Who buys the stuff in the Wall Street Journal “Off Duty” section?

[Stan Calow]

Do they have Festool ads?

I read the WSJ because there is almost no national or international news in my ever-shrinking local paper, and definitely no analysis. Every now and then there's a useful nugget of consumer information in the WSJ, but if you read it for a long time, you realize there is a whole world of people out there with more money than brains. And plenty of proles who aspire to that Kardashian lifestyle.

[Jack Frederick]

Phew! Glad I solved that problem. I don’t see those ads. When Rupert bought the journal, I dropped out.

[Andrew More]

I do not recall ever seeing Steve Jobs wearing a tie.

You won't, for the same reason people on Wall Street wear them. It's a signifier of being part of the "club" or group. I swear I lost a couple of job offers during the Dot Com era by wearing a suit to the interview before I got smart, and stopped wearing it.

[Bernie Kopfer]

Who buys it? The folks who "can't afford" to pay their workers a living wage or provide decent health care.

Thank you Roger for stating what all our politicians and half the population does not wish to understand!

[Patty Hann]

I personally know a half dozen people who are not entrepreneurs or business owners but who have "more money than is good for them."
It is "family money",.... "old money" in some cases and "new money" in others.

Much of what they buy are brands that indicate status: Prada, BMW, Audi, Rolex. They routinely vacation Europe or Cancun or at high-end resorts in the US.
Why do they have it/buy it/do it? Because they can, pure and simple.

One man who is at the lower end of the "having more money than is good for them" continuum refuses to eat "leftovers", and I mean next day leftovers.
"Eating leftovers", he declared, "is for poor people." (He throws away a lot of food.)
"Well," I thought, "That is probably a good thing for me to know... that I am poor.... I never knew that until now."

[Andrew More]

Much of what they buy are brands that indicate status: Prada, BMW, Audi, Rolex. They routinely vacation Europe or Cancun or at high-end resorts in the US.
Why do they have it/buy it/do it? Because they can, pure and simple.

Which is something else to keep in mind. A lot of rich people are still living within their means when they spend money on these sorts of things, unlike the "big hat, no cattle" types. Considering we're all involved in a hobby that tends to produce things for the fun of it, rather than any need, and has some pretty pricey "toys" involved, it's hard for me to be too superior about what other people spend their money on. Other than the "are you living within your means" criteria. I don't have a lot of respect for people beyond a certain point of income who are not.

[Patty Hann]

Which is something else to keep in mind. A lot of rich people are still living within their means when they spend money on these sorts of things, unlike the "big hat, no cattle" types. Considering we're all involved in a hobby that tends to produce things for the fun of it, rather than any need, and has some pretty pricey "toys" involved, it's hard for me to be too superior about what other people spend their money on. Other than the "are you living within your means" criteria. I don't have a lot of respect for people beyond a certain point of income who are not.

Very well said, Andrew.