An old-timer, a truly wealthy corporate man who had built empires quietly while others were busy talking once told me something I never forgot: “Be careful dealing with “successful” people who cannot stop showing you how successful they are.”
He meant the kind who live on social media like it is a personal trophy cabinet, showing off every business-class flight, every fine-dining experience, and every “hard-earned” luxury purchase, complete with a caption about gratitude and hustle.
What he really meant was this, the loudest success is often borrowed. Many of these people are not spending their own money. They are spending their company’s, or worse, their clients’. The caviar, the “exclusive retreat,” even the smile often on someone else’s dime.
He also gave me another piece of advice that proved just as valuable: “Avoid dealing with wealthy people who do not respect others.” He had seen plenty of rich men and women who ridiculed, belittled or mocked anyone they deemed beneath them. “If a person cannot be decent when they have money,” he said, “imagine what they would be like if things go wrong.”
He himself is the quiet sort, drives a modest car, dresses plainly, treats everyone with the same courtesy, from the janitor to the Chairman. You would never guess how wealthy he is and that is precisely why he is.
Over time, I realized his advice applies perfectly to investing as well though perhaps that is a story best saved for another day.