Okay, there’s a lot here to work with and you wanted some brouhaha, so I’m going to do my best to play along. First and foremost, though, I do want to thank you for bringing focus back to local real estate. Let’s start with the easy stuff…
*** Anecdote Alert ***
Okay, so you know a guy who sounds to be decidedly more wealthy than he appears. There have always been people like this and I’m sure there will continue to be.
Bill Gates was a fantastically nerdy fellow even though he does seem a bit more presentable in public these days. We probably have Melinda to thank for that.
In popular culture, you might reference the Beverly Hillbillies, Pretty Woman, Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Trading Places.
Of course there are people with more money than you’d think based simply on appearance. There are also people with less. Anecdotally, I know people who have gone from one end spectrum to the other (both up and down) in the course of the last five years. Some I’ve worked with, some were my neighbors. Some I suspect never really had much in the way of positive net worth in the first place.
What I think does merit consideration is the state change and if I were to guess (and I am indeed guessing), the number of people with money has decreased in the past couple of years rather than increased.
You’ve long contested that there are more people out there with money than most people think and Target guy provides a prime example. I’ll bite and say, sure you’ve been right all along, but there are less of his kind today.