Patricia Grisafi
The super, super rich. They’re not like you and me. The things we consider luxurious they would probably consider quaint. On Reddit, people are sharing stories they’ve heard about what the elite wealthy actually do with their spare time — and their money. And the activities are wild.
Playing railroad with actual railcars. Flying to another country for dinner and back again. Having a special scuba diving pool put in their yard — complete with a sunken ship for exploring. Just, you know, everyday rich people stuff.
1. Private Railcars
“Old money in my part of the world have a thing for fully restored private railcars, with all the modern amenities of a high end RV. They pay to have a track branched to their personal storage shed and then take them out maybe once every other year. Of course the process of taking them out involves paying a company such as Amtrak to haul the thing to their main line, hook it up to a commercial passenger train, and then lug them around the country to their destination. Get a handful of private railcar owners together and they hitch up, rent an engine, and tour the country with close friends the old fashion way on entirely private luxury train.” —
2. Buying Land
“I have a relative by marriage who buys land so no one can develop it.” —
3. Polo
“Polo. Poor people don’t know how it works.” —
4. House Managers
“Having house managers at all of their properties. These people coordinate all the domestic staff, and manage the properties so that they are instantly liveable at a moment’s notice (down to the flowers of choice in every room) even if the owners only come in for a week or two in a year. Their secretaries will usually call the house manager the day before saying ‘oh they’ll be in London for a few days’ and the manager will arrange everything from the pickup from the airport in the cars he knows each member prefers, coordinate with the secretaries to figure out any appointments they may have, instruct the chef to make their favourite menus….all of this is done without any input from the owner. That’s what they pay for.” —
5. Going Abroad For Dinner
“Go abroad for dinner. I hear of wealthy Londoners (or nearby) who simply jump in their helicopter and fly to Paris for an evening meal, then come home again.” —
6. Many Nannies
“A girl I know is a nanny for a very rich family and they flew her to the other side of the world to take care of one of their three kids. Just one. The other two have their own separate nannies.” —
7. Scuba Diving In The Backyard
“Well, one ultra-rich person in particular. The CEO for a company I used to work for put a giant tank (pool) with a submerged ‘sunken ship’ inside of it in his back yard so that he could scuba dive around in it.” —
8. Home Theater
“Legally watch current theatrical films in the privacy of your own home theatre.” —
9. Seasonal Furniture
“Seasonal furniture. ‘Well, it’s getting on into April so we better get the spring couches and chaise lounges out of storage, and swap out the winter dining table and china for the spring set. Better get out all the matching drapes, too.'” —
10. Never Dressed Herself
“Met a cool young girl at my college – she was like a princess – she said that was the closest English word to describe her status. Before coming to school, she had NEVER – dressed herself, bathed herself, walked up or down stairs without a maid holding her hand… I initially found this out when I heard her ask someone for help going down a flight of, like, 6 stairs. She was cool about it, though, and learning.” —
11. Mega Yachts
“Dated a guy who had a place at Ocean Reef (super exclusive, extremely wealthy community in upper Florida keys). Sat with 5 other couples, going back and forth about whose mega yacht we should take out that evening. Bob and Cindy’s is the closest to the canal… but oh, Jim and Donna’s is bigger! But, Mark and Tina’s jacuzzi is already heated!…but Dale and Ira’s has a full staff tonight! I was just like… I have a kayak…” —
12. Buying Property
“Buy property in London and dig out the basement 2-3 stories for conversion to luxury living.” —
13. Ski Resort Life
Watching the weather report for multiple cities with ski resorts. If a lot of snow drops someplace, on moments notice a group of about a dozen will meet up at the private jet and go skiing for a couple days. During the trip, they might jet over to see a nearby sporting event. Then back to work as if nothing special just happened. A couple days later the designated accountant on the trip will send a spreadsheet around to everyone with their part of the bill for the trip. This bill can also include loses from the poker games played on the jet during flights.
14. Private Protection
“Lived in Iraq, we had this super rich family that their kid got kidnaped, they paid almost half a million for him to get released. After a month he got kidnaped again. They never left the country knowing they can afford to buy their life’s. So they hired an entire squad to protect them.” —
15. Fine Art
“They buy fine art – museum-quality pieces – when it becomes for sale and hold on to it until it appreciates to a point where it’s worth more to collectors than they originally paid for it. That way, not only do they make a tidy profit, but they also get to enjoy the artwork in their homes as it increases in value.” —
16. Monopoly
“I had some family friends growing up that had a handmade monopoly table. It was wooden with silver pieces, and they used real cash.” —
Featured Image: Pexels
