All-too-often we peasants find ourselves thinking, "Man, if I were rich I'd pull some stupid crap." Unfortunately for us, becoming rich often means walking a specific kind of straight-and-narrow that precludes the kind of wacky behavior that would be the best part of being rich in the first place. An amazing category of people have managed to sidestep that.
Let's hear some examples of rich people who are actually living the dream.
Just over ten years ago, Rick Ross was a corrections officer named William Roberts who derived a nickname from a famous drug dealer and quickly became rich based almost entirely on the fact that his fake name rhymed with the word “boss.” That did not stop him from doing things such as purchasing pools with a drawing of his own face at the bottom. Move over, Horatio Alger. This is the American dream.
Branson, with his world-record-beating ways and pop culture ubiquity, is such an obvious choice that I almost left him off the list. Until, however, I learned that he is featured in the video for XTC’s “Generals and Majors.” Richard Branson is so rich that he is allowed to have fun with Andy Partridge if he wants to. I am not that impressed by cameos in James Bond films or piloting hot air balloons, but if you are filmed somewhere with the great Andy Partridge, you have earned my respect forever.
Dakis is your typical “industrialist” type who probably just got rich by being good with money. He has, however, become one of the world’s foremost collectors of contemporary art. That’s all well and good, sure, but check out the number he had Jeff Koons do on his yacht! If only more billionaire art collectors weren’t afraid to look like awesome fools sometimes.
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