One of F. Scott Fitzgerald's most famous quotes comes from his 1926 short story, The Rich Boy. He wrote, "Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me." The Rich Boy is not one of Mr. Fitzgerald's most famous works. But the quote is famous because it rings true to many people.
If one would like a non-fiction example of how the very rich are different, how about professional football player Shaun Rogers? He is a defensive tackle who made more than 20 million dollars during his three season stint with the Cleveland Browns (to say nothing of his seven seasons with the Detroit Lions, his season with the New Orleans Saints, or what he might make playing with the New York Giants this season).
Mr. Rogers was robbed while staying at a Miami hotel in March in a way that calls to mind the Seinfeld episode The Subway. That is the episode where George Costanza is robbed by a woman he took to a hotel for a romantic tryst. The fictional Mr. Constanza had eight dollars in his wallet. The non-fictional Mr. Rogers had a bit more than that with him. CBS Sports reports among the items Mr. Rogers claimed where stolen from the safe in his hotel room were "diamond earrings worth $100,000; two wristwatches worth a combined $160,000; a gold necklace with gold pendant worth $50,000; gold bracelets worth $60,000; and a diamond Cuban necklace with a gold pendant worth $70,000."
Mr. Rogers may be thinking about the events that led to his being robbed because today the suspect has been caught. Subhanna Beyah was arrested in Queens, New York and arraigned this morning on a fugitive warrant in connection with the robbery.
News reports are silent on why the thirty-four-year-old Mr. Rogers had that much jewelry with him at the time of the robbery. That seems like poor reporting until one remembers that Mr. Fitzgerald already gave us the reason.
The phrase "money to burn" comes to mind.
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