People Pretending To Be Rich Exposed In Golden Reddit Thread

What is a sign someone's pretending to be rich?

As I've said far too many times to count, I'm a regular working class dude with blue-collar backwoods Wisconsin roots.

I don't know anything about being rich. I'm pretty sure guys like myself would be shot if we tried to walk into an elite country club.

However, I have had enough experience in life to meet a person or two who might have a couple of dollars to their name. I also know plenty of people who want people to think they're rich. It's an ugly look, but rather easy to spot.

Reddit thread exposes fake rich people.

That's why I immediately clicked a Reddit thread exposing tactics used by people who want others to think they're rolling in cash.

Let's get into the answers, let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com and we'll then unpack it:

• Overhead the Walmart cashiers talking about a coworker who wears $10,000 designer sneakers, one co worker said "he must be rich!" The other said "then why does he work at Walmart with us?"
• When I first moved to LA, my neighbors were four Persian guys  in their early 20s living in a two bedroom place.  They each had new flashy cars, designer clothes, gold chains, and hit the clubs. They used to come to my place to drink and watch some football because they had very little furniture in their place with no TV. They couldn’t afford cable.
• Me, at the grocery store, the day I get paid.
• Actually caring if someone thinks you’re rich or not.
• Thousands of dollars in sneakers but no bed frame
• Having a luxury car but a trash house
• Flaunting generic "rich people" things that literally anyone with an extra few hundred dollars can buy at any time, like higher-end cigars or cognac or luxury fashion brands.
• Trying too hard. Most wealthy people are careful with their money. Most wealthy people don’t need others to know how wealthy they are. The wealthiest folks I know all shop at costco. No joke, it’s a surprising trend. Granted, they’re surely able to store all their costco stuff in a massive walk-in pantry, but still.
• You HAVE to own fancy things like a Mercedes and name brand clothes but can't afford to do anything else because your status symbols take every penny you earn. Also, people who are constantly taking out loans and credit cards then boasting about their fantastic travels across the globe.
• Taking pictures of your money. That just screams, "ROB ME!!!"
• Bragging about how much something costs. Every wealthy person I’ve ever met only "brags" about how much they saved. Never about how much they spent.
• "I bought [blank] at only [insert age]"
• Instagram influencers. If you’re not an actual celebrity, I have a hard time believing you’re living the lavish life you portray.
• Open displays of ostentatiousness, bragging about who they’ve "apparently" met, had dealings with and the circles they "apparently" move within and openly mocking those they perceive as not in the same "world" as them.
• Carrying a large wad of cash around so when they pay for something they have to pull it out and flip through it. There will be a few large bills on the outside followed by mostly small bills. Like yeah you got $500 in your hands. I have it on my debit card like a normal adult. It's not impressive, it's corny. Also a good way to make yourself a target.
• Buying designer clothes and barely affording rent.
• 90% of Instagram
• Being obnoxious / picky / loud / do-you-know-who-i-am attitude. This just scream "sudden rags to riches" story or pretentious middle class. Old money is well mannered.
• Having expensive consumer goods, but not owning any land.

There are plenty of other interesting answers in the thread. Now, buckle up because I am going to lay out the facts from personal experience.

First off, pretty much everything you see on Instagram - as noted in the responses above - is fake. Of the one or two rich people I know, none are flaunting anything on Instagram. It's considered beyond tacky. I also know from firsthand experience just how fake it is.

There were some people I grew up with in little old working class Wisconsin who pretend to be rolling in money on Instagram. They're not, and everyone who knows them knows it.

Second, I live in the Washington, D.C. metro area, and there seems to be a perception that the clothes and watches you wear, the car you drive and where you like to eat at is a sign of how much money you have. It's mostly fraudulent. I see Capitol Hill staffers making little to no money trying to buy nice stuff to flex on people. It's comical, and they're not fooling anyone.

Furthermore, nobody with real money cares what restaurants you like. I know some (blue-collar) mega-millionaires who wear blue jeans, flannel, drive trucks, shop at Walmart and Costco and eat at Culver's.

Personally, you will never see me wear a nice watch. I have a phone that tells me the time.

Lastly, the one that drives me insane is when people buy expensive cars but don't save money to buy their own place or invest in land. In what world is owning a nice car but not an actual home a good use of money? A car is meant to get you from point A to point B. It's not meant to do anything else. If you have a ton of money and want a nice car, then go for it. That's one thing. Having a nice car outside of a trash apartment is just unbelievably dumb and poor money management.

A viral Reddit thread is exposing what people do to pretend to be rich. Check out the best answers. (Credit: Getty Images)

To sum it all up, the fake rich crowd isn't fooling anyone, and they're definitely not fooling actual rich people - which I, of course, am not one. I'm just a content guy on the internet who may have met a wealthy guy once or twice and picked some things up. Let me know your thoughts at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.