I say it depends where you live. Live in the ghetto or middle class. Yes hide it. Otherwise celebrate.
money = time = freedom! i totally agree with hoodooman... freedom is true wealth. spending money on stuff you don't need costs you your freedom. debt costs freedom. these days i see things primarily on freedom vs. slavery terms.
Humans are naturally a parading species at all levels. So unsurprisingly the greater your wealth the more lavish can be your displays of wealth. But you can also mix and match. You can have considerable wealth but you can own a pied-Ã -terre, live quietly there some of the time, visit your local bar and socialize with people who only know you for who you are and not for any wealth you have (which you are not displaying to them).
Not necessarily.... Freedom and Happiness at this point would be a state of mind. You can have all the money in the world, all the time in the world to use it and still not be free. Look at Katie Holmes
TT: totally agree with the topic. i'm not a millionaire, but i lived in an expensive state with ridiculous property taxes on a $700k house. we had three cars, two with payments. we lived ok, but since then i moved to a cheaper state, better taxes, bought a 300k townhome instead which has 1/4th the taxes and got rid of the car on lease without replacing it. i drive my jeep wrangler (paid off) and the wife drives the saturn (i bought for cash). we have no car payments, car insurance has gotten much better, and oh yeah, i make a higher salary here than i did in the old state. i love it. best thing i ever did. folks at the office sometimes wonder why i drive an old jeep, but i just smile and say "i love my jeep." let them drive their lexus, bmws, etc. i know who has more money in the bank. -------------------------------------------------------- That's the ticket.
There's a story about a man who went to jail for a political protest. He was a deeply spiritual man. He sat in silence with a smile on his face all day long. When a guard came knocking one day offering him his freedom in exchange for political cooperation, the man responded, "You came here to offer me something I already have. Next time you knock make sure to knock three times, so I don't confuse you for opportunity."
I would say that this holds true for anyone making say less than $500k per year. Once you earn millions of dollars per year, its ridiculous to hide your wealth. You might as well not have any wealth if you are not going to use it. If you have the mindset to be able to make a million dollars per year, you obviously have the mindset to deal with any and all problems that go along with it. If you dont have that mindset to deal with the problems, then yeah...hide your wealth.
Simple following principles like The Millionaire Next Door would have prevented a lot of the problems this country has faced. But we all know this.
i definitely think it's just a european thing. the euro's are incredibly non-flashy. i remember when i was in monaco last year sipping cognac aboard this trite 250 ft yacht and i repeated the same quote in my best french accent. everyone laughed and unanimously agreed. truly, it felt warm to be amongst people of such modesty.