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In 2013 Russian born Anna Sorokin posed as an art socialite and German heiress in the New York City art scene. Using her connections, Sorokin set up a fake studio and manufactured fake documents to substantiate her claims of having a 67 million dollar trust fund. All in all, Sorkin defrauded members of the New York art and social science of more than $275,000 between 2013 and 2017 (1,2). She is in effect a classic example of a fake rich person – or someone who claims wealth in order to manipulate or deceive others.
So that you won’t get fooled, here are 10 signs of a fake rich person and how you can spot them.
Signs of a Fake Rich Person
1. They Rely On Credit Cards or Financing to Pay For Things.
A person may have expensive, luxury goods. However, that doesn’t mean they’re rich. If you want to know if someone is faking, pay attention to how they pay for things. Are they constantly using credit cards, or do they pay with cash or debit? Do they have a black card? Has their payment ever been denied?
Many people go deep into debt by using their credit cards to keep up appearances. This usually means they have no savings and everything they own is on finance. Even if they earn a high salary, rich fake people may be living paycheck to paycheck for the sake of status.
2. They Have A Need To Impress People.
Other signs of a fake rich person are how far they will go to impress people. They need validation from those who are wealthy, and they thrive on the approval of others.
Therefore, they make extra efforts to show off status items that give the impression that they are rich. This could be wearing expensive clothing or apparel items like glasses or handbags. Or, staying in expensive hotels.
Think of the people who constantly post on social media about their wealth. Some work it into conversations to let people know how much they paid for a particular item. Others seem to have a knack for redirecting all their conversations back to their expensive purchases and achievements. All of these are red flags that things aren’t as they seem.
Marketer Tai Lopez famously exhibited these traits when he posted an infamous marketing video showing off expensive sportscars, a large book collection and a luxurious mansion. The mansion and cars were later shown to be leased and the books appear to have been unread.
3. They Don’t Meet Their Commitments, Or They Violate The Law
According to criminologists, people who engage in fraud often engage in other kinds of crimes. So, people who commit murder are also likely to assault others. People who cheat on their taxes are also likely to defraud their employers and visa versa. A fake rich person is essentially lying about their financial situation and will therefore likely have a tendency to engage in other kinds of misconduct – such as failure to repay loans or failure to meet other commitments.
4. They Can’t Hold Deeper Conversations About Building Wealth
In a lot of cases people who have built a significant net worth are often comfortable talking about money. This is especially the case for people who have built their wealth through saving and investing, or who have started and sold businesses.
So, fake rich people often reveal themselves by their lack of financial knowledge. Most people can talk on a surface level about investing and personal finance. Fake rich may even have practiced a few conversations or prepared scripted responses to avoid suspicion. But when pressed, they reveal that they don’t have much financial literacy. Perhaps they can’t provide details on how they built their wealth since it doesn’t come from their experience. However, their falsities are usually revealed through a lack of awareness of advanced legal or accounting matters.
In many cases, people don’t really like to talk about their money, so a fake rich person often doesn’t need to say much (1).
5. They Constantly Brag About Who They Know Or Where They’ve Been
Have you noticed that the person in question finds ways to namedrop important connections? It’s because they know the power of these connections. And, they want to gain clout in social circles, emphasize social connections, and make themselves seem more important.
Fake rich are the type to brag about places they go to or post every outing on social media as well. But when it comes time to meet these people or frequent these locales, there’s always an excuse why they can’t. Therefore, be cautious around the boastful and take everything with a grain of salt.
6. Their Circle Consists Of Other Fake Rich People
According to Jim Rohn, we are the average of the 5 people who we spend the most time with. So, chances are if they hang around other fake rich people, they are all in the same boat. Like a force of nature, they gravitate toward each other. Sometimes it’s to support pretenses, and other times, it’s an attempt to posture themselves over the others. Neither scenario is healthy.
7. There’s Always An Excuse
As with all liars, there’s always an excuse. The fake rich avoid plans that involve expensive restaurants, ticket venues, vacations, or other things they really can’t afford. And when it comes time to pay, they frequently “forgot their wallet” or need to borrow money since they “don’t have enough money in that account right now.”
Other excuses include reasons why they can’t host gatherings, why they can’t show you the expensive cars in their Instagram feeds, or a tale about the causes for their latest business failure, or some sort of schedule conflicts that prevent you from meeting important contacts. Eventually, the excuses run dry, and the truth comes out. For example, confidence artist Anna Sorokin was eventually found out when her credit card stopped working and she “borrowed” money from a friend, who eventually turned her in to the FBI.
What Separates the Real from the Fake?
According to numerous authors, real rich people have a number of characteristics:
They:
- Read consistently for self improvement
- Set and build goals around their life dreams
- Build relationships with successful people
- Focus on the their health
- Adopt a frugal mindset, and spend money on quality items at a discount
- Track what they spend
- Save and invest 10% to 20% of their income consistently over time
- Work a lot – at least 50 hours a week
- Limit recreational screen time and junk food
- Generally control their temper, thoughts and emotions
If you want a broader discussion about the habits and lifestyles of the rich, two good resources are The Millionaire Next Door by Stanley and Danko and Rich Habits by Tom Corley. Both books pretty much say the wealthy are characterized by the traits on this list.
Note, that broadcasting wealth to influence others is generally not on the list of the characteristics of the rich. And think about it, if someone were in fact wealthy, they’d have no need to demonstrate it to you – it would come out eventually in their attitudes and behavior.
Read More
- Living a Rich Life While Broke Isn’t Impossible
- What Does It Mean to Be Rich?
- 6 Financial Tips I Learned from “Crazy Rich Asians”
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Jenny Smedra is an avid world traveler, ESL teacher, former archaeologist, and freelance writer. Choosing a life abroad had strengthened her commitment to finding ways to bring people together across language and cultural barriers. While most of her time is dedicated to either working with children, she also enjoys good friends, good food, and new adventures.
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