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I grew up working poor, then struck it rich in the software biz and became a millionaire, then got sick and became homeless. My take on it is the rich and poor

I grew up working poor, then struck it rich in the software biz and became a millionaire, then got sick and became homeless. My take on it is the rich and poor both struggle with money anxieties. A significant difference between being rich and being poor is the way other people treat you. When I was rich everyone wanted to be my friend and help me out. When I was poor I suffered judgements of all types from people; scorn, contempt, pity, avoidance and generally being considered a person no one wanted to associate with. I thought it was interesting and said more about my fellow Americans than myself, but it did hurt all the same. Edit: Scrapper Blackwell - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=626pNZB8xXE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=626pNZB8xXE

cryptica 5y ago
This is so true. Even if you're not rich, many people treat you differently just based on whether they think you might become rich. The minute they think you're no longer in the running, they stop answering texts and emails as if you never existed. It's scary what percentage of people are like this. You never know who is who until you actually lose your money or position. These people are ridiculously good actors. In the higher ranks of society, it seems like 99.999% of people are like this; it seems to be basically impossible to meet someone who is not a psychopathic opportunist. TBH I wonder why billionaires bother to get married at all. They're probably as likely to meet a good (genuine) person as I am to meet a billionaire... Out of probably hundreds of thousands of people I met in my life, I only met 1 billionaire and that was before they were a billionaire. Aside from that, I only ever saw 1 billionaire (which I recognized) in real life but I didn't meet them (only saw them). Humans seem to be incapable to comprehend how many other people there are in the world and how good humans are are deceiving themselves and others to get access to resources.
rufus_foreman 5y ago
>> When I was rich everyone wanted to be my friend and help me out When you were rich, everyone wanted your money. I was poor, my friends are from that time. Until you've been my friend when I'm down and out, you're just an acquaintance. If you want to know who your friends are, see who comes to get you out of jail at 3 AM.

cryptica 5y ago

This is so true. Even if you're not rich, many people treat you differently just based on whether they think you might become rich. The minute they think you're no longer in the running, they stop answering texts and emails as if you never existed. It's scary what percentage of people are like this. You never know who is who until you actually lose your money or position. These people are ridiculously good actors. In the higher ranks of society, it seems like 99.999% of people are like this; it seems to be basically impossible to meet someone who is not a psychopathic opportunist. TBH I wonder why billionaires bother to get married at all. They're probably as likely to meet a good (genuine) person as I am to meet a billionaire... Out of probably hundreds of thousands of people I met in my life, I only met 1 billionaire and that was before they were a billionaire. Aside from that, I only ever saw 1 billionaire (which I recognized) in real life but I didn't meet them (only saw them). Humans seem to be incapable to comprehend how many other people there are in the world and how good humans are are deceiving themselves and others to get access to resources.

rufus_foreman 5y ago

>> When I was rich everyone wanted to be my friend and help me out When you were rich, everyone wanted your money. I was poor, my friends are from that time. Until you've been my friend when I'm down and out, you're just an acquaintance. If you want to know who your friends are, see who comes to get you out of jail at 3 AM.