Impress People With Your Mind, Not Your Wealth!
08 December 2016
By Khaled Almaeena
Reports of wealthy Gulf Arabs being robbed in Europe are now a common
occurrence. Last week masked men stopped a car heading from Le Bourget airport
in Paris and robbed the two occupants of about five million euros in cash and
other assets. According to reports, the luxury Bentley was ambushed and its
occupants were tear-gassed.
There are many similar incidents that have taken place around the world. In
Miami, a wealthy Gulf businessman had his briefcase containing $800,000 lifted
from his hotel room. He sheepishly told the police he brought the money to
spend on a family vacation!
A couple of years ago in a posh London neighborhood, another Gulf Arab was
robbed of 18,000 pounds. Apparently, he and his Asian secretary were going out
for a stroll. Why they were carrying such a large amount of money is anybody›s
guess.
There are many other examples some of which make you laugh at the absurdity of
the behavior of some of the people from our region when they go abroad. You
can, for example, see Gulf Arab women walking on a Sunday afternoon in
London's Hyde Park decked out in expensive jewelry and designer watches and
shoes along with handbags worth thousands of pounds.
Once in a well-known hotel on Capitol Hill in Washington, as I was checking in
the receptionist was admiring the string of beads or ''subha'' of a young man
from our region. However, instead of explaining the use and purpose of the
beads, the young man said in a loud voice: ''It cost $30,000!'' I almost
choked at his naiveté.
You don›t exhibit wealth and show off not in Europe, America or, for that
matter, even here. Most of those who make a show of ostentatiously displaying
their wealth are the ''nouveau riche». Why go to Marbella wearing earrings
worth a million dollars?! I can›t understand the logic.
Rich people in the West or Asia who have worked hard for their fortunes do not
do this. And besides, there is a time and a place for exclusive haute couture
dresses and priceless diamonds. Walking in the streets is not one of them!
And remember that these days social media is being used to monitor and trap
unsuspecting victims. The problem is that while they know this, some people
from the region, both men and women, ignore it, as the love of displaying
wealth is part of their DNA.
As for myself, my advice to those on holiday or business trips is to stay
simple.
Impress people with your mind, not your wealth!
— The writer is Editor-at-Large. He can be reached at kalmaeena@saudigazette.com.sa
and followed on Twitter: @KhaledAlmaeena
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