How often have we been captivated by those fables during our childhood days, of beautiful princesses and handsome princes and the frog that became a prince or the poor little girl that became a princess? Little girls would dream of being like Cinderella and have a rich handsome Prince Charming to sweep them off their feet. But these rags to riches or riches to rags stories do not occur in just fiction. There are things like these that happened in real life.
How many cases are there throughout history of commoners marrying into royalty? The most famous example – Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Alright, so she was not really considered a commoner considering her father had some sort of minor title, but she was not exactly blue-blood either. And what about Prince Charles’ current wife, Princess (is she even recognized as a Princess?) Camilla, a divorcee whose family did not even come into any title? What about the late Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco? She might be one of Hollywood’s star of the times, but she came from very humble beginnings.
There are more examples on these rags to riches stories in real life. The Crown Prince of Japan married someone out of royalty. The late Prime Minister of India, Rajiv, married not only a commoner, but a lady from another country altogether, who could not even speak his language! What about a former law school mate of mine, who got hitched immediately after she graduated, to an Indonesian Chinese guy, son of a tycoon, whose father owns some offshore island in Indonesia? She need not work at all for the rest of her life, a waste of her years of studying and degree, but on the other hand can just be a socialite and enjoys life the way she likes. The envy of many a girl who dreams of a good and luxurious life.
Even in my own family, there are many of these cases. My father’s cousin (my grandma’s favourite nephew) struggled as a young apprentice in a watch shop through the years to the owner of Cortina Watch Holdings now, with his children helping him to run the group. My maternal grandfather and granduncle set up a small business many years back, which had built up to a big business, with my granduncle running the headquarters in Indonesia, my uncle the Singapore branch and another relative the Hong Kong branch. And what about my mother’s eldest brother, who married the only child of a late Malaysian Datuk, and inherited the entire family fortune?
Many of us would like to be in their shoes, but how many of us can really go from rags to riches? Most of us work our whole lives away without ever making a fortune. I will probably be one of these people. Contrary to popular belief, these people who were born poor but later became rich are neither arrogant nor selfish. In fact, they are philanthropic, generous and hardworking, probably due to their humble beginnings, definitely much better that those who have all along been born with a silver spoon for generations and have never tasted poverty.
But what about those who were rich but had lost their millions? These riches to rags stories are very prevalent too. What about those millionaires who became paupers overnight in the big Asian Financial Crisis around 1997 – 1998? Incidentally this economic downfall never really recovered until 2000 or 2001. It was bad luck for graduates of those years – could not find a job and most of them had to settle for something lower or totally irrelevant to their specialties. The worst case was that of some scholars who were discharged from the scholarship and bond and all of a sudden, they had to figure out how to continue studying or where to find a job. The suicidal and societal problems increased twofold during this period as well.
For someone who had all along been rich, all of a sudden he had to give up all his riches, it would be totally unbearable. After all, like what a friend once told me, if you have not been well off but later on becomes well-to-do, it is easier to adjust because you will be living a more comfortable life. But for those who had wealth, it will be harder to adjust to a downgrade, because which normal person will be willing to give up a comfortable life of luxury to something much simpler so easily?
I have witnessed how people struggle with the loss of a family business. My second boyfriend’s father owned a small business. He was not really considered as very rich, but at least could be considered above average to well-to-do. I remembered he used to have an allowance of $200 per week, with extras anytime he ran out of cash. $200 was what I used to have for the whole month in university, with no extras if I ever ran out. :-( As I have said before, my parents are very stingy. I used to give tuition to supplement my allowance, which enabled me to pay my own bills. Anyway, due to his big allowance, he was able to take care of me in a comfortable way.
When his father’s business failed due to the financial crisis, the entire family downgraded from an executive flat to a four-room flat. His father had to change the car from a Mercedes-Benz to a Toyota Corolla. But what he was most painful about was that his allowance was cut from $200 per week to only $60 per week. Sometimes he could not get his allowance for weeks if his dad could not afford to give him. I witnessed how the family struggled to come to terms with a simpler lifestyle and how they had to scrimp and save. But for him, he never did accept that he had to downgrade. That was why he chose to join the airline and fly around the world, so he can still live a life of luxury. It is very heart-wrenching indeed to witness how people suffer, especially over finances.
How many cases are there throughout history of commoners marrying into royalty? The most famous example – Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Alright, so she was not really considered a commoner considering her father had some sort of minor title, but she was not exactly blue-blood either. And what about Prince Charles’ current wife, Princess (is she even recognized as a Princess?) Camilla, a divorcee whose family did not even come into any title? What about the late Prince Rainier and Princess Grace of Monaco? She might be one of Hollywood’s star of the times, but she came from very humble beginnings.
There are more examples on these rags to riches stories in real life. The Crown Prince of Japan married someone out of royalty. The late Prime Minister of India, Rajiv, married not only a commoner, but a lady from another country altogether, who could not even speak his language! What about a former law school mate of mine, who got hitched immediately after she graduated, to an Indonesian Chinese guy, son of a tycoon, whose father owns some offshore island in Indonesia? She need not work at all for the rest of her life, a waste of her years of studying and degree, but on the other hand can just be a socialite and enjoys life the way she likes. The envy of many a girl who dreams of a good and luxurious life.
Even in my own family, there are many of these cases. My father’s cousin (my grandma’s favourite nephew) struggled as a young apprentice in a watch shop through the years to the owner of Cortina Watch Holdings now, with his children helping him to run the group. My maternal grandfather and granduncle set up a small business many years back, which had built up to a big business, with my granduncle running the headquarters in Indonesia, my uncle the Singapore branch and another relative the Hong Kong branch. And what about my mother’s eldest brother, who married the only child of a late Malaysian Datuk, and inherited the entire family fortune?
Many of us would like to be in their shoes, but how many of us can really go from rags to riches? Most of us work our whole lives away without ever making a fortune. I will probably be one of these people. Contrary to popular belief, these people who were born poor but later became rich are neither arrogant nor selfish. In fact, they are philanthropic, generous and hardworking, probably due to their humble beginnings, definitely much better that those who have all along been born with a silver spoon for generations and have never tasted poverty.
But what about those who were rich but had lost their millions? These riches to rags stories are very prevalent too. What about those millionaires who became paupers overnight in the big Asian Financial Crisis around 1997 – 1998? Incidentally this economic downfall never really recovered until 2000 or 2001. It was bad luck for graduates of those years – could not find a job and most of them had to settle for something lower or totally irrelevant to their specialties. The worst case was that of some scholars who were discharged from the scholarship and bond and all of a sudden, they had to figure out how to continue studying or where to find a job. The suicidal and societal problems increased twofold during this period as well.
For someone who had all along been rich, all of a sudden he had to give up all his riches, it would be totally unbearable. After all, like what a friend once told me, if you have not been well off but later on becomes well-to-do, it is easier to adjust because you will be living a more comfortable life. But for those who had wealth, it will be harder to adjust to a downgrade, because which normal person will be willing to give up a comfortable life of luxury to something much simpler so easily?
I have witnessed how people struggle with the loss of a family business. My second boyfriend’s father owned a small business. He was not really considered as very rich, but at least could be considered above average to well-to-do. I remembered he used to have an allowance of $200 per week, with extras anytime he ran out of cash. $200 was what I used to have for the whole month in university, with no extras if I ever ran out. :-( As I have said before, my parents are very stingy. I used to give tuition to supplement my allowance, which enabled me to pay my own bills. Anyway, due to his big allowance, he was able to take care of me in a comfortable way.
When his father’s business failed due to the financial crisis, the entire family downgraded from an executive flat to a four-room flat. His father had to change the car from a Mercedes-Benz to a Toyota Corolla. But what he was most painful about was that his allowance was cut from $200 per week to only $60 per week. Sometimes he could not get his allowance for weeks if his dad could not afford to give him. I witnessed how the family struggled to come to terms with a simpler lifestyle and how they had to scrimp and save. But for him, he never did accept that he had to downgrade. That was why he chose to join the airline and fly around the world, so he can still live a life of luxury. It is very heart-wrenching indeed to witness how people suffer, especially over finances.
But in the first place, what do we need so much money for? Money will not be able to buy you love or happiness or warmth or a good family or true friends. Money can only buy you inanimate material objects which sooner or later may wear out and end up being chucked aside. And definitely you will not be able to bring your money to your grave. That is why sometimes I do not like the way my mum kept asking me to try to meet guys who are rich and established. So what if a guy has a lot of money? I rather find someone not so rich but at least can be faithful. There are other more important issues than money. For blessed people like us who are lucky to be born into this side of the Earth where we do not need to worry where our next meal is going to come from, we should really count our riches and think about the starving and suffering people in the other parts of the world.
2 comments:
Very true about asking why we really need that much money for. Especially in this materialistic world, we tend to judge others would be of how much he/she owns.
That's why there are movies like The Maid in Manhattan starring Jennifer Lopex which pop up every now and then. It's just a testament to how people dream about getting rich, an escapist thought to surreality.
Yup, totally agree with you there. Nice to see a young man who is so sensible. :-)
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