Ohh man, these kinds of questions just get my mind going. Now I'm a student so I'm not going to pretend to know how it is to pull in 500k a year but I would probably piss myself with glee. I really love the opportunity to hear (more like see) people that make that kind of money talk. Now I'm not saying that making a lot of money makes you a better person, I'm saying that being able to make that much money (or continue a family fortune by making investments) makes me want to listen closely to what you have to say. You have the info and experience I want.

Of course, rich people are the thriftiest of people, especially old money. Old money, and in my country that often coincides with being nobility, will save on anything they can get away with. At least here where the old families are still thriving of of their slave and plunder money from our golden age (1588-1702, 74 year before the foundation of your great nation) that's the case. Worn out smoking jackets, cheap bread, banged up old cars (still, I'll take a banged up old Royce everyday) and millions in the bank, gotta love it! They even look down on the nouveau riche with their flashy cars. Man I love old money and am so jealous of people that grew up in that kind of environment, being able to look back over generations of your ancestors and being able to say "I come from a line of great people that made something out of themselves (and that's why I'm better than you)". They usually don't say the things in brackets. At my university I'm surrounded by them, surrounded by baronet's and damsels's (or at least that's what Google translate is spitting out). Man am I jealous and I'm not sure I can ever stop this unhealthy longing to be a part of it...

Anyway...it just takes that kind of dedication to keep getting richer, not spending and spending and then loaning and spending all that and then defaulting on all your loans creating a global crisis. You have to save, invest safely, no need for risks, and then invest all the money you made again. It is a fail save plan, unless your country becomes involved in a huge inflation and it's basically become toilet paper, but a smart man (Bob) would have invested a good portion of his capital in something with an almost fixed value or something that can only go up in value like gold in these uncertain times.

Anyway, thanks for letting me read all this lovely information as well.

Now for my reason for buying fakes: I love the design that high end fashion seems to have a patent on. Have you ever tried to find a pullover that has not got one little icon ruining the simplicity? I've found one $1200,- at Hermes... Same with watches, I don;t want the crappy fat watches* that are all the hype these days, I haven't got the wrists for it anyway. I just love the understated elegance of for example a Rolex Explorer or a Patek Philippe Men's Grand Complication 5078P-001. So I've ordered the Explorer and I'm never going to be able to afford (or find a nice replica of the 5078P) so I've just keep that as a dream. I'm really bad at endings so I'm done now, I hope it is at least a bit of a cohesive story.

*No offence meant, I'm just using colorful language to enforce my point.