Traits of a Rich Man

Over the years, I have been very privileged to have met and become friends with some very successful, inspirational people who have achieved feets beyond a normal person’s wildest expectations.

They not only achieved business success, but largely they are equally dedicated to causes that are close to their hearts.

Having travelled around the world, I have met people at all levels in society, and there has been no person who to this day, has intimated me or that I have been particularly in awe of. I respect achievement, but it never has been something I put on a pedestal as being above being a good person.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I sit outside waiting for my table to be ready and a friend ushers me over to sit with them. As I am seated, I realise Australia’s richest man and his partner are at the table, enjoying coffee and cranberry juice.  I have sat with people who have been in the same position before, but this particular person is reasonably young and the public know very little about him. I, of course, hear murmurs around the Eastern Suburbs but mainly things like ‘this person is friends with that person’ or ‘this person has just bought the biggest….’.

Like alot of people I have come into contact with, there is a certain presence that power and money tends to bring. And a certain confidence and sense of control.

People in this position are either very wary of people, or the polar opposite. I would say that this man is by all accounts, the former.

He wasn’t overly engaging of the people at the table mainly preferring to watch everyone and absorb their reactions to conversations, but he was proud to show off a picture of the new heir to the family fortune, which was quite endearing. His partner was as you would expect, stunning and incredibly intelligent. She speaks more languages than I have fingers on one hand and is effortlessly chic and engaging. Her personality shines and she is obviously very comfortable in these new surrounds.

In my experience, TRAITS OF A VERY RICH MAN include;

1. They hold themselves well and have a sense of control
2. They ask questions and you find that all you do is provide answers. When you walk away, you realise you know nothing more about that person than before you sat down
3. They have presence
4. They are intelligent and measured in their communications
5. They are very well travelled
6. They have a private jet
7. They don’t talk business or money at the dinner table
8. They ignore people who talk business at the dinner table as if they never existed
9. They know their positioning in the world
10. They are the last to arrive and the first to leave.

These are the traits of a very rich man according to my experience. He may not have the charisma of Kerry Packer or the high profile friends who ensure that he becomes tabloid fodder, but he is nevertheless Australia’s Richest Man and very much a product of his charismatic father (note: we are not talking James Packer here – he no longer qualifies as Australia’s richest for the record!).

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