Stealth Wealth til Death?

kgtest said:
Does a winery count as a farm? I am learning more and more about the billionaire who owns the winery down the road.

I know a guy who owns a public facing farm that really just sells flowers and plants, but surely has more going on than I can see. They moved into my nieghborhood and purchased the most expensive home in the hood.

They do drive an older "farm truck" that is in mint condition because my guess is they stay planted at the farm and the truck never got drove (but was a nice tax write-off.)

They have been remodeling the home for the past 3 months with multiple dumpsters gone through now...but at a pretty slow pace.

I asked the neighbor adjacent what the skinny was...

After his thoughts aligned with mine, we both looked and agreed, clearly they have more to ration out then we do.

They could have loans, what do I know or care.
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Clearly Walter White moved in :)
 
Stormy Kromer said:
I'm a tent camper myself. That is the coolest tent set up I've ever seen.
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My buddy had this on the back of his truck w/topper and he gifted it to us after getting an Overland camper. We have 2 25" mattresses in the van and the grands get the tent or our changing room.

I'm taking it to the Buffalo river next week for a 4 nighter. I have backup power & portable fridge for creature comfort.
 
kgtest said:
Does a winery count as a farm? I am learning more and more about the billionaire who owns the winery down the road.

snip
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Living near CA wine country, I've always been told that owning a vineyard was a nice way to quickly lose money.

In reality, aren't small farms a common way to reduce taxes, for those that want land and a nice home? You buy a large plot and build a custom house, and then hire out the crop making (grapes, hay, you name it)
 
planuntilthefisthits said:
Another reason for Stealth Wealth:

"As bitcoin soars, investors and executives are taking their swollen digital wallets offline for safety. Criminals are coming after them, violently."​

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Definitely a reason to keep your wealth stealthy.

Laws on kidnapping used to be draconian. Things like life sentences were often imposed. I don't know if that still happens or not. It should.
 
Route246 said:
We tend to operate this way. From the outside everything is tasteful, well-kept and maintained but nothing is flashy, especially our cars. If you come in the house and look closely you will see it but most don't even recognize it because they have never considered upgraded finishes. The appliances are a little obvious but the cabinets are not as well as the flooring. One rule I have told our architect is no extreme crown molding and other finishes that provide zero functionality. Windows are top-tier but you wouldn't know if unless you know it. The best stuff is often stealth because you're paying for functionality as much as appearances. The door and cabinet hardware is top-tier but doesn't look like it unless you know.

I find that top-tier finishes tend to function better, last longer and feel nicer when interacting with them. Things like cookware, if you shop carefully for the high-end stuff is just better to use and more enjoyable in a subtle way while not being flashy or obvious.
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Though I never considered it, I can related to this subtle stealthiness. We hired a cabinet maker to custom build all of the kitchen and bathroom cabinetry in our home. All the front faces of the top drawers (10 of them) were cut from a single piece of wood, so you can follow the grain around the room. Similar attention was given to the door fronts and other drawers where the grain is followed from one face to the next.

I also have a full wall of custom cabinets in my office and our master bedroom has a 12' wide wall-to-wall dresser built into one wall (16 drawers total). Marble and other high end finishes round things out, along with a 12-top dining room table hand made by Amish people. However, almost nobody notices unless they're a furniture maker.
 
kgtest said:
Does a winery count as a farm? I am learning more and more about the billionaire who owns the winery down the road.

I know a guy who owns a public facing farm that really just sells flowers and plants, but surely has more going on than I can see. They moved into my nieghborhood and purchased the most expensive home in the hood.

They do drive an older "farm truck" that is in mint condition because my guess is they stay planted at the farm and the truck never got drove (but was a nice tax write-off.)

They have been remodeling the home for the past 3 months with multiple dumpsters gone through now...but at a pretty slow pace.

I asked the neighbor adjacent what the skinny was...

After his thoughts aligned with mine, we both looked and agreed, clearly they have more to ration out then we do.

They could have loans, what do I know or care.
Click to expand...
I say yes they qualify as a farmer. Any way the farmers I know and I know a lot of them. They are very well off and I know two nursery owners that sell flower, veggies from their greenhouse for about three months and one clears around 200k for those few months. Than they farm on top of that. I'm happy for them and they work hard but bottom line farmers are very wealthy people if they manage things right. Give two people 100$ and get two different results. Farmers should be wealthy some just don't manage it though.
 
I
audreyh1 said:
Our neighborhood has enough well off folks. For many they are second homes. When we bought an expensive car there were so many in the city that we don’t feel conspicuous. Our neighbors were only shocked that we chose red! Ha ha
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I had a neighbor that had 3 vehicles... all red. He pulled up to me with his new red car I said to him, "George, you do know that they sell cars in different colors other than red, right?". :)
 
Our DS 32 & DD 40 know how much we have & which brokerage has it in the event of our unexpected demise.
We do gift them by transferring shares every year non reportable amounts .
We socialize among friends from similar socio economic backgrounds, but no one knows what the other has or is worth.
No one seems to be rich rich, nor do I see any one poor.
All seem to be doing relatively well.
 
kgtest said:
Does a winery count as a farm? I am learning more and more about the billionaire who owns the winery down the road.

I know a guy who owns a public facing farm that really just sells flowers and plants, but surely has more going on than I can see. They moved into my nieghborhood and purchased the most expensive home in the hood.

They do drive an older "farm truck" that is in mint condition because my guess is they stay planted at the farm and the truck never got drove (but was a nice tax write-off.)

They have been remodeling the home for the past 3 months with multiple dumpsters gone through now...but at a pretty slow pace.

I asked the neighbor adjacent what the skinny was...

After his thoughts aligned with mine, we both looked and agreed, clearly they have more to ration out then we do.

They could have loans, what do I know or care.
Click to expand...
Winery with vineyards, yes. They are referred as estate wineries. A winery without vineyards, no. They just process and age the juice sourced from other vineyards.
 
pb4uski said:
I had a neighbor that had 3 vehicles... all red. He pulled up to me with his new red car I said to him, "George, you do know that they sell cars in different colors other than red, right?". :)
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My two vehicles:
 

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Koolau said:
As my dad would have said: "For another dollar, you could have got red."
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When buying my new bike, the color black was free and every other color had an up charge. The most expensive being a color called chili pepper, an orange ish red. I got that one!
 
COcheesehead said:
When buying my new bike, the color black was free and every other color had an up charge. The most expensive being a color called chili pepper, an orange ish red. I got that one!
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Wow!! Never knew that colour had a price of more value. Does that go for vehicles as well?
 
street said:
Wow!! Never knew that colour had a price of more value. Does that go for vehicles as well?
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When I bought my Bronco a year ago, some colors cost more. Some have metallic overlays and other features that make them cost more or at least give the manufacturer the opportunity to charge more.
 
I don't really think of how much money I have anymore. My money is invested in long term assets, out of sight and out of mind. The value of those assets is not relevant on a day-to-day basis. I did find out, based on recent statistics, that I'm near the top of the local pyramid when it comes to individual wealth, but what good does this information do to me?

What matters is the income derived from those long-term assets. And that number is a lot closer to the local average. Hence I live like an average Joe. The only difference is I don't have to go to work in the morning to get my income. If someone is curious, I tell them how much I make, not how much I have. They're unimpressed.

Besides, based on conversations I've had in the past, I think that most people would actually be confused by the disconnect between my net worth number and my standard of living. A lot of people think that millionaires drive Bentleys, not a nearly 8-year old compact Audi. No need to confuse people unnecessarily.
 
I'm fairly open about it with my friends and my parents. They know I'm working on retiring in about 3 years or so. I figure when I retire early, they will just figure it out anyways.

Funny store with my dad. A couple years ago we were just hanging out and he mentioned to me that he and my stepmom had finally reached a million dollars in their portfolio. I could really tell he was proud of that accomplishment. I congratulated him on the big milestone....and then I said, 'Welcome to the club!" He was a little shocked by that statement, but we both laughed. He knows I have been working hard to retire early like him (he gets a pension... I don't, lol).
 
COcheesehead said:
When buying my new bike, the color black was free and every other color had an up charge. The most expensive being a color called chili pepper, an orange ish red. I got that one!
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Once upon a time, any color offered on a vehicle was not upcharged. :cool:
 
Our kids are partially aware of our financial position because they are on the Board of our LLC that holds our rental properties. They see the annual financial statements. But they are unaware of other investments and income streams.

To everyone else we are the just dorky and fun neighbors on the street who mow their own lawn, drive older cars and disappear to Cancun or Caribbean when the weather at home gets cold.
 
RetiredHappy said:
My son is very frugal and doesn't make enough to live on and I gift him $20K to $30K a year, and most of that money goes into a joint brokerage account, in his and my name. I have been trying to get him to spend more and remind him that he will get millions from us in inheritance. It does not change the way his spends. He drives a 13-year old, new when we paid for it 13 years ago, has a dent in front from hitting a racoon and body shops have told him to scrap it instead of repairing it as it will costs north of $4K to get it fixed. So he tapes up the bonnet/hood and continues to drive it. I have been offering to buy him a new car and I am getting a short "NO" from him every time. It has only 60K miles on it and he insists it is still a good car.
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DD got my 2010 Civic in 2016 the summer before her senior year of college and was ecstatic to have it. Took the bus around town prior to that. She still has that car and has no desire to buy new one. She would rather save and invest her money. It's a good feeling to see kids adopt your frugal habits.
She named the car Derrick.
 
street said:
Wow!! Never knew that colour had a price of more value. Does that go for vehicles as well?
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Our Mazda SUV had a red upcharge of $600 or 800 dollars. Can't remember the figure. The red color was done very well.
 
People will assume what they want to. Ultimately we all have the same resources, just varying forms, degrees and we expense them differently.
Some people buy boats and hunting camps. Others invest in equities. Others invest in their children. And no matter how well one might think they are doing, at any moment hit fits the shan and strips it all a way. It's all a gamble. Why gossip?

Look at my house you may think I'm wealthy.
What I spend on the kids, wasteful.
When I drive up to your house in a 10+ yo car dressed like a bum, average.

Sometimes talking about your successes feels like bragging. That's why I come here.
 
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