8 Signs Your Rich Boyfriend Is Probably a Jerk

Aimee Groth’s Business Insider essay, “I Wasted My First 6 Months In NYC Dating A Goldman Sachs 1st-Year Analyst,” was chock full of red flags — flags that should’ve caused her to end the relationship long before 6 months. Hindsight is always 20/20, of course, but this guy was clearly selfish, disillusioned, and obsessed with money. Not all analysts, GS employees, or rich guys are like this, for sure, but here are some signs you should probably run in the other direction.

He has an inflated view of how awesome his life is.

“When we got up to his floor, he proudly showed me the trading floor, his desk, the nice cafeteria, the free food and coffee. Would I like to see the gym? (Maybe later.)”

His ego is so big, he thinks he deserves to be a cheater.

“Near the end of the night, Alex asked if I had ever visited the top floors at Goldman, where senior partners hold meetings. “It’s a view that makes you appreciate being alive,” he told me. “If Mark doesn’t take you there, I will.” At the time, Alex was living with his girlfriend, but somehow he managed to go home with other women nearly every weekend. ”

He really, really cares what people think (and is ridiculous about it).

“Mark said that it “would be best” if I only ordered wine. “Alex is European, and who knows what he’ll think of you if you order beer.” I said it really shouldn’t matter one way or the other. But he insisted that “first impressions are everything, and this is only a precautionary measure.””

He’s more obsessed with money than Scrooge McDuck — and he doesn’t even have a mountain of gold coins to dive into.

“Still, money was mostly what he talked about. It came up — directly or indirectly — in nearly every conversation we had. He wanted to start a hedge fund, or retire by 30. When I called him out on being too focused on the topic, he would just say, “If your profession was so directly tied to monetary rewards, you’d be the same way.””

He wears the same boring (expensive) clothes that look exactly like what his coworkers are wearing.

“His wardrobe was largely Bergdorf Goodman, Brooks Brothers, Burberry and Hermes. He would often strategically leave his handwritten thank-you notes from sales associates at Bergdorf on his kitchen table, which I always saw.”

He judges you if you aren’t also wearing Burberry et al.

“He would also glance at the brand names of the shoes or purses I would set on his apartment floor.”

He’s disillusioned about how much money he really has, and is possibly spending over his (large) budget.

“He’d tell me the promises they made about new assignments, promotions and ‘making a lot more money’ if he just put in his time.
But none of that came to fruition. In fact, he once told me, in one of his humblest moments, ‘there are lots of promises made at Goldman. And that’s all they are.’”