Do you know people that are rich but act poor?

Why do they do that?  I often wondered that myself.  At first, I thought maybe they were acting poor to fool people.  That way, when they do business they can play the “I’m just like you” card, “I’m just trying to feed my family”…

Next, I thought maybe they were trying to blend in with their friends, kind of like a chameleon.  Perhaps they are afraid what their friends will think, knowing that they are rich.  Or perhaps, they want to fit in with their family, and avoid brother “Billy” from asking for money to borrow.

The two reasons above might ring true, but personally, I think they act poor because that is how they were raised and it’s the habits that they are use to.

Ironicially, it works out well for them, because they still fit in with their middle class background and even save more money.  Of course, this enables them to become richer and richer since they don’t have to support a highfalutin lifestyle.  

I often wonder if I would be the same way or not.  I always thought that if I were rich, I would definitely travel more (and I still do think this), but maybe to fit in, I wouldn’t do it as much as I initially believed.

What do you think of people like this, and would you do the same?

-MR