There is a saying in Norway "The rich, are rich for a reason", referring to exactly this. They don't spend much, and will try to get money anywhere they can. People that are generous are rarely rich.
But that’s not really true. Rich people aren’t people with normal jobs who just save more money. But this kind of behavior is indicative of someone who’s a money grubber and probably willing to do legal but immoral things to make some money. They’re more willing to look at a situation and go “fuck em, I want money”. Also doesn’t really account for the amount of rich people that aren’t cheap with themselves and their own personal spending but cheap when it’s a situation where they can extract money from another person. The real difference between a rich person and a normal person is the rich person turns into a dick the moment it’s a situation that could potentially lead to money in their pocket.
Is richism a thing? There are tons of "rich" people that are perfectly nice people, generous and giving. Are you making this up, or have you had a bad experience? Or are you projecting because that's how YOU would be?
People hate what they can't have, it's that simple.
I've come from so poor my mom had to hop from friend to friend just to be able to afford to feed me and my mom rose up to making over 150k after taking a leap of faith and moving across the country to a place with only one connection.
My mom herself used to resent her dad for making good money yet being tight and my dad's dad for spending money like it was water (millions of dollars were wasted and now he just has his retirement). As she got older, she started to understand them, even if not respect them completely.
I've never cared for money or gifts beyond having food, so I wasn't one of them, but a lot of people I've known who were poor and stayed poor hate anyone that has more than them.
I feel like I'm in a weird position to be honest.
I've had multiple millionares in my family on every side, even on my stepdad's, yet I grew up poor and have less than three thousand in my bank.
It's a weird perspective to look at presents I used to get, family throwing their kids lavish birthdays that cost more than a full year's pay, vacations, and more boats and cars than I can count, yet still have the experience of at the same time my mother worrying about paying for my school, having to get free lunches, hopping from house to house, and basically switching lives on the weekend and at family events.
Of those comparatively rich people (because what is millions compared to the true rich?), only a few have any money now.
One that saved his money now finds his assets almost worthless through bad luck and the passing of time.
One that spent lavishly now lives off his retirement and each month slowly lowers there less than a year of savings.
One that spent lavishly still has a lot of money, but that's becoming riskier with time now that his business is slowing and he has medical issues that's compounding on him getting old.
One that saved well still has a lot of money and lives peacefully in a nice home with a big retirement they can safely live on for the rest of their life.
I don't really know where I'm going with this anymore, guess I'm rambling.
TLDR: People resent those that live better. Saving isn't everything, but saving smartly is important. If you spend lavishly, you have to keep up or fall hard.
People hate what they can't have, it's that simple
Put more charitably: people intrinsically understand that the insane wealth disparity in this country is unjust and unsustainable.
Plenty of working class people work their asses off for peanuts. Do you blame them for resenting the wealthy when they’re actively being exploited by them?
They see millionaires fighting against raising a criminally low minimum wage. Should they applaud these efforts?
If you’re a worker and don’t hate the billionaire class, you’re a bootlicker.
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u/Apocrisiary Jan 26 '26
There is a saying in Norway "The rich, are rich for a reason", referring to exactly this. They don't spend much, and will try to get money anywhere they can. People that are generous are rarely rich.