Status Symbols

[erub]

Originally posted by: gotsmack
You guys don;t know much about social status. here is a very rough list

Level 1. You have a beater Rolex and very nice house in a great area, you should have a maid.
Level 2. You own a decent size boat or a few horses depending on where you live
Level 3. You own a plane and maybe a very big boat
Level 4. You collect art.

Once you own a plane you don't even wear Rolexs anymore unless its a really rare one. You wear watch brands that common prople never even heard of, but they cost enough to but a high end Mercedes.

and these $100k watches don't look like they cost $100k, They just look like normal watches, since you never heard of the brand you would think it was worth maybe in the $700 range.

I guess I'm in negative levels, haha. My parents acheived level 1..and I have two uncles at level 3 (well kinda, does Flexjet count?) - if not level 2. You know what, they both have so much money, but I don't think that they are any happier than my parents. One is unmarried, and the other has kids that constantly give him hassle. Then again its kinda cool to get one of the uncle's handmedown's..all Burbury, Niemen's, etc..

 

[gotsmack]

yea, us common folk don't even register. You might drive a Lexus, but that doesn't give you status to rich people. Actually rich people drive around in regular cars, but they most likely have a MB or Jaguar in the garage at home.

It's the people who just come into money that care about cars. Liek the Wall St guys, Big shot lawyers, and doctors.

The people who were born into money don't care.

Because the thing is, once you have made it and are in the clear, you don't have to show off and try to impress anyone- you're already at the top of the ladder and there is no one to show off to.




If you want to look rich, just buy all of your clothes from J Crew. throw away anything that has a logo or name written on the out side and anything that has a graphic on it goes in the trash.

 

[91TTZ]

I don't get caught up in the "status" race. I think that someone who feels the need to show off and advertize their status is only really advertising their low self esteem and feeling of inadequacy.

I'm more humble than that. I spend my time and money concentrating on substance, not image. After all, image is just a hollow shell, a fascade, and possibly just a mirage. It's what inside that counts.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: erub

Originally posted by: gotsmack
You guys don;t know much about social status. here is a very rough list

Level 1. You have a beater Rolex and very nice house in a great area, you should have a maid.
Level 2. You own a decent size boat or a few horses depending on where you live
Level 3. You own a plane and maybe a very big boat
Level 4. You collect art.

Once you own a plane you don't even wear Rolexs anymore unless its a really rare one. You wear watch brands that common prople never even heard of, but they cost enough to but a high end Mercedes.

and these $100k watches don't look like they cost $100k, They just look like normal watches, since you never heard of the brand you would think it was worth maybe in the $700 range.

I guess I'm in negative levels, haha. My parents acheived level 1..and I have two uncles at level 3 (well kinda, does Flexjet count?) - if not level 2. You know what, they both have so much money, but I don't think that they are any happier than my parents. One is unmarried, and the other has kids that constantly give him hassle. Then again its kinda cool to get one of the uncle's handmedown's..all Burbury, Niemen's, etc..

sorry, jet rentals only put you at the high end of level 2. You have to own the plane out right.

The thing is when you own a jet you most likely also own property in far away places, other wise you just rent the jet on an as needed basis.

rich kids are hit or miss. I think every one should experience what it is like to be poor growing up to give them some motivation.

If I ever make it big, my kids are getting just enough to go to school. The rest I'm donating to get my B-school named after me.

 

[skyking]

Once you own a plane you don't even wear Rolexs anymore unless its a really rare one. You wear watch brands that common prople never even heard of, but they cost enough to but a high end Mercedes.

LOL. I've owned a plane for 18 years now, and fail all those other "qualifications".

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Car definitely, not everyone is going to see your house; more people will see your car.

 

[Rogodin2]

Land.

Rogo

 

[Fenixgoon]

house, amenities within house, and car.

 

[WildHorse]

how pretty your woman is

where you live.

what kind of place you live in

if and where you have a second home

guys hang their degrees & certificates on the wall as symbols

some find status in flying 1st class

or to go into a private lounge in airports

how long your sailboat is

is your own private plane a prop or a twin prop or a jet

the prestige of the universities you graduated, & how many rigorous degrees you earned

what you?ve published, & how many well known others cited your work in their footnotes

who you know

how dangerous of a place you can surf, or how big a wave


watch? I never would've thought of that. Seems creepy to me that a guy would want to wear wear jewelry, which is what fancy watches are. I never would.

car? I have contempt for cars as a necessary evil. Earth Day!!! Sam Walton drove a beat up pickup. Bucky Fuller drove a little Honda Civic. Has the guy in that polished Mercedes accomplished a tenth of what they did?

 

[PhoenixOrion]

both Michael Dell and Bill Gates owners of polished Porsches?

 

[SViper]

Well, the thing is that we have had a caste society since societies have existed. In the past (and some of it still today), it's been about what family you are born to. If your were born into a rich or highly popular family, then you were in the higher levels of the castes. As a matter of fact, in the distant past (think medieval), you didn't have any relationship with anyone outside of your caste. Marriages sometimes even involved incest because you had to keep the "blood" pure.

Today, money has taken the place of blood. Just as in the past you were judged by what family you were born to, you are now judged according to how much money you have.

Do I see this changing anytime soon? No. Not as long as we all have a need for superiority. Hell, even in the animal kingdom, alpha males are constantly challenged for their superiority.

 

[uberman]

A Mont Blanc pen is nice in some circles.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

money power and respect

everything else is just an extension of these core symbols.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

I don't do anything for status, but just basing it off of what people around me buy and behave like,
Status symbol #1 is a car. #2 is Cell phone, and #3 is mp3 player.
Look at how many people buy iPods. A $250 iPod is no better than a lot of the cheaper alternatives from RCA, SanDisk, Creative, M$. It's all about the image.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: skyking

Once you own a plane you don't even wear Rolexs anymore unless its a really rare one. You wear watch brands that common prople never even heard of, but they cost enough to but a high end Mercedes.

LOL. I've owned a plane for 18 years now, and fail all those other "qualifications".

What kind of a plane, how many seats? Are you a pilot, because that might be the difference.

maybe I should have said jet.

 

[Anubis]

i hate watches

cant stand having things on my wrists

 

[skyking]

Originally posted by: gotsmack

Originally posted by: skyking

Once you own a plane you don't even wear Rolexs anymore unless its a really rare one. You wear watch brands that common prople never even heard of, but they cost enough to but a high end Mercedes.

LOL. I've owned a plane for 18 years now, and fail all those other "qualifications".

What kind of a plane, how many seats? Are you a pilot, because that might be the difference.

maybe I should have said jet.

even a jet, that can be had for under a couple hundred k. old warbirds.

 

[CptObvious]

Clothes is one, although unique in that the only people who appreciate and can identify high-end clothing are other snobs i.e., people who only wear bespoke suits, or raw selvedge jeans.

 

[JS80]

Status symbol = Real Estate.

Cars and material goods don't mean shvt.

 

[tk149]

In my crowd, the big house is pretty much the only visible status symbol. To me, it's just more to clean, heat, air-condition, and maintain. OTOH, I live alone, and don't have to "escape" from the family.

I've been told that strippers look at guys' watches.

I was given a Tag Heuer watch, which I wear everyday, 'cuz it works and it's accurate. I never really wondered about how much it was worth, until the president of our company said to me, "nice watch," and then showed me his Tag. I guess I'm still kind of shocked that he noticed. I never notice other people's watches.