Exactly. That is why I used the qualifier of "wealth." Shockingly many were not seemingly enjoying themselves as much as us commoners would think.
Everyone has "problems"- some are just more based on needs than wants. While I was extended many wonderful invitations, eventually we settled into our own lane.
As long as you are priming the careers or bonuses of the uber wealthy there is a role for you to play- however like most business relationships- they do not last much beyond your last day on the job.
I worked with and was close enough to be invited to the engagement party of a descendant of a famous robber baron who had the last name. Dude was a genuinely good hearted person. Maybe not the brightest on our team but worked late and hard to keep up. People tolerated him because there was no way he was getting fired.
I often wondered how it felt to know that part of why you were employed was because of who your great grandparents were. It probably feels bad if you know that you need others to carry you whenTh kids from every walk of life, sometimes giving homebound instruction to teenage immigrant mothers in dwellings where you could see through the floorboards in the winter.
I wouldn't trade either experience because the dichotomy has allowed me to feel very comfortable in my skin. Just because you are wealthy does not mean you are happy, or in many cases even good. This whole Epstein scandal is showing how perverse some folks can be with too much money and time on their hands.
If more dominoes fall so be it.
Thanks for the anecdotes. Interesting 'conversation'.
I don't have any nearly similar experiences, but the thread did a few things to mind:
-Being a fan of photography books, especially ones where the subjects provide some context, one of my favorites is entitled Rich and Poor, where people on the income extremes were photographed and provided their thoughts on their lives. If you didn't pair the photo with the life 'testimonial', you might not be able to accurately guess where the person for the testimonial was on the income scale-having too little or too much financial means both came with challenges-some the same....I read an article in Time some time later about a statistical study correlating income and happiness, which at the time (about 10 years ago) concluded there was no positive correlation above $75K...and at that time was still pretty accessible for quite a few Americans.
Which to me correlates to the difference between happiness (which can be temporary) and joy, a more grounded sustainable 'state'...I heard a recent sermon where the 'punchline' was 'if you want happiness, go on a cruise, if you want joy, pursue a spiritual endeavor (I forget the exact words to the latter, but the cruise metaphor was what stuck in my mind).
-87PennSt8, your comment on volunteer work resonates with me, having been a volunteer chaplain at a local hospital for a handful of years prior to Covid. I read an article in the Utne Reader that compared the joy provided by certain activities with their societal status (desirability and attainability). It showed the joy from volunteering/charity as being exceeded only by dancing (I think bad dancing in the right environment provides even more joy). Many of the higher status and desirable things gave much less joy, but probably some temporary happiness-which may be fed by society's bias.
-Lastly book I found a book on values for the modern family which I reference from time to time so as to not get too far off track from what matters. It covers joy, abundance, and authenticity in a readable format of the author (a young married minister with children) sharing personal anecdotes of her own challenges and failure, The chapters on joy and abundance support parts of this conversation. I was originally drawn to the chapter on authenticity being it's become such aa big buzzword lately. Her anecdote was a discussion she had with members of her church about values they learned as children. Surprisingly, included among honesty, hard work, etc was the NEED to hide something-an issue or problem in their family-alcoholism, etc. What came next in this conversation story was her asking the group what the opposite of authentic was....after a long pause, one older man offered 'pretense'...like pretend, which we all do AND have learned to do...'How are things?', 'Fine'. While the anecdotes in this thread align with this, lack of authenticity probably crosses all socio-economic dimensions, and has its own burden. Even before reading this, I was somewhat broken from this habit after the birth of my special needs daughter and getting introduced to support groups who (the ones who participated) were probably some of the most authentic people I've been around, sharing mistakes they made with uniquely challenged children, many from those educated (advanced degrees) and accomplished (VPs of national firms, even state directors of education and disability-related agencies).
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