I have always loved monthly magazines. Cars, homes, travel, or business – there is something about bright, colorful magazines that fits my ADHD mind. Others can read Dostoyevsky, but give me a Road & Track or Condé Nast Travel and I will be happy.
Or, the Robb Report.
Launched by Robert “Rusty” White 4 decades ago, the Robb Report sells “Luxury Without Compromise”. I discovered the magazine when I was in high school. Before you judge, remember that this was the go-go, early 1980s of ‘Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous’. It was easy for a 16 year-old boy to want a Ferrari and enjoy ‘Champagne Wishes & Caviar Dreams’.
I couldn’t afford to buy the expensive magazine back then, but I would look for it at the grocery store newsstand and page through it in the aisle next to the bakery. It was filled with sports cars, exotic destinations, yachts, and watches. Even ads for private security details.
For some reason, it seemed completely plausible that some day I could live like James Bond some day with my own Lear Jet and private island in the Caribbean.
But, like most of their readers, I never became mega wealthy. Still, I glance at the Robb Report now and then on my iPad Apple+ News subscription and imagine what it would be like to be a 100x millionaire.
While I know that I won’t ever lead the Uber luxury lifestyle they still celebrate, I’m living more comfortably than most and enjoying not working. I know that I’m fortunate enough to be at the high end of any measure of the global standard of living and not needing to to be at the absolute financial pinnacle. I don’t think my 16 year-old self would be too disappointed!
What kind of lifestyle did you dream about when you were a kid?
Image Credit: RobbReport.com
MrFireStation 
Like you, Chief, I’d lose myself in magazines when I was a boy and teen. The single magazine that made the biggest impression on me, over the longest period, was Life. The whole wide world opened up in black & white. National Geographic was a close second. I dreamed of seven seas and far away lands. So I imagined myself a Voyageur. To a large extent I’ve lived those visions on mighty oceans and six continents. Dream On, Voyageurs!
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Six continents – that’s great! My Dad, like many Dads, was a long-time collector of National Geographic. At some point, he had so many he kept only the April issues from each year and some of the special edition ones. I think my older brother took the rest from him. Great magazine, for sure.
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A big issue we have in the USA today is that exposure to how the .01% lives sets people up for unhappiness when they are comparing themselves to others. Often, those who are chronicled in media for living high cannot afford the lifestyle themselves. This is how Elton John and Michael Jackson both went bankrupt despite having earning years that exceed an entire lifetime of most people.
Trying to live like the .01% will keep most people from making it to 1%.
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Well stated, Bucky. Celebrities – that live the most grandiose lifestyles of anyone – seem particularly bad at managing their money. Despite the great fortunes that they amass, they still manage to spend even more. Ridiculous.
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Well my dream is still to be a “100x millionaire” like you said. Though I feel like even if I reached a net worth of 100 million, I wouldn’t be comfortable buying a lot of things in the Robb Report lol.
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My #1 purchase at the 100x millionaire level would be an unlimited NetJets card!
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