"You're Lucky You Don't Have Money": People Are Sharing Things The Ultra-Rich Said (Or Did) That Left Them Utterly Shocked

There are rich people, and then there is the realm of the extremely wealthy who occupy an entirely different social strata and entertain lifestyles that sound almost like fiction. So Redditor u/Sea_Document7 asked, "What's your experience with ultra-rich people that shocked you?" Here's what people (including members of the BuzzFeed Community ) responded about their utterly surprising interactions with the extremely wealthy .

1. "A friend in college was from Japan. His father owned a plastics company and was crazy rich. One day, he asked to borrow $1,000 until his allowance came. I said I didn't have $1,000. And he was like, 'I don't mean cash; you can write me a check.' And I said, no, I literally didn't have $1,000. He was dumbfounded."

2. "A family member (who has never worked) once said it was ridiculous and irresponsible for people not to have three months of salary in savings in case of emergency. I had to tell her I didn't make enough even to have a savings account."

—Anonymous

3. "A friend of mine is on the flight crew as a maintenance tech for a billionaire. His job is to go wherever, whenever these people want, and stay for as long as they require. He's paid well and stays in nice accommodation, but the aircraft owners don't even consider the expenses. The owners might be staying in a given location for a few months, so the flight crew will travel around the world picking up and dropping off their friends and other billionaires. Today could be China, tomorrow Los Angeles, and the next day Sydney. They have to stock the plane with exclusive liquors, foods, etc, and in some places, they have to find narcotics; it's just a wild scene with not a single consideration of the bill."

4. "I've nannied for a family of millionaires (he owned the company), and my sole duty was to pre-occupy a toddler every morning while the mom went out to shop, get her nails done, hair done, etc. They were young, too, only 32 and 33 years old. I had no idea some people lived like that! They had zero financial restrictions."

5. "Waiting to check out of a five-star hotel. The guy in front asked the receptionist to order a car to take him to the airport. Receptionist: 'Of course, what time’s your flight?' Guy: 'Whenever I arrive.'"

— u/Ribbitor123

6. "A buddy of mine, who has since passed away from cancer while going through treatment, was working at a bike shop. One of the customers was/still is a Wall Street guy who is a billionaire. My buddy mentioned to the rich guy that he was denied getting into a cancer treatment trial at UNC. The rich guy said, 'Hmm, somebody should do something about that.' Two days later, my buddy got a call, and they told me that 'due to recent events,' he was in the trial. I always thought that was cool."

— u/NCfartstorm

7. "For my first job out of college, I had to drive my boss' Maserati to the Hampton's for him for the weekend and then arrange to pick it up on Monday and drive it back. It never left the hotel parking lot. They never used it."

8. "My stepbrother is crazy rich. He always said, 'I can tell you everything I did to make my first million; after that, it's too easy to remember the path.' When they were building a super casino on an island somewhere in Asia, he was too late to invest in the building/casino itself, so instead, he spent 12 million on buying all the ferries that would transport people from the main city to the casino."

9. "In college, the professor asked what social economic classes are, and the girl beside me said, 'An S class, an E class, or a C class.' She was referring to Mercedes classes. I took summer classes at UCI in Orange County."

10. "I used to be a big-time Jeep 4x4 off-road guy. I made friends with one of the guys behind the counter of a local 4x4 store. We'd occasionally go out for beers or dinner and got to be pretty close. I knew he had a degree in mechanical engineering, but he never spoke much about himself or his family. One day, he called and asked if I was interested in watching a big GT Daytona 24-type car race in PHX. I laughed and said I'd love to, but I can't afford that shit. He responded, 'My Dad will swing by Denver and pick us up in his jet, and then we'll fly onto the race. He's fielding a new Daytonaprototype car. I'll cover everything.' It was an awesome trip I'll never forget. It turns out his family was/is ridiculously wealthy. The next race we went to was THE 24 Hours of Daytona. Both races were in luxury boxes. Unlimited food and booze. Pit passes."

— u/Lactoria-Fornasini

11. "My friend seemed completely baffled by the whole concept of rush hour. She thought it was silly for people to go to work simultaneously and couldn't comprehend why people would willingly leave for work at 7 a.m."

12. "A person on my dorm floor freshman year of college would always ask, 'Why do people spend so much time doing laundry,' or 'Why eat in the dining hall? The food is so gross.' Meanwhile, every week, she would mail her laundry to her cleaning staff at home, and they would send it back clean; her chef from home would send her a bunch of frozen meals every week for her to eat, and she brought in an interior designer to decorate her freshman dorm room and had cleaners come in regularly."

13. "I have a very rich friend. My father had recently died. She said, now you can buy a brownstone (in Brooklyn) with your inheritance (which, by the way, cost millions). I told her there was no inheritance. She was so shocked. She said, 'Nothing at all?!' I thought it was normal to get nothing. She just couldn't comprehend it."

14. "I love golf and play at public courses near my home. My brother-in-law (high-end private club member) was visiting and is traveling to Scotland in the fall to couples golf with friends. They go all out: renting a large country home/castle, a Mercedes van with a driver for the week, a chef, a massage therapist daily, etc. One day after golf, he invited my wife and I to join the trip and says, 'Yeah, just write the check and forget about it.' Yeah right! A bit out of touch, my BIL is…"

15. "When I was in law school, one of my classmates lived in a luxury condo 'so she wouldn't have to put up with nonsense from landlords' while she was trying to study. She owned two sets of books: one in her locker and one in her condo, so she never had to carry any books. To her, it was just common sense. Meanwhile, some of us were sharing books because we couldn't afford them."

—Anonymous

16. "Having lunch with a very wealthy friend during tax season, and she said, 'You're lucky you don't have money; it's such a headache at tax time.' I, a single mom supporting three kids, just smiled."

—DJ, California

17. "A coworker mentioned that she didn't feel close enough to her daughter. He suggested that if she wanted to, she could spend time with her. She then casually said that her daughter and husband were in Paris and had father-daughter bonding time. I asked her why she wasn't in Paris, and she responded that she was tired of Paris after so many trips. She said that it gets boring. The cherry on top was that she ended that sentence with, 'You know?' Yeah… no."

18. "I used to work in a restaurant, and there was an older gentleman who would come in maybe once or twice a month, and he ALWAYS knew someone at two or three tables. He'd come up to the host stand and make it known that he'd be paying for all their bills. Every time. It was the only time I've ever handled a black Amex. Those things are THICK. He was very nice and always left a humongous tip for whoever served the tables."

19. "I work at a private high school, and each class starts with an overnight class retreat every year. We couldn't find a location to take the junior class one year. One of the parents just casually bought a summer camp , and the junior class had their retreat there."

Do you have one to add? What's an experience or interaction you've had with an ultra-wealthy person that shocked you? Tell us in the comments or in this anonymous form .

Note: Submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.