After three decades in the financial industry and meeting all kinds of wealthy individuals, I have found they generally fall into two camps. The first group is refreshingly straightforward, they admit they do not know much and come in with genuine curiosity, asking questions and wanting to learn and work together.
The second group takes a different approach. They have done their homework, checked my background, and sometimes know more about me than I have shared. When we sit down, they pretend to know very little, not to learn but to test whether I’m telling the truth. Instead of calling them out, I simply “play along” in our discussion.
Some even ask me to sign a privacy agreement before we begin talking as if I’m about to leak their identities to the evening news. Others bring in their lawyers which I don’t mind until I find myself giving a crash course on what I do every day.
Well, after all these years, I can usually tell what kind of client I’m dealing with after just a couple of questions. Since most clients are referred to me, I have often already done my own background check before the first handshake. It is a two-way street, while they are trying to assess me, I’m also quietly assessing whether we are going to be a good fit.
I take my job seriously. I’m answerable to my conscience before anyone else. Integrity matters deeply to me. Over the years, I may have stumbled from time to time, who has not? Every misstep has been a chance to learn, grow, and sharpen both judgment and character.
In our show business, reputation is not built on perfection, it is built on consistency, honesty, and the willingness to stand by your principles, especially when no one is watching. I will never deal with anyone regardless of their financial status who does not respect me, my partners, or the work we do. I’m perfectly fine earning less money if it means rejecting potential business that compromises those values because some deals are simply too expensive for the soul.
Trust is a two-way street and if we cannot meet at the intersection of mutual respect, there is no point going further. Being wealthy, after all, does not tell us much about a person’s character. It only tells us about their balance sheet. Character is revealed in how they treat other people.