When a person is successful you are not liked. Not liked by a lot of people – and so they will come up with the most amazing statements. Like “Why did Mukesh Ambani spend so much on his children’s wedding” or “Do you know that Sachin did not pay any duty on the car gifted to him” or “Virat Kohli…..”. This is subtle jealousy, and there are some methods to avoid it. You do not have to be a uber-rich guy to attract subtle jealousy, just being richer than your immediate neighbors, relatives, siblings….is enough.

Governments want your money – if you earn Rs. 5 million in India the govt taxes you at the highest rates. In the US the limit is US $ 200,000. So it is not very different even in a rich (so called capitalist) country. Apart from this the people around you expect to give a lot to charity – and are happy to call you names if you do not contribute to a charity that they promote! There is enough literature to say “behind every fortune there is a crime” or something to that effect. Movies, books, plays,…are all created to make the rich man look like a villain. Your employees (at home or in the business) expect you to part with money JUST because you have it.

So it is important that you should use stealth. Keeping a low profile (which comes easy to Gujjus and Marwaris) is very useful (difficult for many Punjabis). I remember one film industry person say “I travel abroad to wear good clothes, show off my diamonds, and live a luxurious life”. This was of course in the 1990s. Now many Indians do flaunt.

Society turns its back on you when you get rich. Of course it is a mind set, but I am talking of say net worth of Rs. 25 crores (which is salted away in financial assets) that you might attract some attention. I know people with that kind of NW who do not own a car, but these are the exceptions. I do not see any reason why you should feel ‘guilty’ about being rich. Frankly it does not matter how you got rich – maybe you inherited a part of it, maybe you got lucky in real estate or equities. Maybe you worked hard from the age of 18 when your friends were bunking college. Maybe your wife got esop in an IT company and you got lucky to find a job in Hdfc bank in 1994 and you are still holding on to the esop. THERE IS NOTHING, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to feel apologetic about ANYTHING that you did or did not do (not sell the esop). Remember rich people are hated, but that is NOT YOUR PROBLEM. Remind yourself about the effort, skill, luck…and thank your stars. Have gratitude, do charity (if you want to), pay all taxes – yes, but guilt, my foot.

Some of my friends have used stealth so well – there is one person with a big net worth (close to 3 digits in crores). His immediate family thinks it is about Rs. 10 crores! Of course it is salted away in 2-3 private limited companies and even the daughters do not access the “business books”. Lol. Only his brother, his CA and I know the real numbers. Not exactly intentional, but now he feels it helps. Some loose talk…and you never know where it could head, In a country with big dreams and easy to get firepower who wants to risk a mad driver or security guard gone beserk?

1. Owning a Merc or a Jaguar is fine, but don’t flaunt it where others come in an Indica.
2. Make sure that your servants see less of what you have. Don’t have to tell them the price of your handbag is Rs. 125,000. For them Rs. 1250 is itself stunning.
3. Do not flaunt designer labels – even your servants, relatives and neighbors can Google. Be careful.

there is a long list…but hey….Happy New year!!