Well, that's rich.
While it's true that the super-rich don't have the same day-to-day problems as the lower classes, their “rich people's problems” turn out to include the same range of negative emotions as the rest of us. Not that New Yorkers have much sympathy for them.
Members of the upper class typically suffer from a host of problems brought on by extreme wealth, including loneliness, paranoia and a distorted sense of purpose, which can cause problems in their lives and even affect their impressionable children.
“People who aren't wealthy think, 'If I had all that money, I wouldn't have any worries,' so they assume that wealthy people don't have problems,” Beverly Hills psychiatrist Carole Lieberman, M.D., told The Washington Post.
“Money can’t buy happiness, but if you have a lot of money, you can throw it at some problems and solve them. But no matter how much money you have, you can’t buy all your problems.”
Anxiety and loneliness
CNBC was the first to highlight the idea that life isn't all that great for the top 1%, with a therapist telling the outlet that wealthy people's relationships are “defined by what they can offer to others”.
The wealthy are isolated from the world and relegated to a small, upper-class community who understand what comes with accumulating wealth, but within that small group, competition easily erupts.
“While the middle class are obsessed with keeping up with the Joneses, the wealthy are obsessed with keeping up with the Kardashians,” Lieberman told The Washington Post.
According to a Beverly Hills psychiatrist who knows all about “rich people,” insecure people continually collect status symbols — Rolex watches, Rolls Royce cars — to cement their place in the upper class.
However, such competition only serves to further divide small groups, leaving relationships with an air of superficiality, further increasing feelings of isolation.
The urge to be naughty
“Of course, being rich is better than being poor because you have more options in life, but the rich are also sometimes the loneliest people and, not having to work, can leave them feeling empty and aimless and turn to all sorts of vices,” Lieberman said.
The mischief can range from gossip to infidelity to more nefarious acts such as white-collar crime, the psychiatrist said.
The luster of the lavish lifestyle of the wealthy quickly dulls, and those who do not have to work to maintain their wealth often find themselves doing nothing.
“They're looking for excitement in other ways,” she said.
Impact on children
It's hard to sympathize with money-makers and amassers, but perhaps the kids in the top 1% deserve more sympathy.
“Kids from wealthy families suffer the most because their wealthy parents usually have other things going on — dads are workaholics and moms are shopaholics,” Lieberman says.
“This means that children are raised by wet nurses and lack constant love from their parents, which leaves many feeling empty and turning to drugs and alcohol to fill the void.”
Little Richie Riches have the world at their disposal and access to pretty much everything, except for “love and attention” from their parents, she continued.
This “emptiness” is not the same as the one affecting their parents, Liberman clarified.
While the adults get into trouble trying to stay busy and excited, the kids act to fill the gaping hole in their lives.
Fortunately, this life-changing problem can be solved if affluent parents make an effort to find healthy hobbies and spend time with their kids, she added.
New York's response
Known for their outspoken nature, New Yorkers told The Washington Post they have little interest in the plight of the wealthy.
“This is bullshit,” said Rodney, a retired wallpaper installer who lives among the wealthy Upper East Side.
“I have no sympathy for rich people. Come on!” he told The Post.
“Rich people have their own problems, but what's the problem with being rich?”
Rodney also said he had little sympathy for wealthy kids, saying Lieberman's assessment of their propensity for behavioral problems “sounds like an excuse.”
“That sounds like an excuse for a lack of responsibility, discipline and stability. Most people are insecure because they're irresponsible. If you're not disciplined, then naturally you're insecure, and that instability leads to drugs and alcohol and all kinds of distractions,” he said.
The Upper East Side doorman, presumably accustomed to the sad demeanor of the wealthy, simply rolled his eyes when asked his opinion.
