In 2013, Russian-born Anna Sorokin emerged on the New York art scene as an artistic socialite and German heiress. Sorokin used her connections to set up a fake studio and produced false documents to substantiate her claims of a $67 million trust fund. All told, between 2013 and 2017, Sorkin defrauded members of the New York arts and social community of more than $275,000 ( here ). She is a classic example of a fake rich, or someone who claims wealth to manipulate or deceive others.
Unfortunately, there are many others like her. To avoid you being fooled, here are some signs of fake rich people and how to spot them.
1. They rely on credit cards to pay for everything.
A person may own expensive luxuries. However, this does not mean that they are rich. If you want to know if someone is fake, pay attention to how they pay. Do they use credit cards frequently? Or, do they pay with cash or debit card? Do they have a black card? Have their payments ever been declined?
Many people get themselves deeply into debt by using credit cards to keep up appearances. This often means they have no savings and everything they own is bought with borrowed money. In contrast, wealthy people often have access to cash or cash equivalents and do not need to borrow to pay for consumer spending.
2. They need to impress.
Another sign of a fake rich person is how far they go to impress others. They need approval from people with wealth and status because they thrive on the approval of others.
Therefore, they will go to great lengths to show off status items to give the impression of wealth. This may include wearing expensive clothes or designer clothing. Or they might drive luxury cars and stay in expensive hotels. All of these behaviors indicate someone trying to leverage perceived wealth to gain status.
Think about people who regularly post about their wealth on social media. Some people incorporate it into conversations to let people know how much they paid for a specific item. Others seem to have a knack for steering all conversations back to their expensive purchases and accomplishments. All of these are red flags that things are not as they seem.
A recent example is marketer Tai Lopez. He gained notoriety after releasing a marketing video that showcased expensive sports cars, an extensive collection of books and an impressive mansion. The public later learned that his mansion and car were rented and that he had never read his books. In September 2025, Lopez was sued by the SEC. The lawsuit alleges Lopez was running a “Ponzi scheme” ( here ). The video below provides a quick summary of Lopez’s rise to fame and fall from grace.
3. Failure to fulfill commitments or breaking the law.
According to criminologists, people who engage in one crime often engage in other crimes ( here ). For example, a person convicted of murder may have a history of assault. Additionally, people who evade taxes are more likely to defraud their employers.
Based on this logic, fake rich people are more likely to venture into legal and moral gray areas. Because they lie about their finances, they are likely to engage in other types of misconduct, such as failing to repay loans or fulfill other commitments. Although people make financial mistakes, patterns of irregularities and misconduct indicate that a person’s financial situation is not as secure as they would like others to believe.
4. They are unable to have deeper conversations about creating wealth.
In many cases, people with substantial net worth are generally comfortable talking about money. This is especially true for people who have built wealth through investing and entrepreneurship. Additionally, managing large amounts of money often means wealthy individuals must have working knowledge of advanced tax and financial management strategies.
Therefore, fake rich people often expose themselves due to lack of financial knowledge. Most people can simply talk about investing and personal finance. They may even have practiced some dialogue or prepared scripted responses to avoid suspicion. But when pressed, they revealed they had no financial knowledge. Maybe they can’t provide details about how they built their wealth because it didn’t come from their experience. However, their lies are often exposed due to a lack of detailed knowledge of advanced legal or accounting issues.
5. They constantly brag about who they know or where they’ve been.
Have you noticed that this person finds ways to mention important relationships? This is because they know the power of these connections. In addition, they hope to gain influence in social circles, emphasize social relationships, and make themselves appear more important.
A fake rich person is someone who brags about the places they’ve been or posts expensive vacations on social media. But when it comes time to meet these people or frequent these places, they always have an excuse why they can’t. Therefore, be cautious in everything and take everything with a grain of salt.
For example, in 2017, Ricardo “Maserati Ric” Agnant claimed to be a former member of the Miami Dolphins to boost his dating prospects. According to a 2014 report from Black Entertainment Television, Agnante successfully sneaked into the NFL regional combine during training with the Dolphins (1). He later exaggerated his performance on the field in an attempt to fool numerous women and scammer car dealers into thinking he played for the NFL. However, he ended up drawing too much attention to himself and was exposed on social media. This effectively ended his disguise and removed him from the public eye.
6. Their circle is full of fake rich people.
According to Jim Rohn, we are the average of the 5 people we spend the most time with. So if they are with other fake rich people, chances are they are all in the same boat. This is often because people with similar interests come together to learn from or support each other.
In contrast, those who are truly wealthy also spend time together. This is due to the common interests and living circumstances shared by the rich, as well as improved networks, opportunities and the spread of knowledge.
7. There is always an excuse.
Like all liars, there is always an excuse. Fake rich people avoid plans that involve expensive restaurants, ticketed venues, vacations, or other things they can’t afford. And when it comes time to repay, they often “forgot to bring their wallets” or need to borrow money because they “don’t have enough money on them.” That Do the accounting now. “
Other excuses include why they can’t host a party, why they can’t show you their expensive car on their Instagram feed, a story about why their recent business failed, or some scheduling conflict that prevents you from meeting with an important contact. Eventually, the excuses disappear and the truth emerges.
This is exactly what happened to con artist Anna Sorokin. Eventually, her acquaintances discovered her fraud when her credit card stopped working and she “borrowed” money from friends. The mountain of lies she had built collapsed, exposing her. The “friend” later turned her over to the FBI. After the trial, a jury found her guilty and she was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison for grand larceny and theft. Her story proves that no matter how hard you try to hide it, the truth will eventually come out.
What is the difference between genuine and fake products?
In the digital age, appearances can easily obscure the truth. So, how to distinguish the fake rich from the real thing? Many authors believe that truly wealthy people exhibit certain characteristics. For example, they:
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- Keep reading to improve yourself.
- Set and build goals around their ambitions.
- Build relationships with successful people.
- Pay attention to their health.
- Adopt a frugal mindset and spend your money on quality items on sale.
- Track their spending.
- Consistently save and invest 10% to 20% of your income over time.
- A lot of work (at least 50 hours per week).
- Limit recreational screen time and junk food.
- Generally control your temper, thoughts and emotions.
If you want a broader discussion about the habits and lifestyles of wealthy people, there are two great resources: The millionaire next door By Thomas Stanley and William Danko Professor of Marketing rich habits Written by Tom Corley, Accountant. Both books discuss the habits of wealthy people, including many on this list.
Note that spreading wealth to influence others is often no On the list of characteristics of wealthy people. If someone is truly wealthy, they don’t need to prove it to you. Only those who have something to hide need to show off their wealth. So, if someone is pretending to be a fake rich person, it will eventually be exposed through their attitude and behavior.
You may also like
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- Rich Habits vs. Bad Habits: A comprehensive analysis of the things rich people do to make them rich.
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- The #1 Way the Super Rich Build Wealth: An interesting article on how the super rich get their money.
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