I just noticed the following in Google News:
Joan Rivers’ New York funeral a star-studded event
NEW YORK - There was no red carpet, but Joan Rivers’ funeral was an A-list event. Howard Stern, Donald Trump, Kristin Chenoweth, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb and Barbara Walters were among the stars spotted arriving at Rivers’ …
So if you are a rich and famous celebrity to what extent are your friends also rich and famous? Do you dump the people who you realize aren’t going to help you maintain, increase your status?
I would imagine that it’s no so much that you dump your old friends as much as you now tend to meet people with similar circumstances and you become friends with them.
Poor people in Appalachia are likely to know a lot of other poor people in Appalachia and wealthy people in Hollywood tend to know a lot of other wealthy people in Hollywood.
More likely, those celebs who attended wanted to increase their own status by being seen going to Joan Rivers funeral. But I’m pretty sure they weren’t all celebs in attendance
I disagree with the OP’s premise - the people who showed up at Joan Rivers’ funeral weren’t necessarily her only friends, or her friends at all. My father was a very close friend, from college, of a major Hollywood and TV executive. When his friend died at age 48, his funeral was wall-to-wall A-list affair. My dad didn’t go. Said he didn’t have any place there, and that seeing all those industry types preening at his friend’s funeral would have just made him mad. Some while later, though, dad and a few others form the college crowd flew out to the grave and held their own, personal, memorial service.
So don’t assume you know everything about a public figure’s personal life.
I would imagine it could be difficult to hang out with friends if you’re in a significantly different economic level.
Let’s say you win a big lottery prize and you now a multi-millionaire while your friends are all still living the same lifestyle.
Do you offer to give them substantial gifts? Do you not offer to do so? When you go out to a bar or restaurant or some other place, do you offer to pay for everyone? How long before this puts a strain on the relationship regardless of what you do?
Put those issues aside, what do friends talk about when they hang out? They’re going to be talking about normal stuff like their jobs or some project they’re working on around the house. Do you talk about your recent trip to Europe?
Obviously if you have money, there will be people who will be happy to hang out with you and help you spend it. But real friendships require some degree of equality.
A famous singer from Barcelona died two weeks ago. His wake was at the Catalan Government’s central building. There were politicians. There were musicians. There were gypsies (his family for starters), and non, and poor and rich and middle class and Evangelicals and Catholics and atheists and…
Many sportsmen marry models (often, one after another). Others do not (and tend to do better). Iker Casillas’ wife is a reporter; Angel Iniesta married his childhood sweetheart.
Do famous people know other famous people? Well, yeah (today at 9, IT people tend to know a lot of IT people). Are those the only people they know? No.