for various reasons. At least because I experienced it myself, and I want to defend rich people. I had a chance  to communicate closely with many of them. There are even several myths, which I would like to dispel.

Not all rich people are self-absorbed morons. There are many humble wealthy individuals.

Rich people do not do charity work because they feel guilty for being rich.

Rich doesn’t mean smart. Indeed, oddly enough, some were just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.

The rich are not the ones who steal, kill, and cheat. These people are called criminals. Do not forget that there is a thing such as “old money”. It is difficult to reconcile with this idea, but there are heirs — the richest people on Earth, who have not worked even for a day. Of course, it is difficult for them to be loved by those who work tirelessly every single day.

Rich people are spenders. They spend crazy amounts of money on boats, villas, and so on…

Almost every wealthy person (I’m now talking about that 0.1 percent in the world) sets the goal of increasing their capital. And this is not because they are greedy, rather because they are intelligent.

Wealth is perceived badly by our country. It’s all because our system of functioning does not wish to embrace the idea that some individuals are able to earn large sums of money honestly. In Russia, earning big money implies stealing. This is the norm. And naturally, such a norm cannot be approved by the public. Of course, many work honestly and

honestly earn big money, but there are just so few of them that their image is very weak. In other developed and civilized countries, the attitude towards money is different. Namely, healthy. In the west,  people do not boast of their wealth. Moreover, they are embarrassed to demonstrate it. The snobbish, luxurious lifestyle is mainly performed by Russians, and, frankly speaking, foreigners barely ever do the same. In other words, Western wealthy people are usually respectable, possess a good taste, are not flashy, although they all probably have a Cobra, or Lotus, or 911 in their garage with a soft vinyl covering, which they open for the weekend and drive along Pacific Ocean for 30-40 minutes, and then back. There is a great word — “class”, and nouveau riche wealth rarely possesses it. “Class”, when it comes to wealth, is a crucial aspect, which even if you have all the money in the world, you still would not be able to buy. This is inner peace and “detachment” from money. Not  being held hostage to your money is a real “class”.

The main task of a wealthy person is to leave behind not an inheritance, but a legacy. This is such a beautiful word, legacy… Legacy has nothing  to do with children or relatives. It has to do with society and history.

Again, for a Russian person, this concept is semiotic, although many oligarchs pay great attention to this. For example, “Garage”, Little Holland, is from the category of legacy. In the west, many wealthy people invest in medicine, both in research as well as in physical buildings. New hospital buildings or entire hospitals are named after such individuals, such as the Ronald Reagan’s Medical Center, or the Nancy Reagan Cancer Center. These centers were named after these people because they financed these developments. And yes, this does not mean that, as presidents, they stole money from the country’s budget. These were their personal and borrowed funds. People made donations under their names, because they trusted them. They knew that they would utilize these funds properly.

Money is given to people for a reason. In fact, it would be very beneficial if the person figured out for which reason from the very beginning. Just like any poor individual laments and thinks why they are poor, a rich

person should think why they are rich. As a rule, in a civilized world, a rich person comes with a natural desire to share, to help. This is by no means a feeling of guilt, or belief in karma, or a fear of losing money. This is a sincere desire to help UNCONDITIONALLY. “Sharing is caring”, as adults tend to teach little kids.

Once, a woman, who I respected very much, asked me an immodest question: “Tell me, how did you get rich?” You might laugh, but after this question I don’t take her seriously. She seems “weak” to me, although she has a good position in society and possesses a great career. This question, so to speak, offended me. Not deeply, of course. I tried to explain to her that I had never been poor. By stating this, I was trying to reveal to her that money has never been the ultimate goal in my life. And apparently this is the main difference between us — she was poor and never became rich.

© Masha Lopatova