SINGAPORE: A man who considers himself part of the “old-money” wealthy took to social media to explain that the truly rich don’t flaunt their assets.

In an anonymous post to popular confessions page SGWhispers, the man said that his grandparents were landowners in Selangor. His father sold everything there and moved to Singapore when his grandparents died. He then invested in commercial buildings, mostly around Robertson Quay. “My mom and dad are Ivy League educated (Columbia) and my sister and I also went to Columbia (undergrad and grad school). I worked for McKinsey in New York for 3 years, earned an MBA, and I now run the family business. My sister has a law degree and she’s working for Biglaw in NYC”, the man wrote.

He explained that he and his family have never spent more than $1000 on a meal and said that growing up, they ate at hawker centres all the time.

“I wore the same backpack since I was 10 until I graduated JC. By which point one of the straps had been broken for at least 2-3 years. My dad wears a G-Shock, and I have never gotten myself a watch. My mom wears a Burberry, which is the furthest she’ll go. I don’t know about member’s lounges or private clubs. Never flew anything more than premium economy. I flew Scoot more times than I remember. My dad had a Camry when I was born, which he later upgraded to a Lexus. Since then he has never driven anything more than a Lexus. Our family owns two cars. An Lexus LS, and an RX. I bought my first car early this year. It’s a Camry”, he added.

The man wrote that he and his family lived on University Road, opposite Botanic Gardens. A quick online check showed houses along University Road priced at $10 million and above.

Despite this, he wrote: “My grandfather said once: “If you’re rich, you don’t need to show it; if you’re poor, you have nothing to show; the only ones who do are the insecure.” My dad absolutely hates people (rich or poor) who are ostentatious. After a certain point, spending more on something doesn’t really give you much more satisfaction beyond just showing off”.

The man said that he grew up with other children from wealthy families in real estate, and they all are mostly indistinguishable from the typical middle-class family save for their property and academic background. “Otherwise we tend to be surprisingly plebian”, he wrote.

“The world of luxury isn’t created for the ultra rich. They tend to be far too pragmatic to be interested in waste”, the man said.

Here’s what netizens who commented on the man’s post said:

Earlier this year, the national British daily The Telegraph said Singapore had become a “playground for Chinese ultra-rich” who are avoiding a crackdown on the well-heeled.

However, their lavish spending habits are wreaking havoc on Singapore’s real estate market, sending prices soaring, The Telegraph added.

The piece quoted Mr Pearce Cheng, chief executive of relocation services company AIMS, as saying, “You cannot imagine the way they spend money. It’s crazy.”

In another anecdote, a family moved out of a house that they had been renting for £10,000 monthly (SGD16,000) because the rental rate was increased to £26,000 (SGD41,700).

But in a week, the house was snapped up by a wealthy Chinese family.

A move to Singapore is not a new phenomenon for China’s richest, due to the country’s reputation as a tax haven, but a fresh wave began to be observed toward the end of last year, due to President Xi Jinping‘s crackdowns as well as Covid-19 shutdowns.

China to see ‘exodus of wealth’ to Singapore after Xi Jinping’s crackdowns, Covid shutdowns

Man who lives in Good Class Bungalow says people can only tell he’s wealthy from his property and academic background, “Otherwise we tend to be surprisingly plebian”

ByObbana Rajah

ByObbana Rajah

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