Everyone's Obsessed With Wealthy People Behaving Badly

Peering into the lives of the rich and spoiled has always been popular — and these days, the worse they act, the more we love them

- ISABEL MOHAN

Whether it’s Housewives Kyle Richards and Dorit Kemsley screaming about “f**king “memes,” or White Lotus’ Ratliff family being outrageous (sibling hookups!) and awful (familial poisoning!), viewers can’t stop watching.

We are a nation of voyeurs, and our fixation with other people’s lives — both fictional and not — is often directed upward, to folks dripping with wealth, privilege and Botox. The best part? Those with the most often act with the least: that is, the least self-awareness, decorum and general connection to reality.

From unscripted reality shows like the Real Housewives franchise and The Kardashians to irresistible dramas like the current AppleTV+ hit Your Friends & Neighbors, starring Jon Hamm as an unemployed hedge fund manager who steals from his wealthy friends, and the HBO sensation The White Lotus, which focuses on the most cluelessly wealthy people ever, we are totally obsessed with rich people behaving badly.

That’s not new: “When there was a recession in the early ‘80s, shows like Dallas and