30 Days of Rich People Shit

The mechanics of cultural capital, observed in real time

Thirty days ago I had the flu so badly I could barely sit up. I was supposed to be turning around edits for various editors, polishing paragraphs and being a responsible working journalist. Instead, flat on my back and slightly delirious, I opened Substack and finally did the thing I’d been avoiding for a year.

I had owned the domain Rich People Shit for twelve months and could not quite bring myself to press go. I told myself I did not have the time; I told myself I could not imagine writing without an editor; and I told myself that once I started, I’d be stuck doing it.

Well. I am stuck.

Nearly 3,000 of you have subscribed in 30 days (roughly 60 times what the average Substack launch without an imported list pulls in.) The newsletter has racked up close to 85,000 views. And every morning, my inboxes are full of links, tips, corrections, introductions, encouragement, and the occasional perfectly phrased “have you seen this?”

Rich People Shit has also, without any strategy on my part, shown up in New York Magazine, the New York Post, AOL.com, and Radar. Which is surreal considering I launched it in between cough syrup doses.

Some of you subscribed because the name made you laugh (fair!). But a lot of you have stayed because you understand what I’m trying to build here. This isn’t about gawking at wealth. It’s about cultural capital. It’s about access, taste, power, and who decides what matters.

In the last 30 days alone, we’ve covered what $1 million in home security actually buys, the rumored Paris members club involving Pharrell and Will Welch, Jes Staley and the power politics unfolding inside an Upper East Side church, the uptown superfake Birkin economy, a White Luggage Travel Guide collaboration with Cassandra Grey, gambling by income bracket, “status stacking” on the West Coast, the psychology of the FAT FIRE subreddit, the New Canaan Playhouse saga, and whether Rao’s-style exclusivity is coming for Los Angeles.

The subscriber list now includes chairmen, founders, CEOs, award-winning actors, investors, authors, collectors, designers, and the sort of women who run entire ecosystems from a dinner table. And the open rates tell me you’re not just here for the headlines. You’re reading, you’re forwarding, you’re participating.

So yes, I’m stuck. And I could not be more pleased about it.

This thing is getting sharper. It’s getting more reported and it’s getting bigger. And we’re only 30 days in.

After this letter, most of RPS moves behind the velvet rope. Free subscribers, stay with me, there will still be something worth opening. But the deeper context, the sharper analysis, invitations to future RPS events, and merch perks will live inside the paid tier. If you’ve been considering upgrading, now is the time.

In today’s letter: The billionaire tax, Casey Wasserman’s Epstein fall-out, Cassandra Grey, Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage, Belle Burden and Gwyneth Paltrow, Carole Radziwill, Sarah Pidgeon, Khaite, Love Story, Faran Krentcil, Melanie Masarin’s auction habit and more.

• California is back to debating a wealth tax on its billionaires, and the New York Times responded this weekend with one of the better headlines of the year: “Move Your Picassos, Get a Divorce: Strategies for California Billionaires.” When the state starts talking about taxing wealth on paper rather than just income, art storage and marital status suddenly start to look strategic.

• Word on the street just got heavier: a friend of the letter tells RPS that Gwyneth Paltrow was in the VIP section at a Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage reading at Godmothers bookstore near Montecito on February 8, where she asked a thoughtful question about the power dynamics of choosing to be a stay-at-home mother from the VIP section. It just adds a new layer to this report that she’s eyeing a role as Belle Burden.

• According to The Bigger Apple newsletter, the only income group in New York City that has an average of more than 2.1 children per family (which is roughly the fertility rate needed for population replacement) are households earning over $10 million a year.

• Perhaps my favorite NYFW moment yet: Cassandra Grey showed up to Khaite in Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s original 1998 Yohji Yamamoto suit while Sarah Pidgeon, who plays CBK in Love Story, sat just a few seats away. Grey told Faran Krentcil for Elle that the suit was given to her by Carole Radziwill, who was Bessette Kennedy’s best friend and still has pieces from her closet.

• The WSJ reports that Casey Wasserman is exploring a sale of his eponymous talent agency after scrutiny tied to Epstein fallout. Wasserman is one of Hollywood’s most connected power brokers and has an estimated net worth of $400 million. Just goes to show that even nine figures does not buy immunity from reputational gravity.

• Mackenzie’s February update says the economy is still standing, largely because higher-earning households have not slowed their spending. (I would make a personal argument that plenty of us share that habit, myself included, which is why the long-predicted slowdown keeps getting pushed back, one AmEx statement at a time.)

• Melanie Masarin (founder and CEO of Ghia) reminded everyone in her newsletter Night Shade, that if you are patient and fluent in auction alerts, you too can land a vintage Kelly for $2,500 without ever setting foot in a Hermès leather appointment.

What did I miss?

Comments, corrections, and classified intel to carson@readrps.com. And if you are not already following @readrps on Instagram, this would be an excellent moment to fix that.