rant · moment 16 of 21
What Actually Makes Someone Rich, and the Mystery of Socialites
from Tough Love · #3
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
5 minTim distinguishes "having money" from "being rich," describes the total lifestyle commitment required, compares it to Olympic athletes' monastic focus, tells the Lloyd Blankfein South Bronx origin story, and discusses socialite Jayne Wrightsman's cultivated mysteriousness.
- 39:11Tim defines wealth as a million dollars or more in liquid assets and holdings, excluding real estate.
- 39:50To make serious money, you have to want it badly and surround yourself with wealthy people.
- 40:10Tim notes that some of his happiest friends are people who don't prioritize money at all—gym teachers, comedians who do work they believe in.
- 40:31The major problem with people trying to get rich is they're unwilling to give up their social circle and comfort—the girlfriends who complain, the bar friends.
- 41:11Olympic athletes and musicians are celebrated for monastic devotion to their craft, but singular focus on making money gets you labeled a monster.
- 42:00Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, grew up in the South Bronx projects—his name sounds regal but his origin is humble.
- 42:26If a woman wants to date a rich man and can't hold a conversation beyond movies or constantly reveals everything about herself, she fails to maintain mystery.
- 42:44Great socialites like Jane Reitzman maintain mystery not from nature but from embarrassment about their origins—she married an oilman, became friends with Jacqueline Kennedy, and never needed to constantly discuss her tough upbringing.
- 43:05Jane Reitzman of 820 Fifth Avenue—where apartments average 34 million—understood that her past didn't help her trajectory.