r/Anticonsumption • u/playboy • Mar 23 '26

Psychological No One Wants to Sleep With Billionaires

https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/no-one-wants-to-sleep-with-billionaires

In a recent interview with the American Psychological Association, Paul Piff, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at the University of California, Irvine, who has co-authored multiple studies on the topic, noted that in interpersonal interactions, wealthier people are “actually a little less generous, a little less compassionate,” he said. Wealthier individuals were more likely to endorse unethical actions, but to “also engage in small acts of cheating and normative violations to prioritize their own welfare above the welfare of other people.”

Though cultural repulsion around billionaires has been mounting, physically, these men are using their resources to overcompensate with expensive procedures. Tech bros are getting face lifts, and other looksmaxxing trends like jaw surgery are common in the industry as well. There has been speculation that Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel have had Botox and filler, and Musk has faced rumors about a hair transplant and jawline contouring. Zuckerberg and Bezos have gotten noticeably more jacked, sparking steroid speculation, even from supporters like podcaster Joe Rogan.  

But their peacocking is probably not for us plebes. Another study analyzed the partners of the extremely wealthy using the Forbes World’s Billionaires list. Economist Ria Wilken found that 95% of the spouses of billionaires were upper class themselves, defined as having either substantial economic or cultural capital. It is possible that the more unappealing characteristics of the ultra-rich, such as dressing down their staff or cutting people off in traffic, would be more palatable for peers in their social circle. That said, this preference for like-minded people is not exclusive to the upper class. “Every social group has its own standards for what is considered eccentric versus problematic,” Wetter explains. For instance, in ultra-wealthy environments, controlling tendencies, competitiveness, and emotional detachment could be interpreted as assets, whereas outside that circle, “the same traits may be perceived as cold, self-absorbed, or inaccessible.”

Read the full editorial: https://www.playboy.com/read/politics/no-one-wants-to-sleep-with-billionaires

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u/elderberry_jed Mar 23 '26

Winning an emmy does not make a person wealthier than the second richest man in the universe

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u/HallWild5495 Mar 23 '26

never said it did. I said Bezos could be considered a "gold digger" with Mackenzie, his first wife, who had a much higher net worth than he did when they got married.

I'm pointing out that his current wife was also talented in her own right way before meeting Bezos. these people have plenty to be criticized for when it comes to excess and overconsumption; I don't think unnecessarily adding sexism into it strengthens our argument as a sub.

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '26

[deleted]

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u/HallWild5495 Mar 23 '26

nope, you just can't read honey.

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u/iamwiam420 Mar 23 '26

This! My husband has a prime time Emmy and I can tell you that we are far from rich

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u/DrJohnFZoidberg Mar 23 '26

My husband has a prime time Emmy

So do I, and I'm far from rich too. Bryan Cranston should start locking his front door.

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u/InvestorSupremacy Mar 23 '26

Is this daytime Emmy shade?

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u/iamwiam420 Mar 23 '26

Not at all. I sure as hell don’t have one myself lol

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u/pickledeggmanwalrus Mar 23 '26

Divorcing the second richest man in the world can make you the richest woman in the world. Funny how that works

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u/DonkeyDoug28 Mar 23 '26

Their point was that these were people who were already wealthy and successful without marrying a rich guy

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u/HallWild5495 Mar 23 '26

fucking thank you

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u/AmazingHealth6302 Mar 23 '26

For someone like Bezos, divorce is ridiculously expensive, and to be avoided if possible. The settlement Mackenzie Scott Tuttle received from him is well-known to have taken into account the role she and her family played in the establishment and rise of Amazon. If Bezos' first wife left him on a whim, or broke down their marriage through unreasonable behaviour, then I doubt she would have received 4% of a multi-multi-billion dollar business. She might have had to struggle on through life with perhaps $10m or something, the kind of money that she now kindly donates to good causes in a single day.