Man finds out his ‘average, low-profile’ friend is secretly rich — family owns entire condo floor

SINGAPORE: On Sunday (Dec 21), one Singaporean man took to social media to share his shock after finding out that his “average, low-profile” friend was actually far wealthier than he had ever imagined.

In his post shared on the r/SingaporeRaw Reddit forum, the man explained that he and his friend had been part of a tight-knit group for a long time. Throughout those years, they all assumed he was just an “average guy, maybe even struggling a bit,” like the rest of them.

According to him, nothing about his friend’s lifestyle stood out. He wears Taobao or Shein clothes, uses an old phone, takes the bus everywhere, and regularly joins them in complaining about how bleak the job market and future prospects look.

Their perception of him, however, changed when they saw how luxurious and big his home was.

“We finally pressured him to host a Christmas gathering since we’d never seen his place,” the man wrote. “We assumed it was a small HDB. Turns out, he lives in a massive 5-bedroom condo, and his family owns the entire floor (6 units for his parents, grandparents, etc.).”

“I’m honestly shocked. I didn’t think people like this actually existed outside of movies. He’s been thrifting and saving cents on Grab rides with us for years while sitting on that kind of wealth.”

Still trying to wrap his head around the revelation, the man ended his post by asking other Singaporeans if they had ever encountered this kind of “stealth wealth” in real life, where someone looks completely ordinary but turns out to be quietly loaded.

“He was raised well by his parents.”

The post quickly gained traction in the forum, drawing a wave of amused and slightly mind-blown reactions from netizens who said this kind of “stealth wealth” was more common than people think.

Many shared that the richest people they know are often the most low-key, with one commenter sharing, “That’s nothing, my friend takes budget airlines with us and buys shampoo back for his family because it’s cheaper overseas. His family is on Forbes 50 richest Singaporeans.”

Another commented, “One of my closest friends is super rich, but he is the thriftiest, most lowkey person ever!!! We are 26, and I owed him S$0.20 before, and he ask me to paylah him back LOL. I only know he’s rich because I visited his family before.”

A third remarked, “I think it’s very common in SG. For every flaunting, flashy influencer out there, there are, like, 10 thrifty, low-key wealthy people under the radar pretending to make ends meet, eat cai fan, 2 veg, and 1 meat only.”

Meanwhile, a few others praised the friend for his humility. “Good for him!” one user wrote. “He was raised well by his parents. He probably knows his privilege but doesn’t feel entitled to all the wealth that his parents/grandparents have amassed.”

In other news, a 24-year-old Singaporean woman shared on social media that she felt devastated after her grandmother lost all of their combined life savings, amounting to S$3,000, in a YouTrip scam.

Posting on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit on Thursday (Dec 18), the woman said the incident left her emotionally and financially shattered. She explained that she had spent years patiently guiding her grandmother through the use of digital payment platforms such as PayNow, PayLah, Apple Pay and QR code payments, while consistently reminding her to stay “vigilant against scams” that often target elderly users.

Read more: ‘That S$3K was my entire life’: 24 yo woman ‘devastated’ after grandmother lost S$3K life savings to scam