Weird Habits of the Rich/Famous/Powerful

[Fotheringay-Phipps]

Not about MJ specifically, although he's an obvious example.

ISTM, based on what I've read, that rich/famous/powerful people are more apt to have bizarre quirks than most people. Several possibilities suggest themselves.

1. It's not true, and results from over-reporting by the media, possibly in exaggerated and/or inaccurate form.
2. The same factors that produce the great intelligence and/or drive that made these people famous are correlated with or related to the factors that produce weird behavior.
3. Something about the rich/famous/lifestyle pressures people into this type of weirdness.
4. Everyone has weird tendencies, but in the case of ordinary proles it's kept in check (consciously or sub-consciously) by societal and peer pressure. Rich/famous/powerful people are not as affected by this type of pressure, so their natural weirdness has a chance to express itself.

[Sage Rat]

People who earn lots of money generally get that way because they're hard workers, intelligent, and willing to take chances. For the most part, they live rather boring, unexceptional lives that aren't particularly worth writing about.

However, this isn't so true of people in Hollywood or sports. These people are given lots of money because they have a particular talent and good looks. This forces lots of people who aren't particularly money-wise, worldly, nor even just wise-wise to have more abilities and freedoms than they know what to do with, complicated by a financial impetus to keep in the media eye, and an entourage of people who also want to see the person do stupid things.

Of course the ones who don't fall into this trap, or whose career is more manufactured than lucky, generally don't end up in the media.

[Wendell Wagner]

Actually, I suspect that poorer people are more likely to have weird habits. There are a lot of people who are smart or have some other talent that they could have made good use of, but they have mental problems. Instead of using their talents to become rich, they are wasting them on some weird habit.

[gonzomax]

The rich have the cash to indulge themselves. Michael Jackson bought a hyperbaric sleep chamber because he could. I suppose a lot more people would have them if they could afford them. He could afford to waste the money if he changed his mind.

[ultrafilter]

Originally Posted by gonzomax

The rich have the cash to indulge themselves. Michael Jackson bought a hyperbaric sleep chamber because he could. I suppose a lot more people would have them if they could afford them. He could afford to waste the money if he changed his mind.

Exactly. Having money means that you have more freedom to do what you want to do, and that you'll face less criticism if those things are odd.

[Simplicio]

I know a lot of pretty weird people who are poor or middle class. I doubt celebrities are more likely to be any stranger then their counterparts, but if the guy down the street from you joins Scientology or has a hissie fit or buys a hyperbaric chamber (though I seem to recall that that was an urban legend, albeit one encouraged by Jackson himself), you don't hear about it on the news.

Add that to the factor gonzomax mentioned, that celebrities have a lot more resources to devote to their eccentricities, and I think that explains the perception people have of them as weirder then normal pretty well.

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by gonzomax

The rich have the cash to indulge themselves. Michael Jackson bought a hyperbaric sleep chamber because he could. I suppose a lot more people would have them if they could afford them. He could afford to waste the money if he changed his mind.

To echo Simplico, you know he never actually bought a hyperbaric chamber, right?

[jayjay]

Poor people are crazy. Rich people are eccentric.

[Death of Rats]

Actually, in MJ's case, most of the stuff that makes us think he was really weird turned out to be urban legends (Elephant Man's bones, hyperbaric chamber). Even the skin bleaching turned out to have a medical reason behind it. In the end we are left with an addiction to plastic surgery (not too uncommon anymore) and some questionable involvement with children that is either kiddy-diddler weird or Peter Pan syndrome weird. In his case, I think most of his actions can be traced back to not being allowed to have a childhood until he was in his 30's.

Most celebrities do what they do becase they have the money to indulge in these things. If Madonna decides she doesn't like Kabala or if she wants to adopt another African orphan she is not committing her entire life savings and facing financial ruin if it fails. That kind of freedom can inspire you to try things that you would not otherwise.

[Justin_Bailey]

Originally Posted by jayjay

Poor people are crazy. Rich people are eccentric.

Dennis Hopper is a wise, wise man.

[Freudian Slit]

Is it really "just" an addiction to plastic surgery? And how common is, that really? Other than Jocelyn Wildensten, I can't think of anyone who, by their own hand, looks that horrible.

[pancakes3]

even though i believe that all people have the same capacity for being crazy, celebrities are more prone to develop narcissism (a legitimate mental disorder) and that in turn magnifies their "eccentricities"

[Shagnasty]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Is it really "just" an addiction to plastic surgery? And how common is, that really? Other than Jocelyn Wildensten, I can't think of anyone who, by their own hand, looks that horrible.

You don't have to rich to be into that sort of thing. Check out the Cat man who is trying to transform himself into a tiger through surgery as much as possible:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/htm..._catman16.html

Also Google "body mutilation" some time. It is real and there are plenty of people that get in much deeper than MJ.

Wikipedia gives on overview but understates some of it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_modification

[Death of Rats]

Originally Posted by Freudian Slit

Is it really "just" an addiction to plastic surgery? And how common is, that really? Other than Jocelyn Wildensten, I can't think of anyone who, by their own hand, looks that horrible.

Joan Rivers


ETA: and LaToya, so it runs in the family. She and Michael even sort of look alike now. Well, until he died anyway.

[Krokodil]

Sylvester Stallone is reputed to crap in his hotel showers. I wonder if he did this before his Rocky-level success, or if this behavior increased or decreased when his star began to drop? No current way of measuring this, I suppose.

[dropzone]

Originally Posted by Death of Rats

ETA: and LaToya, so it runs in the family. She and Michael even sort of look alike now. Well, until he died anyway.

No, depending on the embalmer, you may wait for YEARS before they diverge.

[cordylus]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

Sylvester Stallone is reputed to crap in his hotel showers. I wonder if he did this before his Rocky-level success, or if this behavior increased or decreased when his star began to drop? No current way of measuring this, I suppose.

I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time with this. This thread is the first result in google for the string "Sylvester Stallone hotel showers" not related to a film. I'm not seeing anything that looks too promising further along. Not being snarky but can you steer me towards a reference to this. I just can't get past the "why" part of it.

[Tetrahydrocannabinol]

The media only lets you see what they want you to see.

Let's say that there were 100 celebrities in the world, and 30 of them were completely normal and never did anything out of the ordinary. Depending on their success, you might not even know their names. Let's say 20 other celebrities were extremely successful and became incredibly rich - they look at their bank account, it says 50 million dollars. (Take into consideration, having this much money tends to affect your decisions. Things you may have seen as useless before, suddenly become desirable. Why? ..Why not?) That hyperbaric oxygen chamber sounds pretty good all of a sudden. The media then reports on the "quirkyness" of these 20 celebs while leaving out the 30 people who didn't buy an oxygen chamber. And all along, the majority of these 50 celebrities were normal, yet based on what you're given by the media you wouldn't even have know better.


My point is that I think you're missing the bigger picture, (regardless of your 4 solutions, you felt insecure enough about them to start a thread to debate the answer) and failed to take somethings into consideration.

[msmith537]

I find the essentric habits of the rich but not famous to be far more interesting.

My college had a lot of kids who came from wealthy but relatively anonymous families. I've also worked with a lot of people who by the time they have reached their 40s have amassed quite a small fortuneas successful lawyers, bankers, consultants, and whatnot.

First of all, it turns a lot of them into douches. Not that they mean to be jerks or anything for the most part. They just don't seem to care about physical posessions (theirs or other people's), they often don't help out with stuff because they are used to someone else doing for them and they sort of take for granted stuff that most people get really stressed out about - tuition, grades, rent, fixing their trashed BMW, etc. And since most of the people they know tend to view them with a mix of resentment and envy, they can be a bit standoffish. So what you get is a person who seems very lazy, entitled and frustratingly casual about everything.

A lot of them aren't really raised by their parents. They are raised by au pairs until they are old enough to go to boarding school during the school year and camp in the summer. Then they go off to college. During parents weekend at my college, one of the parents asked why the guys in the neighboring fraternity were running around with Jack-o-lanterns on their head in the middle of April. I'm like "those kids tend to come from money. Their parents weekend usually consists of a letter saying something like
'Dear Hunter,

Having a great time with your new Mom skiiing in Aspen. Here's $5,000 to tide you over until we get back.

Hunter Douchington Sr.'"

Not surprisingly, a lot of them get into self destructive behavior. Drugs, booze and casual sex are pretty common. Other than maybe accidently overdosing, there usually aren't any negative consequences for them. Think of the coked up lawyer or stockbroker stereotype.

A lot of them get into weird hobbies too. One of my bosses was studing to be a mixed martial artist or something. He would bring in his sensei to give motivational speeches that mostly consisted of films of him kicking ass. Another senior guy used to take race car lessons and shit on the weekend. One of the oddest had to be this lawyer client my Managing Director went to meet. The MD comes back and tells me this bizarre story about this winetasting club thing this guy made him get all dressed up in Renaissance faire garb for. Like WTF dude.

[begbert2]

I'm weird as all get out - you just never heard about it because I'm not rich or famous.

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by msmith537

I find the essentric habits of the rich but not famous to be far more interesting.

My college had a lot of kids who came from wealthy but relatively anonymous families. I've also worked with a lot of people who by the time they have reached their 40s have amassed quite a small fortuneas successful lawyers, bankers, consultants, and whatnot.

First of all, it turns a lot of them into douches. Not that they mean to be jerks or anything for the most part. They just don't seem to care about physical posessions (theirs or other people's), they often don't help out with stuff because they are used to someone else doing for them and they sort of take for granted stuff that most people get really stressed out about - tuition, grades, rent, fixing their trashed BMW, etc. And since most of the people they know tend to view them with a mix of resentment and envy, they can be a bit standoffish. So what you get is a person who seems very lazy, entitled and frustratingly casual about everything.

A lot of them aren't really raised by their parents. They are raised by au pairs until they are old enough to go to boarding school during the school year and camp in the summer. Then they go off to college. During parents weekend at my college, one of the parents asked why the guys in the neighboring fraternity were running around with Jack-o-lanterns on their head in the middle of April. I'm like "those kids tend to come from money. Their parents weekend usually consists of a letter saying something like
'Dear Hunter,

Having a great time with your new Mom skiiing in Aspen. Here's $5,000 to tide you over until we get back.

Hunter Douchington Sr.'"

Not surprisingly, a lot of them get into self destructive behavior. Drugs, booze and casual sex are pretty common. Other than maybe accidently overdosing, there usually aren't any negative consequences for them. Think of the coked up lawyer or stockbroker stereotype.

A lot of them get into weird hobbies too. One of my bosses was studing to be a mixed martial artist or something. He would bring in his sensei to give motivational speeches that mostly consisted of films of him kicking ass. Another senior guy used to take race car lessons and shit on the weekend. One of the oddest had to be this lawyer client my Managing Director went to meet. The MD comes back and tells me this bizarre story about this winetasting club thing this guy made him get all dressed up in Renaissance faire garb for. Like WTF dude.

I'm not seeing how any of that is weird. College students of all ages do stupid stuff, regardless of their income. And if you don't have to worry about your rent, you aren't going to worry about your rent.

While I'll agree that most of the things you mention are different from most folks, it's not like it doesn't make sense.

And is should probably be noted that the number of people who gets dressed up like Renaissance people is probably higher on this board than most other places, inclusive of rich people.

[msmith537]

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

I'm not seeing how any of that is weird. College students of all ages do stupid stuff, regardless of their income. And if you don't have to worry about your rent, you aren't going to worry about your rent.

While I'll agree that most of the things you mention are different from most folks, it's not like it doesn't make sense.

It's hard to define what is a "weird habbit" and which ones are strictly limited to the wealthy. To the local townspeople in the depressed steel town where I went to college, we probably all seemed like a bunch of spoiled weirdo rich college kids. I find a lot of investment bankers and lawyers kind of weird. They don't really do anything weird, other than work 100 hours a week and have no outside interests or hobbies other than Hampton's houses they can never go to because of work.

I also find the various reality shows about Real Housewives, Kardashians, Jenners, Hogans, Hiltons, and the various Laguna Beach spinoffs weird in their odd boringness. They do the same stuff the rest of us do - date, bicker, shop, gossip, lounge about their residence, shoot the shit in a bar or restaurant. The only difference is they have more money and are a bit better looking. Mostly it just seems like a bunch of people with too much time on their hands trying to keep busy.

If I have to watch reality shows about rich people, I want to see rich people doing bizarre-ass shit. Secret Eyes Wide Shut mascarade sex parties. Hunting humans for sport. Demolishion derbies with Ferarris and Lamborghinis. Paying people a million dollars to dress in giant diapers and wrestle until they crap themselves. Real fucked up shit only rich people can do. I don't need to see them doing poor people stuff. I can find enough poor people to watch on my own.

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

And is should probably be noted that the number of people who gets dressed up like Renaissance people is probably higher on this board than most other places, inclusive of rich people.

But at a business meeting?

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by msmith537

If I have to watch reality shows about rich people, I want to see rich people doing bizarre-ass shit. Secret Eyes Wide Shut mascarade sex parties. Hunting humans for sport. Demolishion derbies with Ferarris and Lamborghinis. Paying people a million dollars to dress in giant diapers and wrestle until they crap themselves. Real fucked up shit only rich people can do. I don't need to see them doing poor people stuff. I can find enough poor people to watch on my own.

Growing up wealthy and knowing lots of wealthy people, I've never seen anything like that.

While there certainly are orgies in the world, I believe that most swingers groups are more middle class. Wealthy people couldn't afford the publicity (plus, simply, being a minority group it's going to be hard to find a lot of others in the same class with that interest.)

[threemae]

Originally Posted by Sage Rat

Growing up wealthy and knowing lots of wealthy people, I've never seen anything like that.

Hence why such material would warrant inclusion in celebrity television.

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by threemae

Hence why such material would warrant inclusion in celebrity television.

Well I've certainly seen Top Gear launch cars on a giant rubber band gun. But they were using old beaters, not Lamborghinis. And of course that was for TV, not for their own amusement.

[RaftPeople]

Originally Posted by begbert2

I'm weird as all get out - you just never heard about it because I'm not rich or famous.

We noticed. We've just been keeping quiet, out of politeness.

[Argent Towers]

Originally Posted by msmith537

I also find the various reality shows about Real Housewives, Kardashians, Jenners, Hogans, Hiltons, and the various Laguna Beach spinoffs weird in their odd boringness. They do the same stuff the rest of us do - date, bicker, shop, gossip, lounge about their residence, shoot the shit in a bar or restaurant. The only difference is they have more money and are a bit better looking.

I would have stopped at "have more money."

You can't buy good looks. Cannot. You're either born with it or you aren't. You can buy makeovers, plastic surgery and personal trainers and fancy clothes but that will not make you better looking.

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

You can't buy good looks. Cannot. You're either born with it or you aren't. You can buy makeovers, plastic surgery and personal trainers and fancy clothes but that will not make you better looking.

Quality clothing, makeup, diet, and exercise can go a decent way towards making a person look good.

For instance, there's a flight from Los Cabos, Mexico that stops in LA and Seattle. You can clearly tell who is going where because the LA people are better looking. And it's not just because good looking people all move to and live in LA (though I'm sure that's a small factor), it's because people who live there take better care of themselves. Seattle people don't dress nice, don't try to have a nice haircut, nor try to look fit and trim. The result shows.

[Argent Towers]

I completely disagree, I think the core component of good looks is facial beauty, and that's something that can't be bought. And cosmetic surgery can only go so far.

The LA people might look good, but I think there's a difference between "looking good" and "being good-looking." One of them is a temporary state, the other is something more or less permanent.

There are a lot of beautiful, beautiful women hidden under 60 pounds of fat - and there are a lot of really ugly women who are fit, trim and dressed "sexy."

[Sage Rat]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

There are a lot of beautiful, beautiful women hidden under 60 pounds of fat - and there are a lot of really ugly women who are fit, trim and dressed "sexy."

Technically true, but practically speaking irrelevant.

[begbert2]

Originally Posted by RaftPeople

We noticed. We've just been keeping quiet, out of politeness.

Naw, however weird you think I am (which could easily be rather a lot), I'm definitely weirder than that. It's a simple function of the fact that you haven't been to my house or seriously investigated me and my hobbies and opinions.

Rich/famous/powerful people, on the other hand, have reporters, interviewers, and television news crews going to their house and seriously investigating them. So if any given population of 100 people has 25 people who are absolutely freaky in some secret way, then you'll know about 1 of those 25 people from the 100 commoners, and 24 (or 36) of those 25 people from the 100 rich people.

Sure, the fact that rich people have more money to throw behind weird hobbies (and drugs) than the rest of us might be a factor too, but I seriously think that exposure likely plays a much bigger part in this phenomenon.

[Hippy Hollow]

Rich people have a lot less at risk by doing "weird" things. Most of us have to behave normally because we might lose our job tomorrow and have to look for another one. But if you're independently wealthy, it doesn't matter if the cops come out to bust you for playing bongos in the buff. You're not going to apply for a job as schoolteacher in a few years.

I also agree that your average American is doing some pretty weird stuff, but probably doesn't have the time or money to get that much into it. You want to see how weird people are, take a look at their private web browser histories.

[runcible spoon]

Am I really the first to point out the irony of one of the Fotheringay-Phipps pointing out the weirdness of rich people?

[China Guy]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

Sylvester Stallone is reputed to crap in his hotel showers. I wonder if he did this before his Rocky-level success, or if this behavior increased or decreased when his star began to drop? No current way of measuring this, I suppose.

Good buddy of mine worked in a hotel in Maui, and she said the hotel staff did not want to clean his room because he crapped in either the shower or the tub. Not like that is a world class cite, but it was pre internet back in maybe 1995 or so.

I guess if you're into daily enema's for whatever reason, that might explain it.

[Mapache]

[quote=msmith537;11325345

If I have to watch reality shows about rich people, I want to see rich people doing bizarre-ass shit. Secret Eyes Wide Shut mascarade sex parties. Hunting humans for sport. Demolishion derbies with Ferarris and Lamborghinis. [/QUOTE]

You shoulda been around in 1972. http://kearneycourier.com/2009060440...derby-101.html

Quote from the cite: -" Evel Knievel’s Rolls Royce, which was donated, was used in a demolition derby televised event in 1972".

There were also, if I remember correctly, various late model Cadillacs and Lincolns and so on. They didn´t really demolish the Roller, just bashed in a few corners, and the driver spent most of the event driving backwards trying to protect the very expensive radiator, but still....

[Krokodil]

Originally Posted by cordylus

I'm sorry. I'm having a hard time with this. This thread is the first result in google for the string "Sylvester Stallone hotel showers" not related to a film. I'm not seeing anything that looks too promising further along. Not being snarky but can you steer me towards a reference to this. I just can't get past the "why" part of it.

Tell you the truth, I first heard about it on these boards, under a thread called "What celebrities are complete bastards?" and heard rumblings elsewhere. I can't swear to its veracity. It's an irresistible image, though.

[mack]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

Sylvester Stallone is reputed to crap in his hotel showers. I wonder if he did this before his Rocky-level success, or if this behavior increased or decreased when his star began to drop? No current way of measuring this, I suppose.

Maybe he's still trying to figure out the clam shells.

[jayjay]

Originally Posted by Krokodil

It's an irresistible image, though.

More like indelible. Much to my dismay.

[Saintly Loser]

Originally Posted by Argent Towers

I completely disagree, I think the core component of good looks is facial beauty, and that's something that can't be bought.

Sure it can. High-quality prenatal and child medical care and nutrition make all the difference in the world. Regular dental and orthodontic care, braces if necessary, attention from dermatologists, good nutrition, good health habits, not having to do outdoor manual labor, all of these things will make a huge difference by the time someone is an adult. Not to mention life circumstances. If one doesn't grow up in an environment where one is likely to have one's nose broken, that makes a difference.

[msmith537]

Originally Posted by Saintly Loser

Sure it can. High-quality prenatal and child medical care and nutrition make all the difference in the world. Regular dental and orthodontic care, braces if necessary, attention from dermatologists, good nutrition, good health habits, not having to do outdoor manual labor, all of these things will make a huge difference by the time someone is an adult. Not to mention life circumstances. If one doesn't grow up in an environment where one is likely to have one's nose broken, that makes a difference.

Let's not forget grooming, dress and diet either. Poor people tend to eat like shit in this country. They buy a lot of fast food and other cheap, fattening food with questionable caloric value. Wealthier people also tend to have a lot more time and money for grooming themselves. You can take 2 genetically similar attractive 18 year old girls, one from a lower income working class home and the other from a more affluent home. Fast forward 15 years. What will the Poor Girl look like wearing Target or yard sale clothes, marrying her high school sweatheart, popping out a few kids and 15 years of eating pizza, fast food and meals made from cheap starchy food? What will the Rich Girl look like in trendy current fashions, 15 years of working as a single girl in an image conscious urban area and doing pilattes 4 times a week?

[Freudian Slit]

Originally Posted by msmith537

What will the Rich Girl look like in trendy current fashions, 15 years of working as a single girl in an image conscious urban area and doing pilattes 4 times a week?

Like this?