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15 of the wildest things average folks have witnessed at uber-rich people events

It's a whole other world.

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People share the wildest things they've seen or heard at "rich people events."

So many of us love to binge the exotic, exorbitant lives of characters in shows like Succession, White Lotus, and The Gilded Age, but it’s another thing altogether to see it play out in real life.

Recently, average joes who have borne witness to people who simply have way too much money to burn (usually as their hired hands) shared some stories likely to leave you with equal parts awe and disgust. Stories of last minute jet setting for seasonal truffles, car accident “fall guys,” full-on backyard carnivals, and more.

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Jessica Walter in 'Arrested Development.' media4.giphy.com

Below are a few glimpses into just how the other half lives.

1. Truffles in Tokyo

“I was a server at a really nice restaurant and ended up working a dinner in our private room for the president of a major movie production studio's birthday…At one point in the dinner his assistant (one of three assistants sitting at the end of the long dinner table) informed him that the first truffles of the season had been delivered to some chef in Tokyo. So producer guy goes ‘Great! Anyone want to go to Tokyo this weekend for a truffle tasting?’ A couple of people said yes so he instructed the assistant to ‘make sure one of the jets is available’ for the trip. They stayed 3 hours after we closed. Bought every bottle of the same brand of wine we had in our cellar ‘for the road,’ let me taste a 1989 Chateau Haut-Brion and tipped $3600 for the lateness of their departure. Wild night.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Andrew Skarsgard in 'Succession.' media1.giphy.com

2. Hired Fall Guy for Car Accidents

“My friend had a friend who is one of those ‘Crazy Rich Asian’ type of dudes…One day, this rich dude was driving his Ferrari on the toll road. My friend was in another car following him for a car meetup event. This dude crashed his Ferrari into another car, and then stopped on the side of the road…[and] called someone. In 10 minutes there was a yellow Lamborghini. The Lambo driver went out, took the Ferrari key from the rich dude's hands, and then sat inside the crashed Ferrari. The rich dude drove the Lambo and continued the journey. Apparently the new driver will take the fall for every single crash related problem. Oh yeah, the police were there the whole time, and they didn’t bother to talk or approach the rich dude before the lambo driver came up.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Ryan Gosling in 'The Fall Guy' media0.giphy.com

3. A Yacht…Just In Case

“I once had super wealthy bosses and they were talking about their friend who owned several buildings. And who had a big yacht [that] always ready to go [with] a full complement of personnel, paid full time… It was basically a hotel at sea. The thing is, the guy rarely used it. So you had a boatload of bored people who had nothing much to do. If the guy goes to Europe, he would rather fly there -- and have the yacht head there ahead, just in case he felt like using it. Which wasn't all the time.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Leonardo DiCaprio in 'Wolf of Wall Street' media2.giphy.com

4. Two African Safaris, Please

“When we were poor our daughter went to a private preschool that was great for her disability and they accepted us at hardly any tuition in exchange for speaking at fundraising events for them on our daughters benefit from being at the school. At their big fancy yearly ball dinner we were speakers and they sat us at a donor table. We were literally stealing dinner rolls to make our Carl Buddig sandwich meat better. At the auction portion one of the ladies explained that last year she bid on and won the African safari but she didn’t have anyone to go with her so she donated it back to this years event. As that vacation came up for bid she goes ‘wait my niece loves animals and travel, I’ll take her’ and she went and bought it for he second year in a row.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Goldie Hawn in 'The First Wives Club' media3.giphy.com

5. 20K Rehearsal Dinner

“I worked a private event as a waiter, it was a rehearsal dinner. The father of the bride was telling everyone he chartered a private jet for his daughter and son in law to fly to Bali for their 6 week honeymoon, which he has also paid for. The jet was to stay there for their use for the duration of the trip in case they wanted to visit other places if they got bored. The rehearsal dinner for 20 people was about 20k.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Martin Short in 'Father of the Bride.' media3.giphy.com

6. Secret Service Wedding

“It was a ritzy wedding and someone there was a congressman. So we had secret service throughout the wedding pretending like they were guests while also not engaging with anyone to be distracted. They were like real life NPCs.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Hopefully they were paid well. media3.giphy.com

7. Losing 10K Like It's Nothing

“I was in the Peace Corps in Zambia. We used to hang out at the casino in Lusaka cause they gave you free food, drinks, and cigarettes while you played. We would play like $2 hands of blackjack just to get fed. But I went to the roulette table and some guy put down $10,000 in USD all over the table. Lost his spin, and just shrugged his shoulders and walked away…I was floored by the amount of wealth that existed right around us.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money I can't imagine even betting with $10. media3.giphy.com

8. A Family's Worth of Ferraris

“My buddy took me on a cruise with our local Ferrari club. The house we went to was owned by a member who had 8 Ferrari's in his garage… While we were there he unveiled his new car, a custom built Daytona SP3 that was all completely custom. The base price of the car is around $2.2 million so with the customizations it was closer to $3 million the way he had it. The crazy part was the story he told about it. This was supposed to be an early build number car but it was delayed. He had to ask Ferrari about why his $3 million dollar car was taking so long while he was putting in another order for a different completely custom Ferrari that is probably worth even more than that. Spending more money on 2 cars than I'll probably make in my whole life was a pretty wild story to hear while in a garage with cars that collectively are worth more than my family has made all together for a couple of generations. Really puts the wealth gap into perspective.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money You can never have too many Ferraris… media4.giphy.com

9. Friends in High Places

“The CEO of my company came down to visit our office and took all the managers out to lunch. He asked for an update on projects going on, and one person mentioned having been stuck in limbo because of the state agency not getting us the approval. He asked if anyone had tried calling the governor. After he looked around and saw a table full of blank stares, he pulled his phone out and did just that. Apparently the governor is a buddy, and the situation was resolved the next day.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money A still from 'Home Economics.' media1.giphy.com

10. Night At The Museum

“I was invited to a corporate party in NYC. The party was at the Museum of Modern Art. They rented the museum for the evening. There was a caviar table you could go to and get as much caviar as you wanted. I was told that the caviar cost $5,000."

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Doesn't sound like a bad night, honestly. media1.giphy.com

11. 24/7 Butler

“I was hired to be a photographer at a wedding. They had rented the venue at a very expensive vineyard. There was a mansion there and as part of the deal the bridal party got to stay at the mansion. The owner is almost never actually there. He lives in a big White House, if you know what I mean. I show up early the morning of the wedding and I’m greeted by the butler…He said it’s shift work, that there are basically three of them…and it’s 8 hour shifts. So I [asked] ‘if I showed up at 2am in January one of you would be here, all alone in the mansion, just knocking around on the odd chance the big guy shows up?’ And he was like ‘yeah, someone’s always here.’ That just kinda blew my mind. Can you imagine just being the dude who sits alone in someone else’s mansion polishing the silver waiting to see if they show up?”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money You never know when someone might visit your mansion. media1.giphy.com

12. Throwing Away Perfectly Good Fillet

“Not at an event, but at my then 9yr old son's friend's house. They were VERY wealthy, and it was the Dads birthday dinner. They were having fillet steak, seafood etc. Their two sons were disgusted that hey were having fillet steak-AGAIN. And one threw his away, and the other huffed off to his room and demanded his Dad (whos birthday it was) take him to get a pizza. Dad actually DID! And my macaroni eating kid sat there scarfing his steak and witnessing the majesty of life.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Who throws away fillet? media0.giphy.com

13. Racing Porsches

“I attended a rich person dinner in Bel Air… I began to make small talk with the guy seated next to me. We started talking about traveling, and he said his friend recently ‘raced with the Porsches in Germany.’ I looked at him, and said ‘oh, you mean he raced Porsches in Germany, that's great.’ He looked at me confused and said ’"no, he raced with the Porsche family’ and rattled off a couple names of the Porsche heirs that apparently they were friendly with.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Barry Keoghan in 'Saltburn.' media1.giphy.com

14. Owning Politicians

“I was at a political fundraising dinner around 20 years ago. There were many affluent rich people there but only one billionaire. At one point I naively asked him why he didn’t run for office. He laughed and looked me directly in they eyes and said, ‘son, why would I be a politician when I can own one?’”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money Paul Giamatti in 'Billions.' media4.giphy.com

15. Backyard Carnival…For a 4-Year-Old

“My dad cooked a small dinner at a very privately wealthy family's house, in which Dick Cheney was a guest and they flew in Elton John to play piano for the night. That same family put on a birthday party for their 4 year old granddaughter, who wanted “a carnival” for her birthday, so they invited all of the country club staff's families to ‘make the place look alive.’ Free carnival rides and food all day and night. In their backyard.”

white lotus, gilded age, succession, rich people wealth, reddit, ask reddit, tax the rich, money An image of a carnival media2.giphy.com

Of course, what also makes many of our beloved rich-centric shows so watchable is the fact that these characters, even with their excessive wealth, cannot escape grief, loss, or retribution for their wrongdoings. I'm not to say that any of the wealthy folks from these stories should face comeuppance simply for having what many others want, but it’s no secret that the working class sees this stark contrast more and more each day, and will not stop calling for more equality in one way or another.

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Trump thinks trickle-down economics can make America great again. Will it work?

Concerned about income inequality? Meet one of the causes.

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Civic Ventures

There's one thing we learned for sure this election year: If you want to get people excited, promise to fix the economy.

Every economist and politician worth their salt have different ideas about how we can close the widening gap between the rich and the poor, and there's one tried-and-true solution that lots of them keep coming back to: trickle-down economics. But aside from being named after something that conjures up images of faucets clogged with who-knows-what, what exactly are they? And, more importantly, do they work?

To answer that question, we need to go back a few decades.

In the 1980s, Ronald Reagan became president after promising to reinvigorate the economy by cutting taxes on wealthy Americans.

Their wealth, he promised, would inspire them to spend more on their businesses, creating jobs and wealth for the people in income brackets below them. Those people would do the same, albeit with less cash to spend, and their spent wealth would "trickle down" to the poorest of the poor. The rich would benefit, and the poor would benefit from the rich. Everyone wins!

Reagan introduces his tax plan, which he never referred to as trickle-down economics, calling it "Reaganomics" or "supply-side economics" instead. Image via Reagan Library/Wikimedia Commons.

Trickle-down economics sounds like an idea that might work. Except its benefits are, to put it mildly, not exactly as advertised. Here are a few important reasons why:

1. Trickle down really trickles right back up.

Image by Heather Libby/Upworthy.

According to smart folks who studied the impact of Reagan's tax cuts, the wealth he promised would "trickle down" ended up "trickling mostly up," making income inequality worse. Between 1979 and 2005, after-tax household income rose 6% for the bottom fifth. That sounds great until you see what happened for the top fifth — an 80% increase in income. That split has become even worse since then. Income inequality has never been higher — and under a new president taxes might go lower than ever.

2. It adds a middleman who really doesn't need (or want) to be there.

This boy will probably pass on the apple to its intended recipient. A corporation? Not so much. Image via iStock.

Let's say you want to give someone near you an apple. You could either hand them the apple yourself or you could give it to someone else to eat and hope they share at least some of it with the person you wanted to give it to in the first place.

Trickle-down economics works the same way. Instead of creating a social program to help give wealth and support to lower- and middle-income people, the government instead gives tax cuts to wealthy earners. It relies on them to create the spark that will generate wealth and support for the lower classes. Which leads to the next point:

3. If wealth were to potentially trickle down, it would take a loooooong time for even an incremental gain. Like 40 years long.

A long-term study of trickle-down economics by the Harvard Kennedy School found that with trickle-down economics, it would take 40 years for the bottom 90% of the population to see a 5% rise in their income. One of the study's authors likened this approach to being "like giving people aspirin when they have cancer."

Their recommendation, instead of trying to make trickle-down economics work, was to focus on raising up the poor and middle class. According to the authors: "Widening income inequality is the defining challenge of our time."

In recent years, plenty of politicians — and some surprising other voices — have joined the chorus against trickle-down economics.

During a famous 2011 speech, President Barack Obama railed against the tax policies that created trickle-down economics.

In 2013, Pope Francis echoed Obama's concerns.

There's one guaranteed way to create an economic model that increases wealth, and it involves turning the trickle-down pyramid upside down.

A famous study by the International Monetary Fund looked at what happens when governments prioritize helping the poor. Increasing the income share of the bottom 20% of earners by just 1% would increase the GDP by nearly half a percentage point.

Doing what trickle-down economics argues for and giving a 1% increase to the top 20% of earners does the opposite and ends up decreasing the GDP. Cue the sad trombone noise.

A majority of modern economists see the flaws in trickle-down economics. There's one important person who doesn't, though.

And he's going to become president on Jan. 20.

Image via Bastiaan Slabbers/Getty Images.

President-elect Donald Trump has been clear about his plans for American taxes. Like Reagan, he wants to cut tax rates for corporations and drop the tax rate to 15% for the top 1% of earners. This kind of policy, he promises, will make America great again. For the millions of voters who cast ballots for him, that's statistically unlikely to be the case.

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You won’t find a happier guy than Zeke. He didn't let life's setbacks get him down.

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TD Ameritrade

It's easy to feel like life is a treadmill.

We're constantly working to make a living, running forward full speed. Sometimes, regardless of how hard we work, there just isn't enough money to go around. It's hard, and it's frustrating, and it can be completely consuming. When you work hard, you want to enjoy life, but access to so much is tied to being able to afford it. 

Here's one guy who's found that his bank account didn't have to determine his happiness. His memories and experiences mattered more. 


Zeke, a World War II pilot, hasn't had the easiest life, but you can't tell by listening to him. He's filled with a love for the small moments that changed his world and made it better. As he puts it, "I'd rather be rich in life than rich in money." 

Now, there's no denying that money is critical to survival.

It's a little easier to take a step back and have this perspective when every single day isn't a fight just to keep a roof over your head. But what Zeke discovered is that once he managed to get the necessities covered, his happiness didn't come from acquiring more things. 

There are ways to find moments of pleasure, regardless of what's in your bank account.

Following Zeke's lead, here are a few tips on how we can all find moments of pleasure in the midst of life's chaos, regardless of what's in our wallet.

1. Relationships matter. So much.

Relationships take a lot of work, but they’re worth it. And I'm not just talking about romantic relationships — although apparently committing to a life partner can add three years to life expectancy. Think about shows like "Friends." Could Rachel have dealt with career challenges and the back and forth of her relationship with Ross without her friends in her corner? Maybe, but it would have been a lot harder.

The people in our lives shape our view of the world and the ways in which we experience it. Healthy relationships make us healthier.

Image by Naveen Kadam/Flickr.

Arthur Aron, Ph.D., psychology professor and director of the Interpersonal Relationships Laboratory at New York’s Stony Brook University, told The Nation’s Health that “relationships are — not surprisingly — enormously important for health, and there are lots of studies on the biological processes that account for the link between relationships and health.” 

So make friends. Dive into love. And nurture those relationships. Because they just may help you to live longer and happier.

2. Go outdoors and smell the fresh air!

Getting outside as often as possible has proven health benefits. From increased brain function to aging gracefully, it seems like spending time outside is the cure-all for a lot of things.

Image by Shinya Suzuki/Flickr.

Environmental psychologist Judith Heerwagon told The Huffington Post, “just looking at a garden or trees or going for a walk, even if it’s in your own neighborhood, reduces stress. ... There’s something about being in a natural setting that shows clear evidence of stress reduction, including physiological evidence — like lower heart rate.”

Best of all? Outdoor activities usually don’t cost a dime. So take a walk, look around you, and let nature work its magic.

3. Enjoying art — for free? Yes, please.

There are some cities that have free events down to a science. In other areas, finding a free show takes a little bit more effort, but they’re out there! 

Regardless of whether you’re being treated to a world-class performance of Shakespeare or a band of kindergarteners practicing their choir tunes, getting out of the house helps you to form memories, meet new people, and do something. Best-case scenario, you see an amazing show that stirs you in some way. Worst-case scenario, you have a story to tell. Either way, you just may have some fun mixing things up.

4. Remember, there's always a new day.

As Victor Hugo wrote in "Les Miserables," "even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise." There’s no science there, just the wise words of a revered author. We’ll take it. Life is an obstacle course, but it’s good to remember that there’s always another day, another chance to wake up and make your day and your life what you want it to be.

Image by Chris Gosselin/Flickr.

Each day won’t be the best day ever, but it also won’t be the worst ever. It’s essentially the Kaizen theory: If we make continual small improvements, in time we’ll see big change.

Money will always be a stressor; we can't escape it. But if you keep working toward the life you want to live, hopefully after a few years you’ll look back and see that you're living it. 

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Republicans and Democrats should never forget what Paul Ryan said about the poor.

Rep. Paul Ryan did something that is all too rare in politics.

Paul Ryan. Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

He admitted he was wrong.

Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.

For a long time, Ryan (R-Wisconsin) had divided Americans into two groups: "makers," working people who contribute to society, and "takers," (mostly) poorer people who depend on government benefits.

A Florida woman looks for a job at a placement office in 2014. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images.

Here's how he put it at a fundraiser in Wisconsin in 2012:

"Do you want the American idea of an opportunity society with a safety net where you can take a risk, start a business, make a difference, succeed and be honored for being successful? Or do we go down the path the president is proposing — a social welfare state, a cradle-to-the-grave society where we have more takers than makers."

And here's how he framed it earlier, speaking to a fellow Republican congressman in 2010:

"Right now about 60 percent of the American people get more benefits in dollar value from the federal government than they pay back in taxes. So we’re going to a majority of takers versus makers in America and that will be tough to come back from that."

But this year, Ryan had a revelation: Most people don't take government aid because they like free stuff. They take it because they need it to survive.

A girl pays for food with an EBT card. Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images.

According to the USDA, in 75% of all households that both received food stamps and had a member who was able to work, that person had a job in the year before or after receiving the benefit.

How did Ryan realize he was wrong? By listening to actual poor people.

A New York City man guides a cart of recyclable cans down the street. Photo by Jewel Samad/Getty Images.

Here's what he had to say in his speech. It's really, really different than the way he's framed the issue many times before (emphasis added):

"There was a time that I would talk about a difference between 'makers' and 'takers' in our country, referring to people who accepted government benefits. But as I spent more time listening, and really learning the root causes of poverty, I realized something. I realized that I was wrong. 'Takers' wasn’t how to refer to a single mom stuck in a poverty trap, trying to take care of her family. Most people don’t want to be dependent. And to label a whole group of Americans that way was wrong. I shouldn’t castigate a large group of Americans to make a point."

It's not just poor people who benefit from government assistance. Most of us do at some point in our lives.

The thing is, we're often unaware of it, according political scientist Suzanne Mettler, whose arguments were summarized by The Washington Post in 2015. That's because the benefits that most of us receive — for things like housing and health care or through the GI Bill, if we're veterans — often come to us through lower tax bills rather than as cash handed directly to us.

If we live long enough, most of us will eventually collect Social Security or have our medical bills paid through Medicare.

There's still plenty not to love about Ryan's approach to poverty, which doesn't do much to reflect his change of heart. Yet.

Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images.

His 2014 anti-poverty plan still includes provisions that make the poorest Americans jump through hoops in order to receive benefits while wealthier Americans continue to receive tax credits for things like mortgages and college tuition "just because."

But at least where his thinking is concerned, he's starting to get it. And that's progress.

As Ryan said in his speech, "People with different ideas, they're not traitors. They're not our enemies. They're our neighbors."

It's possible to disagree with Ryan — on this or even on most things — and still believe he deserves credit for listening, grappling, and changing his tune on the poorest Americans.

You can watch Ryan's full address here. The important part starts at 9:40:

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