6 ms·

You know how a person on 'average' income might sometimes browse retail sites as displacement activity, while waiting for something/someone or a side-quest etc?

You know how a person on 'average' income might sometimes browse retail sites as displacement activity, while waiting for something/someone or a side-quest etc? Ultra-wealthy people also do that but they're trawling through Sothebys or Christies - eg: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&-manuscripts/book https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&-manuscripts/b... They don't have time to read - say - a lengthy biography about a Civil War general but they can purchase their diary or letters - people who are interested in wealth preservation, especially across generations, are trained to disdain the ephemeral. They like primary documents and depending on their age/interests, cool stuff like first edition comic books or vintage niche Chanel clutch bags. As impulsive or indulgent as it may seem - eg: I just saw a counterfeit version of Dante's Le Terze De Rime on there for $159,000 USD - the purchase are all investments and as such treated as a tax deductible by your team of accountants. If you purchase a bottle of Romanee St Vivant as an investment but (whoops) drink it - that $16,000 is a business loss. Or maybe a trust fund loss. And once you start spending at a certain level on sites like those and others, there are extremely nice people who would like nothing more than to invite you to private showings, arrange a private briefing to bring you up to speed with whatever topic you'd like to learn more about or help you select the right gift with which to blow the mind of a business rival or someone you're courting. I thought that reddit piece was weird. Why would the ultra-wealthy mess around with 'masstige' kitchenware appliances? They wouldn't even have a brand on their dishwasher - it would be commissioned by an architect or interior designer quietly maintained at regular intervals by an appliance engineer who has been either supplied-by your core op-secs team or thoroughly checked out by them etc etc.

esperent 1y ago
> They wouldn't even have a brand on their dishwasher - it would be commissioned by an architect or interior designer quietly maintained at regular intervals by an appliance engineer I'm not sure that I buy this. It's not simple to make a bespoke appliance like a dishwasher that's better than a very high end mass produced one. Where did you get the idea that this happens from?
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  Yeah, dishwasher? I doubt it. Custom wine cabinet? Sure.
- mattmaroon 1y ago
  That would be the ultimate status symbol, paying the world’s best dishwasher engineer to design you a custom one off dishwasher.
  - adolph 1y ago
    Or an interactive AI primer for your grandchild.
    - jmknoll 1y ago
      I dont know if this is just baader-meinhof at work or the fact that AI is so prominent in cultural discourse at the moment, but I feel like I am seeing Diamond Age references everywhere I look
      - adolph 1y ago
        Or maybe it’s that Hackworth hired a ractor instead of getting AGI completed
- anarticle 1y ago
  The front is replaceable with cabinet door. That’s what they mean I think.
- bluGill 1y ago
  Their custom appliances often are objectively worse than the high end mass produced ones. However they have a maintenance person on staff to deal with that so it isn't a problem. As other pointed out, they often just have the mass produced appliance if they are not trying to show off.
- notsydonia 1y ago
  Sorry, I guess what I meant is that this hypothetical ultra-wealthy person wouldn't think "I am going to get a <premium brand> dishwasher, as such. They'd assume it would be the absolute best. If this rich person fancied themselves as a chef, they'd absolutely obsess over the oven etc and have a very clear concept in mind - eg: a high end Aga. But the real estate brochure boast of all Miele (or Bosch, whatever) kitchens would not move them, as such.
fergie 1y ago
> They don't have time to read - say - a lengthy biography If theres one thing all the wealthy people in my life have it is in fact _time_, which in turn means that they take their leisure activities really, really seriously.
- notsydonia 1y ago
  I disagree, although mine are clients not friends as such so you may have more insight. Running an empire or even managing a fortune you inherited is a tonne of work - there are so many people from the government, potentially bad hires, distant family members, not to mention actual criminals who think that the person's money would suit them a lot better. They have auditors to audit the auditors, barristers on call and philanthropy managers to gently explain to your 3rd cousin that your charity fund does not extend to funding their permaculture concept. I also mean 'don't have time to read' to be a bit sarcastic - as in it's not a flex to read the best-selling biography of whoever that was reviewed favorably or might win the Pulitzer - but having acquired the guy's letters - that even the biography author could not get - that's your one-up. There's also the evidently more ascetic end of the billionaire spectrum - eg: Peter Thiel, Michael Burry - who don't seem to be interested in luxury, as such.
rsynnott 1y ago
> They wouldn't even have a brand on their dishwasher - it would be commissioned by an architect or interior designer quietly maintained at regular intervals by an appliance engineer who has been either supplied-by your core op-secs team or thoroughly checked out by them etc etc. I _absolutely_ do not buy that very rich people have custom dishwashers. Like, _why_? There's no way it could be as good as a mass-produced unit; you benefit from massive economies of scale on the design, there, along with lessons learned from previous models.
- ragazzina 1y ago
  For me it's the opposite: I cannot believe a rich person deals with "you need a Samsung account on the Samsung CleanDishes to unlock the QuickClean functionality".
  - walthamstow 1y ago
    Super rich don't load their dishwasher so they wouldnt know either way

esperent 1y ago

> They wouldn't even have a brand on their dishwasher - it would be commissioned by an architect or interior designer quietly maintained at regular intervals by an appliance engineer I'm not sure that I buy this. It's not simple to make a bespoke appliance like a dishwasher that's better than a very high end mass produced one. Where did you get the idea that this happens from?

JKCalhoun 1y ago
Yeah, dishwasher? I doubt it. Custom wine cabinet? Sure.
mattmaroon 1y ago
That would be the ultimate status symbol, paying the world’s best dishwasher engineer to design you a custom one off dishwasher.
- adolph 1y ago
  Or an interactive AI primer for your grandchild.
  - jmknoll 1y ago
    I dont know if this is just baader-meinhof at work or the fact that AI is so prominent in cultural discourse at the moment, but I feel like I am seeing Diamond Age references everywhere I look
    - adolph 1y ago
      Or maybe it’s that Hackworth hired a ractor instead of getting AGI completed
anarticle 1y ago
The front is replaceable with cabinet door. That’s what they mean I think.
bluGill 1y ago
Their custom appliances often are objectively worse than the high end mass produced ones. However they have a maintenance person on staff to deal with that so it isn't a problem. As other pointed out, they often just have the mass produced appliance if they are not trying to show off.
notsydonia 1y ago
Sorry, I guess what I meant is that this hypothetical ultra-wealthy person wouldn't think "I am going to get a <premium brand> dishwasher, as such. They'd assume it would be the absolute best. If this rich person fancied themselves as a chef, they'd absolutely obsess over the oven etc and have a very clear concept in mind - eg: a high end Aga. But the real estate brochure boast of all Miele (or Bosch, whatever) kitchens would not move them, as such.

fergie 1y ago

> They don't have time to read - say - a lengthy biography If theres one thing all the wealthy people in my life have it is in fact _time_, which in turn means that they take their leisure activities really, really seriously.

notsydonia 1y ago
I disagree, although mine are clients not friends as such so you may have more insight. Running an empire or even managing a fortune you inherited is a tonne of work - there are so many people from the government, potentially bad hires, distant family members, not to mention actual criminals who think that the person's money would suit them a lot better. They have auditors to audit the auditors, barristers on call and philanthropy managers to gently explain to your 3rd cousin that your charity fund does not extend to funding their permaculture concept. I also mean 'don't have time to read' to be a bit sarcastic - as in it's not a flex to read the best-selling biography of whoever that was reviewed favorably or might win the Pulitzer - but having acquired the guy's letters - that even the biography author could not get - that's your one-up. There's also the evidently more ascetic end of the billionaire spectrum - eg: Peter Thiel, Michael Burry - who don't seem to be interested in luxury, as such.

rsynnott 1y ago

> They wouldn't even have a brand on their dishwasher - it would be commissioned by an architect or interior designer quietly maintained at regular intervals by an appliance engineer who has been either supplied-by your core op-secs team or thoroughly checked out by them etc etc. I _absolutely_ do not buy that very rich people have custom dishwashers. Like, _why_? There's no way it could be as good as a mass-produced unit; you benefit from massive economies of scale on the design, there, along with lessons learned from previous models.

ragazzina 1y ago
For me it's the opposite: I cannot believe a rich person deals with "you need a Samsung account on the Samsung CleanDishes to unlock the QuickClean functionality".
- walthamstow 1y ago
  Super rich don't load their dishwasher so they wouldnt know either way