Anonymous, or Celebrity when you make it?

[doster.zach]

Would you rather be anonymous or a celebrity when you "make it"?

It's one of those thing you can't go back on once you make the decision, but would you rather be able to walk in a crowd despite a networth in the 0.01%, or be recognized most places you go?

Edit 1% to 0.01%

 

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[WestCoast]

My greatest fear is being famous.


I value my freedom way more than anything else.
I couldn't imagine a bigger curse.

This is why I don't do social media - or want anything to do with that world.
I want no one to know what I do, what I make, or have any way to find out.

 

[2dads]

Love to be a celebrity - people taking my photo all day long telling me how awesome I am

Sign me up!

 

[Johnny boy]

1% is like a few hundred grand a year it means nothing.

I would like to be known amongst people who matter.

I do not want these autistic fat globs rolling up to me taking a selfie.

 

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[Kak]

I’m not a super public person, I hate social media for instance, but I recognize the inevitability of some notoriety. I don’t fear it as I’ll likely live in the country half of the time and PR the other half.

There are plenty of celebrity people that can remove the context of what they are famous for and can just live very normal lives.

I doubt anyone bothers Mark Cuban at a grocery store. The context is wrong and most people aren’t that aware of their surroundings.

 

[doster.zach]

1% is like a few hundred grand a year it means nothing.

I would like to be known amongst people who matter.

I do not want these autistic fat globs rolling up to me taking a selfie.

View attachment 45235

Should have been clear, more like net worth of 25 million. Edited the number.

 

[doster.zach]

I’m not a super public person, I hate social media for instance, but I recognize the inevitability of some notoriety. I don’t fear it as I’ll likely live in the country half of the time and PR the other half.

There are plenty of celebrity people that can remove the context of what they are famous for and can just live very normal lives.

I doubt anyone bothers Mark Cuban at a grocery store. The context is wrong and most people aren’t that aware of their surroundings.

I didn't know you were a Puerto Rico guy.

But there are a lot of people who will leverage celebrity to make their business successful.

The problem is, you can't put that genie back in the bottle, you can never get your anonymity back.

Curious to why some people like you and MJ decided to not retain it but put yourselves out there. Even if the risk of being noticed isn't as high.

 

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[Kak]

I didn't know you were a Puerto Rico guy.

But there are a lot of people who will leverage celebrity to make their business successful.

The problem is, you can't put that genie back in the bottle, you can never get your anonymity back.

Curious to why some people like you and MJ decided to not retain it but put yourselves out there. Even if the risk of being noticed isn't as high.

I don’t shy away from things outside of my comfort zone. If it will help me be all that I can be, I will do it, even if it’s not something I would typically desire.

“What a man can be, he must.” Even if that involves having some public notoriety. Do I see this looking like the frickin Kardashians? Hell no. But do I expect to become as well known as IDK, Glenn Stearns, after the undercover billionaire? Sure.

I’ve met the man and I still wouldn’t probably recognize him in my local grocery store.

There’s just an inevitability to this if I become what I can.

 

[BizyDad]

I value my freedom way more than anything else.
I couldn't imagine a bigger curse.

It is interesting to think how having little money/influence/power is a prison of sorts.

But people similarly think the same of having great levels of money/influence/power.

How is it that "above average" is the mark of having the most freedom?

The problem is, you can't put that genie back in the bottle, you can never get your anonymity back.

Yes and no. Plenty of famous people don't attract the crowds they used to. Jim Carey comes to mind. You hear stories about someone like Tom Hanks surprising people when he's out and about, and they didn't realize it was him until he offers to take their picture. And that guy has been as big or famous or recognizable as anyone since the 80's.

Here are some pictures of titans of capitalism of yesteryears. How many do you even recognize?


















I think this "I don't ever want to be recognized" attitude is more of a mental prison than actually being famous would be.

But freedom means we can pick our prisons I suppose.

If you are Michael Jordan, maybe your freedom is infringed. But Scottie Pippen probably gets to go wherever whenever. Phil Jackson too. How many people truly reach Jordanesque levels of fame?

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Definitely anonymous, but as @BizyDad cited, you have to be REALLLLLY UBER famous to totally erode your freedom, probably the top .01% of the 1%. I think if you're outside of Hollywood / LA, most celebrities can go about their business without much incursion.

I remember seeing Ice-T at my gym some years ago. No one bothered him, but he definitely got some looks which basically translated into, "Gee, that guy looks like Ice-T." You can do a lot to change your appearance if you have moderate celebrity.

It only becomes problematic if you are a worldwide celeb, like Elon Musk, Michael Jordan, or Lebron James.

 

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[Guest-5ty5s4]

Definitely anonymous, but as @BizyDad cited, you have to be REALLLLLY UBER famous to totally erode your freedom, probably the top .01% of the 1%. I think if you're outside of Hollywood / LA, most celebrities can go about their business without much incursion.

I remember seeing Ice-T at my gym some years ago. No one bothered him, but he definitely got some looks which basically translated into, "Gee, that guy looks like Ice-T." You can do a lot to change your appearance if you have moderate celebrity.

It only becomes problematic if you are a worldwide celeb, like Elon Musk, Michael Jordan, or Lebron James.

This makes complete and total sense.

I'm going to guess that even the worldwide celebs like Elon and Lebron are going to "have their day," too and might not be peak fame in 20-30 years.

Justin Beiber at age 80 years old isn't going to get swarms of girls at a local bar the way he did at age 20 something.

You can probably meet these celebs pretty easily when their peak fame window closes.

 

[Kevin88660]

Would you rather be anonymous or a celebrity when you "make it"?

It's one of those thing you can't go back on once you make the decision, but would you rather be able to walk in a crowd despite a networth in the 0.01%, or be recognized most places you go?

Edit 1% to 0.01%

Most rich people aren’t famous.

There are many people with 8 digit networth that you cannot even find their names running a google search.

They are only known by people operating in the same industry that deal with them.

It takes a lot of effort to be known and remembered this day because everyone is trying to grab attention and traffic flow.

You could be rich, flaunt your wealth, pitch some advice and gets an audience but as long as you stop doing that for weeks the world forgets you.

And hence my point is the fear about you losing your privacy just because the world knows that you are rich- is totally unwarranted. You think too highly about yourself and greatly underestimate the amount of work you need to put in to get remembered these days competing for attention.

The exception is publicity related industry, like sports, media, online influncer, where you get paid as a result of you getting attention and being famous. Again it only totally erodes your freedom if you are extreme top income earner.

The lowest privacy to income ratio is being Youtube or Tiktok famous. You could be fairly recognizable on the street even making 20k a month from Ad sense. Whereas no one remembers a below average NBA player making 2-3 million a years. Tiktok is worst as there is hardly any income.

My take on privacy is that privacy only matters when your job relies on you being a saint. If you are a political or athlete people expect you to be some sort of role model and whatever you did in the past or in private could hunt you perpetually. If you are not newsworthy no one cares to infringe your privacy.

Donald Trump could hide his taxes forever until he decided to become a president..

 

[Xavier X]

@Kevin88660 I think the question is hinged on the scenario of a constant "OMG!! It's Kevin88660! Can I get a selfie?" existing in your situation. Not the probability of getting that level of fame.

So it's more of a:

Option A: Multi-millionaire who may or may not get chased by hordes of fans in public.
Option B: Multi-millionaire who has no cause for recognition.

 

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[James Klymus]

I think being a celebrity in a niche would be alright.

I'm in the hair industry and I've become good friends with a really well known influencer in that industry. When we're at hair shows, People ask for pictures and recognize him all the time.

When we're back home, He doesn't get recognized by people in public as much, and when he does, it's another barber.

And people have actually started to recognize me from working with him.

Being recognized by people in your industry is cool in my opinion. You'll be recognized a lot less that someone who is a major celebrity. You sort of get the best of both worlds.

The people coming up to you aren't just randoms, They're people who you share a common interest with.

Also, Being famous does not equal money. I know of broke influencers, and wealthy nobodies.

If you want to have an impact on people, You will have to accumulate some degree of fame.

 

[BrazenFoxx]

My goal is family not fame. Simples.

 

[Alxander]

I'm already a niche internet micro celebrity

 

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[mikecarlooch]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwakmOlOSdk


After stuff like this has been exposed, I'd never want to be a famous celebrity. Appears all those people are controlled by handlers.

I'd rather make a massive impact in the shadows and have a strong network of others who do the same.

 

[Guest116255]

Would you rather be anonymous or a celebrity when you "make it"?

It's one of those thing you can't go back on once you make the decision, but would you rather be able to walk in a crowd despite a networth in the 0.01%, or be recognized most places you go?

Edit 1% to 0.01%

Unless fame is definitely for you, I think its fun for everyone until it reaches a peak point. Then from there it becomes a bother. Fame also comes with hidden costs, like personal security and privacy. Also, if you are famous, the chances of someone cancelling you or losing up on opportunities over your past is much more likely. I can also imagine keeping an impeccable public image has to be exhausting. But fame does have the advantage of allowing you to advertise anything you make in a much easier way. Any famous person can start a clothing brand and its almost guaranteed to sell, those that are not famous might not even consider this idea due to its implications. Building wealth off of your own personality is something very few can replicate, hence, it gives those who are in that market a very favourable advantage.