celeb lifestyles...real or blown out of proportion?

Who wants to watch a show with celebrities explaining how they saved and invested in no load mutual funds?

 

Fact: 95% of celebrities that answer the door, do so wearing a ratty-ass white terry-cloth bathrobe.

 

oh my god... MARK! How do you come up with this stuff? I mean geez - thats perfect and you should get your work published, if you haven't already.

The detail is the kicker... "coming soon: bankruptcy" LOL!

 

Shallow, materialistic, phoney ,thick, generally talentless LUCKY BASTARDS

 

There's a lot of pressure on celebrities to have an extravagant lifestyle. Its just what the general public expects and demands to see from them. Still, a lot of celebrities are very stupid in the way that they go about having that lifestyle. For example, I saw on The Fabulous Life (one of those VH1 shows about celebrity lifestyles) that some celebs spend up to $600,000 a year to rent homes in the Hamptons for the summer. If they want to spend that much on summer homes, thats fine with me, but in my opinion, its really stupid of them to spend that much on renting when they could at least be building equity (and get some income in the non-summer months) if they spent the same amount to actually purchase the homes.

And then there are stupid things like Brittany Spears using her private jet to fetch Coffee Bean for her. Now, I'm an Angeleno, and I love my Coffee Bean (I practically have a physical addiction to the eXtreme Mocha Ice Blended), but it isn't worth the extra several thousand dollars of a private jet trip over a Starbucks Frappacino. Stuff like that is downright foolish, and is how so many celebs end up bankrupt.

And really, who needs things like $90,000 watches? I love expensive things and congratulate them on their ability to spend money, but even I have my limits of what I would consider reasonable (and mine generally are much higher than your average persons'). It's possible to lead a very glamorous lifestyle without absolutely throwing money away. 99% of people can't tell the difference between a $100 bathing suit and a $600 one. 99% of people can't tell the difference between a $10,000 watch and a $90,000 one (and by the way, having a watch that is completely encrusted with diamonds and practically burns your eyes out when reflecting the sun looks more cheesy than classy, IMO). 99% of people arn't going to notice if you wear the same outfit more than once, so why have a new outfit for every single day of your life? I mean, are there any celebs out there who at least have some common sense in them?

 

You need to remember that most Celebs do not pay for certain items. Its given to them...example, Dr.Krane was p/u by helicopter to and from work by the studio, as a signing bonus he received a Viper. The cast of freinds as a bonus all received new Porches as a gift from the station. Will Smith gets free clothing from designers at premiers and the new sub culture of advertising is no longer commercials (because people change stations on commercials) New form of advertising is during an interview with Leno or Letterman or anyone else. What are you wearing *****, things of that nature. In most cases thats why the celebs seem to live this lifestyle, its all for the show and advertising so you can go out and spend $$$ on the same things as them...like special coffee beans.

 

Happiness does not come from blowing $. Happiness comes from being secure and calm and relaxed & it doesnt really cost much
As long as you have the basics of food, water, shelter, health, & sanity you can achieve high levels of happiness.

Desire on the other hand which our consumer society is based & driven by is what really causes suffering

Desire to have more stuff, to be thinner, to be more beautiful to be more popular, to find the perfect mate, to have people envy you. Any kind of desire that you allow to drive you will cause you to suffer

 

Very well said.

 

While celebrities do have money to burn, they are poor in comparason to some vested gentry around the world. When I was in St. Barths earlier this year I spoke with the Captain of a 200+ foot yacht docked there. I ask him whether or not a celebrity owned the yacht, he laughed and said,..."a celebrity couldn't afford this yacht, it belongs to a wealthy French oil baron..."

 

jerry seinfield has a shower that uses Evian water... but i think he has a little more cash then most celebs...

just thought that was kinda cool...

 

Not my work, I just found it.

I can show you all the zeros you ever wanted to see. Just don't expect to see any other numbers.

 

You know everybody has a different magic number. I think if you have $30 million in liquidity, anything beyond that point pretty much does not make a difference. You will still live the same way if you had 30 million, 40 million, 60 million or 80 million.

The important part is not to allow the money to get to your head. Some hardworking or lucky (whichever way you prefer to call it) people earn their wealth quick but it is hard for them to understand and degest their new money. In the case of most celebs, this is precisley the case. Many of them come from poor back grounds. So when they see 7 or 8 digit figures in their bank accounts overnight things get a little out of hand. Hence, the jets and the 4 sports cars, 3 houses and 250k diamonds all over them.

However, then there is a case to be made for some celebs that are level headed. They understand there new found wealth and invest it into business ventures and assets that will help them if they happen to lose their celebrity status. They too have luxurious lifestyles, but understand that life will go on if they do not drive around in a bentley. A comfortable Mercedes or BMW is alright too. Yes, if you have money live life to the max, but understand that there is a tomorrow too.

 

Boston mini, I think you have to beware saying things like, "I could never spend X amount of money, ever..." because there is always something bigger and better and the sky really is the limit on spending. And you'll find that once you have a certain amount new things (like $20,000 toilets or $1M garages) will be presented to you. Then you get a hobby like collecting vintage Ferraris or art, and then you get into huge, huge money. Unless you have a strong will and control over your wants, the consumption function will easily expand with your bank account.

For many people with jets and helicopters and such, [they feel] their time has become more valuable than the cost of running the jet. Which can be true for someone with a productive life. I think a lot of this stuff about Britney flying in coffee or Madonna certain things on their jets is just done to be a publicity stunt and a power ploy (the "I have so much money I can pay $32,000 to have a meal flown to me" move).

Frank is right though, most Hollywood types can't compare to these large business types and wealthy families who have serious money. Not only that, they can usually shop at stores without being hassled for autographs and such.

And I think a ton of these young rappers on Cribs are probably financed up the ying-yang.

 

they have this image they HAVE to up hold.

?I would love the money and attention. Mostly the woman and cars.

 

imperial83, $30m would be a lot for me. However, when you own a $200m yacht as in my St. Barths example, $30m represents annual operating cost and crews salaries.

 

Yeah, that's one of the reasons I choose not to have a yacht like that. I find that my 14 ft kayak is somewhat less capital intensive all things considered.

 

Keep in mind most of the blingers don't pay for half their crap. Snoop Dogg is sponsored by some guys to put the 24" wheels on his car ... so the 40grand price tag is actually zilch of his money ... pretty cool uh?

Would be pretty interesting to see how each of use would stay level headed with an insane amount of money ... how would you say "wait ... this is getting ridiculous"

 

Right now there is a trend to glorifying thug culture on both sides of the spectrum. RedNeck or white trash is cool (kid Rock, Jesse James etc) and The Urban Thug is big on the other side.

Here is a little tidbit for you Funk Master Flex the dude who does the show on spike was going to do a show on a "special" car maker and wanted a Free car in return. Pretty bold but if you can get away with it...
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I get your point. The $200m yatch type of extravagance is exactly what I am talking about. It would give me the same if not more pleasure to own a boat of $1m than to deal with the headaches of operating a $200m yatch. Why do I need a $200m yatch when I could still enjoy the company of my friends and family on a $1m boat? I could certainly affoard a $1m boat if I had $30m in the bank. As I said, the magic number is different for everyone. But I think it its crazy to blow money just because a person has it.

 

what i think is for every star on those shows there are 100 actors, rappers, basketball stars, that we all would say wow that guy was hot, what happened to him. that are dead broke because they spent it all, you just never see them or hear from them again. Its not hard to spend 10 million in 10 years, and then owe the IRS millions.

john