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People Who Became Rich Later In Life Share How People Treat Them Differently

"A couple of years ago, I came into a large amount of money ($10M+) somewhat unexpectedly... My biggest mistake was simply telling the people in my life about it. People don't want to spend their own money — they want to spend YOURS because it isn't real to them. So, when you say no, obviously the only reason is that you're rich, greedy, and don't care about anyone but yourself."

We recently asked people of the BuzzFeed Community who became rich later in life to tell us how people now treat them differently. Here are the shocking results:

1. "I grew up with a blue-collar background on both sides, and my parents worked very hard to lift themselves out of it and make sure I didn't slip back in. A bunch of my cousins on my dad's side who I grew up with never left the trailer park (literally). With some of them, it's okay, maybe a little awkward, since our lives are so different now. Others, I had to go no-contact with because they were constantly hounding me for money."

"And then, some of the rich kids I went to school with don't seem to know what to make of me moving in the same circles as them now...though, I think that one is more uncomfortable for them than me, haha."

—axj66

Benjamin Rondel / Getty Images

2. "I grew up on welfare, and I never had new clothes until I was 16 and could buy them myself. I now have five degrees, and I'm working on my doctorate, and I own two homes. I am secure enough financially that I could buy a car on my way home from work and pay cash for the entire thing — without impacting my bills. My family sees me as a cash cow, and I'm taken advantage of as often as I allow it, which is not too often anymore. I have had to literally bail my sister out of jail, and I have had to cover my parents’ mortgage."

"My father tells me I have 'too much money.' I have a less-than-stellar relationship with my parents because of their disdain for the fact that I'm not struggling as they have, and it's hard; parents should want better for their children, and it's obvious my parents don’t."

—erincorrigansmith

Visualspace / Getty Images

3. "Not rich, but have enough for me to be a stay-at-home mom and live very comfortably in California, so more upper middle class. Weirdly enough, it's family members that get weird. Some have been competitive, some bitter, and others want something. You can't tell them you're going on a trip without some form of guilt-tripping coming into the conversation."

"Some think you're obligated to take care of them, but that's a hard no."

—taylora4e62a0521

Skynesher / Getty Images

4. "A couple of years ago, I came into a large amount of money ($10M+) somewhat unexpectedly (not a lottery win; it was related to a company I owned and sold). I do not come from wealth AT ALL — my parents were blue-collar working class, and that's how I was raised, so it was a huge adjustment. I did make some mistakes, one of which was simply telling the people in my life about it. I'm treated differently now, and sometimes, by people who I would have never thought would.