Spoiled Sister's Luxury Car Shopping Opens A Discussion About Wealth Inequality And Entitlement Between A Reddit User And His Girlfriend

There is a certain privilege that comes with generational wealth. Rich people differ in how they use their cash; some flaunt and spend it as if it doesn't matter, while others choose to stay under the radar.

The latter scenario certainly fits one Reddit user who recently shared his story. OP (original poster) is a 25-year-old who has been with his girlfriend for two years.

He admits that his family is "lowkey" wealthy, meaning he has been raised not to be arrogant about it. They have lived in the same house for 15 years and prefer to invest in experiences rather than material things.

The exception to their unassuming lifestyle is his sister. She recently turned 21 and became privy to their family money as well as her trust fund.

After learning about this, OP's sister went luxury car (Porsche) shopping with OP's girlfriend. Their father has no idea about this expensive shopping trip, but apparently, she flashed his credit card and bragged about the money she was able to spend on the car.

OP's girlfriend was understandably shocked, considering that she knows OP drives a 10-year-old Lexus. She was surprised to see OP's sister spending $100,000 on a new car.

OP and his girlfriend discussed what happened and ended up fighting after he shared just how wealthy their family is. She says he's been selfish for not even mentioning it when he knows she has school and medical debt.

He was confused by her reaction, and OP thinks she's expecting him to shoulder things too soon. After the fight, OP aired his grievances to his sister and told her she was immature for undoing all the values their parents instilled in them.

You can read OP's original Reddit post below:

gfis2mad gfis2mad

"Lowkey wealthy"

gfis2mad

Shocked? About an "unassuming" 10-year-old Lexus.

gfis2mad gfis2mad

"You're undoing everything our parents worked hard for!"

gfis2mad

The knee-jerk reaction of most people in the comment section is to assume that the girlfriend is the real a**hole here.

NUT-me-SHELL

Even OP was caught off guard by his girlfriend's reaction to learning about his family's wealth.

gfis2mad, ed_lv

A mental health counselor offered a different perspective on the situation.

megmegamegan

It's unfair, she says, to consider helping out a loved one in dire need a red flag.

megmegamegan

In this particular situation, it's normal to feel betrayed and lied to, but he is also justified in not choosing to be upfront about his wealth; in short, it's a complex problem.

megmegamegan

Redditors were asking for more context on the medical debt before making their judgment.

malayati malayati

According to OP, his girlfriend has $20,000 in medical debt, which he initially thought was not a lot, but that's exactly his girlfriend's point; it may not be a lot for him, but it is for her.

gfis2mad, filkerdave

Finally, Redditors were seeing this from multiple angles.

allthemigraines

Her shock is understandable, but her expectation that he would pay off her debt is a bit concerning for some.

allthemigraines

Having that much debt at that age can be a significant stressor.

onlythebitterest

This commenter nicely outlined why the girlfriend was so hurt by the discovery and why her mind immediately went to her debts.

onlythebitterest onlythebitterest

Although it seems strange, it is easier to sympathize with the girlfriend after reading all those comments.

Lecromex

OP was getting much-needed clarification as well.

gfis2mad

It's understandable why the girlfriend is thrown off by this sudden information. Take it from the Redditor who has walked a mile in OP's shoes.

snowlover324

OP and his girlfriend should start communicating more.

snowlover324

"Gold diggers don't get excited about the idea of less stress over medical debt."

snowlover324

Before they make their final judgment, some Reddit users needed a little more clarity.

beka13

OP says that she's not totally stressed (from what he can see), and she never really asked about his finances, assuming he does well for himself considering he makes three times more than she does.

gfis2mad

To be fair, his parents' money has nothing to do with OP's girlfriend.

DanDan_notaman

They think she's entitled for believing she has any stake in their wealth at all.

skarizardpancake

They understand that she feels betrayed, but they also believe she's an a**hole for immediately thinking about how her boyfriend's money could have benefited her.

RecommendsMalazan

Unless they're married, her debts are her own to bear.

abrokeinheart

OP agrees, but he also sees why his girlfriend's reaction was so extreme.

gfis2mad

Then again, while they feel sorry for OP's girlfriend, she is still not his parents' responsibility.

abrokeinheart

However, a sobering story was shared that shed new light on OP's dilemma.

Captain_Nerdrage

"It can consume you, leaving you awake in the middle of the night, feeling a yawning chasm lurking beneath you."

Captain_Nerdrage

Like what the comment above said, if you've been barely managing to stay afloat for the past few years and you found out your loved one has access to a boat but chose not to use it to save you, wouldn't you be hurt?

It's easy to immediately call the girlfriend entitled, selfish, and a gold digger, but then again, we have no idea how heavy the weight is for her. The good outcome from OP's post is that he finally gained much-needed perspective.

He is still considering proposing to his girlfriend, and he agreed when someone suggested that he could pay off her debts as a wedding gift to her. Let's hope they can work this out despite the obvious wealth gap.