SINGAPORE: “How do young Singaporeans get so rich?” This was the question a netizen asked Singaporeans in an online forum over the weekend (Aug 10). The post tackled the topic of young Singaporeans, specifically those in university and below, who can afford a lavish lifestyle.
“Building off of a post I just saw about rich Singaporeans, I want to ask how so many young people these days are wealthy enough to travel, afford a car, go on very nice dinners frequently, go out every weekend, and overall just spend so much,” the post read.
The netizen was then led to ask, “Is it really all just (their) parents’ money (apart from the exceptional ones)? If so, how does it usually work? Do they (receive an) allowance or do they actively just ask parents for the cash?”
The netizen also shared what shocks him the most about how young people can afford such things. “It’s just really difficult for me to believe that so many young people start businesses/play crypto/invest and all manage to achieve such wealth so quickly as well.
But if it’s all just parents’ money, isn’t that (so) lame when they flex their Chanel bags and their BMWs? Help me understand, please!”
Singaporeans react to wealthy youth
Many Singaporeans responded to the post, sharing their insights on the matter. Generational wealth was a common topic that came up in several comments.
“Most of the time it’s generational wealth,” said one. “I know of people who work freelance like once or twice a month and live off their parents’ supplementary cards.
There are also people who just have a nice family house and car and don’t need to pay for anything so all they earn is theirs to spend. I had a friend in the army who drove an Audi to camp while I had to commute 1.5 hours to CCK.”
A few followed suit and shared examples of the lavish lifestyles of people they know who come from wealthy families.
“Bro, I had a uni batchmate whose dad bought her a car once she got her driving license. “But she’s a complete idiot. She also couldn’t park for nuts – it became a running joke among my friends whenever we saw the car. But at the end of the day, it’s her privilege she could enjoy.
We could make fun and laugh but she was the one with a personal car while we had to take public transport,” said another.
Still, others talked about the fact that sometimes, people don’t take into account what actually goes on behind the scenes. After all, social media makes it easy to put up a facade of wealth.
“It’s just the optic they wanna show,” said one. “I have many colleagues who have Chanel bags and all, but turns out they sleep in a bunk bed with their three generations of family, only drink coffee from the pantry (because it’s free), and live paycheck by paycheck.”
Social media and the facade of wealth
“Young adult here, with people thinking that I am ‘rich’ because of the lifestyle (travelling, eating out at fancy restaurants occasionally) I portray on social media.
I’ve stopped receiving an allowance and all the money I have was through working multiple odd jobs and saving them for a long time.
But people don’t see the days where I cook at home to save money, enforcing a maximum $5 budget on my meals, and sacrificing my wants or the quality of my needs. But these are not the things I put up on social media so I don’t blame the people who view me like this.
All in all, the internet is not real and you get to choose what you wanna believe in,” another shared his/her thoughts on the matter.
Featured image: Depositphotos