Addendum to "What Do Rich People Talk About?"

In our last conversation entitled What Do Rich People Talk About? I was telling you how the rich (at least at parties) dodge any talk about money, business, health and politics. But to add to that, I'd just like to say I always find it amusing the way they sling around numbers in their conversations!

For example: If  I said to you I bought a decent table wine for "nine fifty" at the local supermarket, you'd immediately understand I mean nine-dollars-and-fifty-cents, right? ($9.50)

But if you heard "nine fifty" from the lips of the rich, you can be sure that would mean they paid nine-hundred-and-fifty dollars for that bottle of wine! ($950.00)

Likewise, if you hear a number like "seventy-five" tossed around, depending entirely upon the context of the conversation, that could mean anything from:

- A decent cigar for $75.
- An inexpensive off-the-rack cocktail dress from Neiman Marcus for seven thousand-five-hundred dollars ($7,500).
- A haute couture cocktail dress for seventy-five-thousand dollars! ($75,000).
- Or a prime piece of real-estate, suitable for building an office tower, for seventy-five-million. ($75,000,000)

So if you're in the business of eavesdropping, it's absolutely essential you pay attention to the context of the conversation. I mean, to my knowledge there's no such thing as a seventy-five-million-dollar cocktail dress, right? You've gotta know what you're listening to in order to interpret it correctly.

I hope that shed more light, and thanks as always for stopping by.

Andrew