Rich people are jerks, says research

A new study from UC Berkley suggests that rich people are far more likely to be jerks than those that aren’t as wealthy.

The more money you have, the less likely you are to be influenced by societal pressures and display sympathy.

It’s because wealthier folks have more financial resources and they’re less dependent on social bonds for survival, says the LA Times. The research comes from UC Berkley: Multiple tests measured wealth and responses in social situations, whether the people knew they were being watched, or not.

The results show rich people are rule breakers and often less considerate of others (according to the study, they literally took candy from children!) The results were no surprise to 97.3 KIRO FM’s Ron & Don Show. They say that when they need to do fundraisers, the folks that step up are not from Western Washington’s wealthier areas.

“This is the same thing we’ve experienced. You go to Tacoma, you go to Everett, when you go to Lakewood for the fallen officers – you have people lined up around the block to give. But, you go to Bellevue or Hyde Park over there and nobody shows up,” said Ron.

Unless, of course, they break the stereotype and don’t let their lack of dependence on society affect how they treat others.