8 Subtle Signs That You’re Hanging Out With Old Money Socialites (2024)

By now, most readers have read up on my strange upbringing. I grew up in an all-white town which had a lot of old money involved in it. The town next to me was one of the richest, snootiest places in New Jersey. I went to private school. So, I hob-nobbed with the nabobs of society.

Among the wealthy, there are two different types of people: old rich and new rich. Old rich are people who grew up in generations of money and get their hooks in life by being high society. New rich are people who made their own — flashy folks like rappers, CEOs of tech startups, and Wall Street guys.

Growing up around the old rich was something that definitely had an impact on me, though I’m not sure what that impact was. Either way, among the wealthy, you start to notice very subtle differences between groups in the upper echelon of earners.

Old money is subtle, and in a lot of cases, you wouldn’t be able to figure out that you’re around them until you see their bank account. Don’t believe me? These subtle signs will tell you whether you’re around old money or not.

I used to joke about the bars near my childhood home, saying they have “Country Club Rules.” Country Club Rules are the unspoken rules that certain old money bars have.

1. You never should order more than two drinks.
2. co*cktails should be mixed strong as hell so you won’t have to order more than two to be blitzed.

Among the old rich, you don’t really make a fool of yourself by getting wasted or drinking to much. It’s declasse’. So, you stick to two (very strong) drinks when you’re out and about.

On a similar note, you’ll never see a wine bottle that contains 1.5 liters of vino…