When I lived in New York and worked at a trading firm, I met plenty of "high-status" people. They usually lived paycheck-to-paycheck on a 7-figure salary becau

When I lived in New York and worked at a trading firm, I met plenty of "high-status" people. They usually lived paycheck-to-paycheck on a 7-figure salary because they were busy playing status games - giving a few hundred thousand to charity, having a big loft in a nice neighborhood, throwing lavish parties, etc. Other people saved that money and retired at 40 to places like Wisconsin and Montana - they had wealth. Status is expensive. The only people for whom it is cheap are the uber-wealthy, those who earn $100 million a year or so.