There is a huge difference between one who is “rich” and one who is wealthy.

Being wealthy means that one has worked for what he or she has, whether that is in school or in a certain job. One understands the value of money and has made good financial decisions for the duration of the time he or she has had income. In other words, one who is wealthy doesn’t make stupid spending choices, and optics are not a priority.

In my eyes, the word “rich” is a deeply misleading word. Being “rich” is often momentary, lasting only months or years. The word has always been derogatory to me, and not because the left made it so.

Let me paint a picture of what I’m talking about.

You may see a guy driving a customized Range Rover, wearing Gucci sunglasses, and blasting the music in his car trying to draw attention. What you don’t know is that he lives in an apartment, finances his car, and hasn’t paid off his student loans. At the end of the day, he goes home and eats Bagel Bites for dinner. But people on the street will see him driving the Range Rover and instantly call him “rich”. Notice that they will never call him “wealthy” because he isn’t.

A wealthy man will drive a Toyota because he knows they are good, reliable cars. He will have low insurance, the car will be paid in full, and he’ll go home to a house with a warm home-cooked meal on the table with his laughing, smiling family surrounding it. He and his family will live very comfortably.

The left thinks “the rich” is the guy driving the Range Rover because he flaunts it, and they want it. What they don’t know is that he is actually unemployed or working a minimum wage job. So when the left says “tax the rich” they think it’s the Range Rover guy, but it actually ends up being the wealthy guy with the family and the steady income that is taxed at a higher percent.

I classify Hollywood celebrities as “rich,” with an exception of a few, because most of them ended up in the right place at the right time, got lucky, or they have family in the industry they are in. They never actually learned the value of money, and that is why they have no problem being taxed or advocating for the taxing of others. Most of them don’t care where the money comes from, they just have it.

The difference, for example, between Tom Brady and Chrissy Teigen is that Tom Brady actually worked every day towards his success. All Chrissy Teigen had to do was smile and hold a briefcase on the game show Deal or No Deal, and her career took off.

Brady is wealthy, Teigen is rich.

The value of money is lost with those who never had to earn it, or who were never taught the value of it.