When NOT to say, "You can't talk to me like that. I am a very rich man!"

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. A shirttail relative of mine (unfortunately, not a close enough relative for me to inherit anything)

used to dress like a slob most of the time, although he founded and owned a company whose name you'd probably recognize (since bought out by an even bigger one), and he had plenty of money. One day during the Depression while he was walking through town looking like he always looked, someone took pity on him and offered him a job washing windows. He politely declined without telling them who he was. I believe a friend was with him, which is how the story got back to the family.

Rich guys decorate their NY apartments to look like Louis XIV's bordello. Really rich guys have a lot of books, a comfortable couch and a threadbare oriental rug on the floor.