No way. Really rich people LOVE hard-working poor people -- it plays into the whole theory that smart, hard-working Americans will always come out ahead. Also, really rich people often understand that they are simply not as focused or motivated as the hard-charging kids who NEED to make their own money. This is useful for future business ventures, or if the family company needs to hire some young smart people.

The kids in this article sound totally lame, and seem to use their lack of income as an excuse for hating their wealthier peers. Yeah, a lot of rich people are utterly hilariously out of touch with the world, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't want to be your friend and do things with you. If you feel there is some sort of major tension, it's got more to do with you and your insecurities than with your affluent peers. In fact, if some rich kid were to act like a total snob to you because of your lack of money, there is ALWAYS a MUCH richer kid who would love nothing more than to have an opportunity to say to the snob, "dude, shut up - my family can buy yours ten times over." (True story.)

This isn't some theory of mine, either -- I'm pretty much the poorest person in my neighborhood, which has taught me quite a lot...

> I agree this article was a little weird. But it can be hard to make friends across economic disparities. You can't join them for lunch out, or a weekend ski trip, or chip in towards the keg.

Sure you can. Rich people can do the same sorts of things that poor people do (movies, keg parties, or even opera/symphony for example). (Yes, poor people have keg parties.)

Yes, there are rich people who only want to do "rich" things, but ....