17 Hobbies That People Say Are For Reserved For The Wealthy

"If you're riding horses in competitions, you're likely wealthy."

This week, Reddit user u/bubble_2107 posed the question, "What hobby makes you immediately think, This person grew up rich?"

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And there were so many interesting responses! Here are some of the top-voted answers:

1. "Polo."

—u/FluffyBellend

"Years ago, I worked for Wrigley (the gum company) when it was still owned by the Wrigley family, and William Wrigley Jr. was the CEO. My second day, I ran into Mr. Wrigley in the elevator but didn’t know who he was. During our small talk, it came out that I trained in Brazilian jujitsu, and I ended up asking him what sports he played. His response? 'Oh, I play a little pickup polo from time to time.' I can’t even imagine how the hell a pickup game of polo might materialize. I can’t imagine a dozen or so billionaires, each out riding their favorite polo horse, just happening to run into one another at the park."

—u/WebSmurf

2. "Fine art collecting. It takes serious money to even consider going down that path. Also a certain type of education."

—u/Scallywagstv2

3. "Horse dressage for sure. I know some middle-class folks who own a horse or two on a farm, but if you're riding in competitions, you're likely wealthy."

—u/imnotacrazyperson

Somogyvari / Getty Images

4. "Go-karting. Not the kind at arcades and stuff, but the real kind...it's how you get into Formula 1."

—u/FecusTPeekusberg

5. "Sailing."

—u/ciditi

"Sailboat racing is hella expensive."

—u/lucifer2990

6. "Being in the upper levels of competitive gymnastics. My daughter is only 6, and it already costs us $350 a month (plus another $1,000 a year for travel and $450 a year for leotards, a jacket, pants, and a bag). If she sticks to it into her middle and high school years and keeps excelling, we are looking at $1,000-plus a month for gym fees and booster club, plus travel fees and uniforms (so probably closer to $1,500-plus per month when you factor that stuff in)."

"We are upper middle class and right now can afford it, but I’m not so sure about when she gets older, especially once our other kid gets into sports too. You definitely have to have some money to afford it. It’s like paying for college."

—u/Poctah

Medianews Group / MediaNews Group via Getty Images

7. "Collecting and driving sports cars."

—u/dogcat310

8. "Most winter sports. That gear ain't cheap."

—u/Birdgang_Truzz

"As a wannabe hockey kid whose parents couldn’t afford for me to be a hockey kid, for sure."

—u/Chief_Dumvass

9. "Mountain climbing in remote places in the world. I went to a work-mandatory motivational speaker whose spiel was climbing Everest four times (starting at age 22) and other mountains in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Guess I did not land the correct job out of college."

—u/Galoot21

Buena Vista Images / Getty Images

10. "Astrophotography. The telescope is expensive enough, but the camera? Sheesh..."

—u/CrackedChelle

11. "Fencing."

—u/WitchoBischaz

"Where the costs REALLY pick up is the flights and hotels for tournaments."

—u/riemannrocker

12. "Scuba diving. Then they name all the places in the world they’ve scuba dived."

—u/macaronsforeveryone

Ultramarinfoto / Getty Images

13. "Not really a hobby, but people who go to Disneyland or Disney World at least once a year despite living several states away."

—u/Pear_Jam2

14. "Competitive cheer: $500 a month, not counting individual classes, mats, uniforms, etc. But the travel is the big ticket. One coast to another several times a year gets expensive."

—u/bmbmwmfm

15. "Crew."

—u/XnoonefromnowhereX

"Got scouted for crew during first-year orientation because I managed a 2-kilometer row in under seven minutes. Then I found out it's like $3,500 a year just to be on the team. No thanks!"

—u/Obvious_Moose

Comstock / Getty Images

16. "Falconry."

—u/Bastard1066

17. And finally, "When people say that one of their hobbies is travel, I get rich vibes off of that. Sometimes it’s aspirational. But realistically, if you’re not rich, you just don’t have the money or availability to travel a lot."

—u/FLAREdirector

Catherine Delahaye / Getty Images

Which hobbies make you think someone grew up rich? LMK in the comments below!

Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.