You Can Never Be Too Rich

Pam: I like to think I’m above being fascinated by the uber-wealthy. But I have to admit that I’m curious about how they live.

Ann: You’re not alone. That's why that TV show “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” was so popular.

Pam: Yeah, the new generation’s version of that show is rappers on MTV showing people their “cribs”. It’s pretty funny. Talk about “new money”…

Ann: …and all that that implies! But you don’t have to rely on Hollywood for your glimpses, since your job puts you up close and personal with “old money” folks.

Pam: Yeah, in fact, just the other day I went to Mrs. B’s home to get signatures on some contracts. This lady has luxurious mansions all over the country, but her local home is a huge penthouse condo with an incredible 360º view of the city. When I got there, the housekeeper answered the door, but when Mrs. B heard my voice she shouted from her bedroom for me to “come on back”!

Ann: She sounds pretty casual.

Pam: She really is. She was still getting ready for a shareholder’s meeting that she was headed to and she very sweetly asked me to pull the contracts out of the envelope.

Ann: She’s the one who was born into a whole boatload of money right?


Pam: Right. And then she snagged a rich husband to boot, so she certainly qualifies as one of the “ubers”.

Ann: But she doesn’t look down her nose at you?

Pam: Oh no! She’s as sweet as can be. She treats absolutely everyone like they’re royalty. Instead of saying her housekeeper has “worked for” her for so many years, she says, “Hester has been with the family for ages” and stuff like that. She gives more to charity and good causes in a day than we will in a lifetime.


Ann: Well, I’m a follower of what Chico Marx said in At the Circus, “I ain’t got nothin’, but you can always have half.”

Pam: She was grabbing her scarf and packing her bag, and caught me eyeing a needlepoint pillow in her reading chair. It said, “People who say money can’t buy happiness don’t know where to shop”.

Ann: Yeah, too bad happiness can’t buy you money.

Pam: She smiled and asked, “Do you like my pillow?” I told her yes, that it was very pretty.

Then she said it was also very true. She said, “Pam, don’t ever let anyone tell you that money is a burden. It’s WONDERFUL!”

Ann: I love it! A rich person who actually admits being rich is great.

Pam: Without reading the contracts, she signed each page, asking me if we’d made the best deal. But before I could answer she said, “Oh never mind. You always do a great job!” She flipped them closed, handed them back to me and said, “Ride down with me,” meaning the private elevator down to the lobby. On the way down she got a call from one of her adult children. When she hung up she said, “That was one of my dependently wealthy kids…”

Ann: What a great sense of humor. Do you think I'm too old to be adopted?