In 2013, Russian-born Anna Sorokin posed as an artwork socialite and German heiress within the New York Metropolis artwork scene. Utilizing her connections, Sorokin arrange a faux studio and manufactured false paperwork to substantiate her claims of getting a $67 million belief fund. All in all, Sorkin defrauded members of the New York artwork and social scene of greater than $275,000 between 2013 and 2017 (right here). She is a basic instance of a faux wealthy individual – or somebody claiming wealth to govern or deceive others.
Sadly, there are a lot of extra individuals like her on the market. So that you just gained’t get fooled, listed here are some indicators of a faux wealthy individual and how one can spot them.
1. They depend on bank cards to pay for all the pieces.
An individual could have costly, luxurious items. Nevertheless, that doesn’t imply they’re wealthy. If you wish to know if somebody is faking, take note of how they pay for issues. Are they continually utilizing bank cards? Or, do they pay with money or debit? Have they got a black card? Has their fee ever been denied?
Many individuals dig themselves deep into debt through the use of their bank cards to maintain up appearances. This often means they haven’t any financial savings and all the pieces they personal is bought on borrowed cash. In distinction, the rich usually have entry to money or money equivalents and haven’t any have to borrow to fund shopper expenditures.
2. They should impress individuals.
One other signal of a faux wealthy individual is how far they may go to impress individuals. They want validation from these with wealth and standing as a result of they thrive on the approval of others.
Due to this fact, they go to additional lengths to indicate off standing gadgets that give the impression that they’re wealthy. This might embody sporting costly clothes or attire gadgets with designer labels. Or, they could drive luxurious automobiles and keep in costly inns. All of those behaviors point out somebody who’s making an attempt to make use of perceived wealth to realize standing.
Suppose of people that continually put up on social media about their wealth. Some work it into conversations to let individuals know the way a lot they paid for a specific merchandise. Others appear to have a knack for redirecting all their conversations again to their costly purchases and achievements. All of those are purple flags that issues aren’t as they appear.
One latest instance of this was marketer Tai Lopez. He turned notorious after he posted a advertising video displaying off costly sports activities automobiles, a big ebook assortment, and a formidable mansion. The general public later discovered that he leased the mansion and automobiles and he had by no means learn his books. In September 2025 Lopez was sued by the SEC. The Lawsuit alleged that Lopez was working a “Ponzi like” scheme (right here). The video beneath has a short abstract of Lopez’ rise to fame and fall from grace.
3. They don’t meet their commitments or they violate the regulation.
In line with criminologists, individuals who have interaction in a single type of crime typically have interaction in different crimes(right here). For instance, individuals who commit homicide are prone to have a historical past of assault. Moreover, individuals who cheat on their taxes are additionally extra vulnerable to defraud their employers.
Based mostly on this logic, a faux wealthy individual is extra prone to enterprise into authorized and moral grey areas. Since they’re mendacity about their monetary scenario, there’s a excessive chance they have interaction in other forms of misconduct – reminiscent of failure to repay loans or failure to satisfy different commitments. Though individuals make monetary errors, patterns of violations and misconduct point out that an individual isn’t as financially safe as they need others to consider.
4. They will’t maintain deeper conversations about constructing wealth.
In lots of circumstances, individuals who have constructed a major internet value are sometimes snug speaking about cash. That is very true for individuals who have constructed their wealth via investing and entrepreneurship. As well as, managing giant quantities of cash typically means the rich must have a working information of superior tax and monetary administration methods.
So, faux wealthy individuals typically reveal themselves by their lack of economic information. Most individuals can speak on a floor degree about investing and private finance. They could even have practiced a couple of conversations or ready scripted responses to keep away from suspicion. However when pressed, they reveal that they don’t have monetary literacy. Maybe they will’t present particulars on how they constructed their wealth because it doesn’t come from their expertise. Nevertheless, their falsities are often revealed via an absence of detailed consciousness of superior authorized or accounting issues.
5. They continually brag about who they know or the place they’ve been.
Have you ever observed that the individual in query finds methods to namedrop essential connections? It’s as a result of they know the facility of those connections. Moreover, they need to acquire clout in social circles, emphasize social connections, and make themselves appear extra essential.
Faux wealthy individuals are the sort to brag about locations they go to or put up costly holidays on social media. However when it comes time to satisfy these individuals or frequent these locales, there’s all the time an excuse why they will’t. Due to this fact, be cautious across the boastful and take all the pieces with a grain of salt.
For instance, in 2017 Ricardo “Maserati Ric” Agnant claimed to be a former member of the Miami Dolphins to enhance his relationship prospects. In line with Black Leisure Tv in 2014, Agnant managed to sneak his approach into the NFL Regional mix on the Dolphins coaching (1). He later exaggerated his day on the sector in his makes an attempt to catfish quite a few ladies and con automobile dealerships into pondering he performed for the NFL. Nevertheless, he finally introduced an excessive amount of consideration to himself and was outed on social media. This successfully ended his charade and induced him to retreat from the general public eye.
6. Their circle consists of different faux wealthy individuals.
In line with Jim Rohn, we’re the typical of the 5 individuals we spend essentially the most time with. So, likelihood is in the event that they dangle round different faux wealthy individuals, they’re all in the identical boat. That is usually as a result of individuals with comparable pursuits collect to study from one another or to offer mutual assist to one another.
In distinction, people who find themselves legitimately rich additionally spend time collectively. This is because of shared pursuits and life circumstances the wealthy maintain, in addition to for networking, improved entry to alternatives and information transmission.
7. There’s all the time an excuse.
As with all liars, there’s all the time an excuse. The faux wealthy keep away from plans that contain costly eating places, ticket venues, holidays, or different issues they will’t afford. And when it comes time to pay, they continuously “overlook their pockets” or have to borrow cash since they “don’t manage to pay for in that account proper now.”
Different excuses embody the reason why they will’t host gatherings, why they will’t present you the costly automobiles of their Instagram feeds, a story concerning the causes of their newest enterprise failure, or some schedule battle that stops you from assembly essential contacts. Ultimately, the justifications run dry, and the reality comes out.
That is exactly what occurred to con artist Anna Sorokin. Ultimately, her acquaintances uncovered her fraud when her bank card stopped working and he or she “borrowed” cash from a buddy. The mountain of lies she had constructed imploded and uncovered her. This “buddy” later turned her over to the FBI. After the trial, the jury convicted her and he or she was sentenced to 4 – 12 years for grand larceny and theft companies. Her story proves that the reality will come out ultimately, regardless of how onerous you attempt to cover it.
What Separates the Actual from the Faux?
Within the digital age, appearances simply disguise the reality. So, how are you going to distinguish a faux wealthy individual from a real article? In line with quite a few authors, actual wealthy individuals show sure traits. For instance, they:
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- Learn constantly for self-improvement.
- Set and construct targets round their ambitions.
- Construct relationships with profitable individuals.
- Deal with their well being.
- Undertake a frugal mindset, and spend cash on high quality gadgets at a reduction.
- Observe what they spend.
- Save and make investments 10% to twenty% of their revenue constantly over time.
- Work quite a bit (no less than 50 hours every week).
- Restrict leisure display time and junk meals.
- Usually management their mood, ideas, and feelings.
If you’d like a broader dialogue concerning the habits and life of the wealthy, two good sources are The Millionaire Subsequent Door by advertising professors Thomas Stanley and William Danko and Wealthy Habits by accountant Tom Corley. Each books talk about the habits of the rich, together with a lot of these on this checklist.
Word, that broadcasting wealth to affect others is mostly not on the checklist of the traits of the wealthy. If somebody is actually rich, they don’t have to show it to you. Solely these with one thing to cover have to flaunt their wealth. So, if somebody poses as a faux wealthy individual, it would finally come out via their attitudes and habits.
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- Wealthy Habits Versus Poor Habits: A complete evaluation of the issues wealthy individuals try this make them wealthy.
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- The #1 Method the Uber-Wealthy Made Their Fortunes: A enjoyable article on how the uber wealthy acquired that approach.
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