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I agree, Having a watch like that is not the good life, it's a fast track to being really broke and being deeply in debt. Granted, there are some people who can

by phn1x 16y ago

I agree, Having a watch like that is not the good life, it's a fast track to being really broke and being deeply in debt. Granted, there are some people who can afford to buy a watch like this, Warren buffet being one... But he lives in an old modest home in the middle of no where, drives something like a 1994 Volkswagen and doesn't blow money on crap like this. Hell even the founder of Walmart drove a 1970 something pick up truck and rarely spent any of his money. I'm passing this article on to Dave Ramsey! He won't sugar coat his commentary like you did, He will probably just call this guy an idiot.

tptacek 16y ago
Buffet may not live in a Hollywood mansion, but his home isn't actually "modest". He lives in a nice part of Omaha, not the middle of nowhere, and he lives there because that's where Berkshire is based. It also might be just a tad disingenuous to talk about the cheap car of a man who owns and makes use of a fleet of private jets.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  I think that should be read as 'modest' in relation to the kind of mansion the rest of the super wealthy live in. That said, Buffet is not exactly the most person on the planet but in comparison with the rest he comes off pretty good, and I highly doubt he'd be wearing a token of insecurity like this. I've met some pretty rich people and the funny thing is that those that are truely wealthy and capable don't need such frippery.
brazzy 16y ago
That guy is no more an idiot than anyone who's ever looked longingly at a Ferrari, or a super highend stereo system, or a supercomputer, i.e. most men. Note that he did not, in fact, buy the $77,000 watch (which is, btw, not the most expensive watch you can buy by far). Yeah, it's mainly a status symbol, with added collector and engineering angles to appeal to the inner geek. And it keeps time less accurately than a $10 watch from WalMart. So what? $77k is a joke compared to what rich people blow on cars, art, yachts, and jewelry for their wives or mistresses, and it doesn't even take 1000th of Warren Buffet's wealth to be able to do that without going broke.
- sjs 16y ago
  Here's a system I'm sure most of us would like to have: http://i.imgur.com/AEt79.png http://i.imgur.com/AEt79.png I didn't just go for the most expensive parts either, it would have easily been > $20k if I had. I'm sure we all can imagine a certain bank balance at which we wouldn't think much before buying such a system.
  - jacquesm 16y ago
    There is nothing sadder than remembering two years later how much you paid for that 'hotrod' under your desk that is now slower than entry level systems... When I add up what I paid for computer hardware over the year it's scary, good thing it made me more than I spent on it, I think of them as tools. But if it were for consumption only then I'd spend considerably less. If you're a software developer you can justify such a rig as a tool and book it to expenses, for ordinary people, even the most avid of gamers it would most likely be overkill. On another note, you tend to write much better software on a system several years old, and then to run it on modern hardware for production. Slow machines tend to make programmers perform better :)
- Groxx 16y ago
  That guy is no more an idiot than anyone who's ever looked longingly at a Ferrari, or a super highend stereo system, or a supercomputer, i.e. most men. or a Gucci purse, or those 50k shoes, or that massive engagement ring. Or that yacht, or that swimming suit which gives 0.05% less drag than your current, or that $500-per-plate restaurant. i.e., most PEOPLE. Why the separation of sex? It's just middle-class trying to imitate rich-class. It happens in every culture, to every kind of person, except those intentionally keeping themselves separate from it.

by phn1x 16y ago

tptacek 16y ago

Buffet may not live in a Hollywood mansion, but his home isn't actually "modest". He lives in a nice part of Omaha, not the middle of nowhere, and he lives there because that's where Berkshire is based. It also might be just a tad disingenuous to talk about the cheap car of a man who owns and makes use of a fleet of private jets.

jacquesm 16y ago
I think that should be read as 'modest' in relation to the kind of mansion the rest of the super wealthy live in. That said, Buffet is not exactly the most person on the planet but in comparison with the rest he comes off pretty good, and I highly doubt he'd be wearing a token of insecurity like this. I've met some pretty rich people and the funny thing is that those that are truely wealthy and capable don't need such frippery.

brazzy 16y ago

That guy is no more an idiot than anyone who's ever looked longingly at a Ferrari, or a super highend stereo system, or a supercomputer, i.e. most men. Note that he did not, in fact, buy the $77,000 watch (which is, btw, not the most expensive watch you can buy by far). Yeah, it's mainly a status symbol, with added collector and engineering angles to appeal to the inner geek. And it keeps time less accurately than a $10 watch from WalMart. So what? $77k is a joke compared to what rich people blow on cars, art, yachts, and jewelry for their wives or mistresses, and it doesn't even take 1000th of Warren Buffet's wealth to be able to do that without going broke.

sjs 16y ago
Here's a system I'm sure most of us would like to have: http://i.imgur.com/AEt79.png http://i.imgur.com/AEt79.png I didn't just go for the most expensive parts either, it would have easily been > $20k if I had. I'm sure we all can imagine a certain bank balance at which we wouldn't think much before buying such a system.
- jacquesm 16y ago
  There is nothing sadder than remembering two years later how much you paid for that 'hotrod' under your desk that is now slower than entry level systems... When I add up what I paid for computer hardware over the year it's scary, good thing it made me more than I spent on it, I think of them as tools. But if it were for consumption only then I'd spend considerably less. If you're a software developer you can justify such a rig as a tool and book it to expenses, for ordinary people, even the most avid of gamers it would most likely be overkill. On another note, you tend to write much better software on a system several years old, and then to run it on modern hardware for production. Slow machines tend to make programmers perform better :)
Groxx 16y ago
That guy is no more an idiot than anyone who's ever looked longingly at a Ferrari, or a super highend stereo system, or a supercomputer, i.e. most men. or a Gucci purse, or those 50k shoes, or that massive engagement ring. Or that yacht, or that swimming suit which gives 0.05% less drag than your current, or that $500-per-plate restaurant. i.e., most PEOPLE. Why the separation of sex? It's just middle-class trying to imitate rich-class. It happens in every culture, to every kind of person, except those intentionally keeping themselves separate from it.