Americans, What are some subtle signs that would make you think that person/family is wealthy?

27 comments

1. I’ve known a lot of wealthy people who grew up in just wild privilege and the thing that strikes me consistently (unlike clothes or cars or even wild spending) is the *ease* with which they move through the world. They just seem comfortable all the time, even when things “go wrong” because they have been conditioned to do so and know that they can get things taken care of.

2. High quality clothes without obvious brand labeling.

3. I have a neighbor that I am pretty sure is loaded, but you wouldn’t be able to immediately tell by looking at his house, until you start doing some mental math. He lives in a $450k 3 bedroom, but outside is parked a $125k fifth wheel trailer, $85k truck, 2 side by sides on a trailer, 2 SUVs as daily drivers, he uses a $5k ride on electric lawn tractor to cut his grass, and parks his very nice bass boat out back.

4. I don’t think there really are any.

   I’ve interacted with some extremely wealthy people over my career and they’re just regular people. Some are smart and some are dumb. Some are impulsive and some are cautious. Some are jerks and some are very well mannered. Etc.

   Even overt signs of wealth prove little. Social media influencers have made me very skeptical of seeing people with Lambos, pictures on private jets, etc.

5. Not bitching about their grocery bill

6. Not worrying about paying for kids colleges 😀

7. When someone owns a vacation home, that’s a pretty good indicator of wealth.

8. No phone case.

9. Everything matches. Laundry baskets, storage bins etc. you can go out and buy a bunch of of them all at once instead of mismatched because you buy them as others break or needed.

10. “It’s a banana. What could it cost, $10?”

11. Not second guessing or thinking before purchasing things. That has been the biggest tell for me. When a person can just go out to eat or get drinks or order off of Amazon, whatever it may be, they are either DEEPLY in debt or very well to do. It’s a toss up.

12. My friend is wealthy. You wouldn’t know it by her home (nice, but not a mansion, but paid off) or her car (nice, not fancy, paid off) or her clothes. But little things like she’ll buy the best seats when she goes to the theater, and she’ll treat a friend. Also, the fact that she’s in her early 50s and doesn’t work because she doesn’t have to. That’s the biggest giveaway.

13. Well one of my cousins a few years ago was talking about how her parents were upset at my parents for not paying for my entire college education…

    They are very upper middle class/bordering on rich, my parents are solid middle class who’d help if they could but I’d never expect them too and they can’t.

    Comments like this I think is what gives it away.

14. Handing mustard jars between vehicle windows.

15. Lots of little things.

    A big one for me is if someone can speak off the cuff and confidently about personal finance concepts. A guy might be driving a 2010 Toyota Camry but if he can explain a reasonable investing strategy to me or when a Roth versus traditional account makes sense, there’s a fair chance that he’s got more money than he lets on. Conversely, if a guy can tell me all about the intricacies of financing a BMW, I’m pretty sure that he’s not really rich or even on the path to wealth.

    That’s one of a thousand little things. No one thing is a tell, but they start to add up as you get to know someone.

16. Always looking put together, but not wearing a lot of labels. The ones that are truly wealthy buy the brands that don’t throw their logo on everything. Yeah, it’s just a black baseball cap with no logo, but it’s actually a Loro Piana and it retails for $450.

    So, casually dressed, but their clothing is seemingly impeccable. No worn away edges on that baseball hat.

17. Are teeth a “subtle sign”?

18. Getting guac at chipotle

19. How nice/classy is their watch.

20. Money talks. Wealth whispers.

21. Not sure. I know wealthy people (millions) that drive used cars, wear older clothes, and shop at stores that specialize in selling open box and nearly expired goods. I also know people that are paycheck to paycheck that insist on name brands, and trendy things.

    If I had to say anything, it would probably be travel. Even budget travel has to have some level of expendable income unless you are really pushing the envelope.

22. I work with wealthy clients. They drive Toyotas. And they are incredibly private and don’t want to show they are wealthy.

    They may have another house, or vacation in cool places, but they don’t talk about it outside their friend groups.

    People who flaunt their wealth, even if they have a good income, are usually a negative net worth.

23. I’ve noticed that people with more money have you go into their house through the garage door rather than the front door for some reason

24. Some of the wealthiest people I know are extremely polite and dress in just jeans and t shirts. My friends once bought the rights to a a fast food chain in the area because they liked the food and they wanted to build one near their house for their route to drop off their kid to school. A more interesting question would be old money vs new money wealthy. You will get a lot of different answers that may answer your question a bit better.

25. When my girlfriend invited me to meet her family at “the lake house,” I figured they were wealthy.

    When they sent the plane for us, I knew.

26. Using the word vacation as a verb. There’s a difference between “We took a vacation to the Adirondacks” and “We vacation in the Adirondacks.”

27. The best way to tell who has money is look for the people who look like they don’t have it. Monster trucks and Gucci bags are for the stupid.