Spent ~15 years in tech startups, worked very hard, got lucky this time. I'm worth about ~$25 million and will likely 10x this in the next funding round. I was raised by a single mom / middle class and this amount of money is not something a single person I know has. I'm all over the tax planning / wealth advisory, not concerned about that.
Where do very rich people hang out? Should I seek out the most exclusive social club and buy my way in? Start investing? Try and join corporate / non-profit boards?
I have very young children and they will be put in elite private schools, so they will network and make friends in this sphere. But does the hustle never stop? My goals after exiting the 70 hour tech exec grind are to invest aggressively and start a non-profit focused on some unique ideas I have. Should I just keep stumbling from thing to thing and meet people on the way? It seems like a lot of very rich people I know also know a lot of other very rich people, and I'm unsure how that happens except through schools I never went to, frats I never joined, parents I never had, and networks I seem to be unaware of.
A bit tongue-in-cheek, but what is the guide for a new hundred-millionaire?
Maybe you should get some kind of style consultation / makeover before attempting that so people there don't think you look that weird?
More concretely, we might ask what your goals are in meeting other very rich people. There isn't just one kind of rich person and there isn't just one social circle of rich people. You could also take up hobbies that you find you genuinely enjoy; if they're expensive hobbies, maybe you'll find that some other people involved in them are also pretty well off.
Also, if you start donating to charities, you could have some frank conversations with the donor relations people about your interests -- at the high end they probably have some individual relationship with, or at least some substantive knowledge of, their other major donors. So you could ask the people receiving your donations about your interests, whether framed socially or in terms of wanting to develop your philanthropy by talking to like-minded donors.
One strategy to make friends: just show your disdain for working people and rich people will flock to you. :-D
It's funny that everyone seems to have trouble meeting new friends when older, even the 1% apparently.
Add Covid to the mix, and things are tough.
I guess it's probably only really possible to meet other rich people to be friends with, else you'd always be worried that people were just using you.
This question seems to show up a lot in the Reddit FIRE communities -- maybe they've figured out the answer.
Reminds me of Douglas Rushkoff's anecdote about how, when growing up, his dad got promoted, they moved to a bigger house in an outer burb, own backyard and pool and grill, so fewer friends, etc. What's the basis?
If you move to the right hood, your neighbors are prob rich, too.
And if you just have hobbies like pickup soccer, you can have casual friends without being true/real friends.
And once you start the kids in their private schools, you'll run into those parents.
Good luck.