Is this where being successful leads?

Dear David,
I was a invited to dinner where two (I guess) wealthy male couples talked about nothing but their money, their cars, their real estate, their jewelry, their clothes. It was a kind of unending battle to impress, impress, impress. Is this where being successful leads? They never inquired once about the lives of the other people at the table, who didn't get a chance to speak anyway. Have you experienced this? What is you take?
~Is That All There Is?

Dear Is That All There Is,
I assure you there is a lot more than that. I would wager that these male couples involve one older man with money and one younger man without. (Which is not anti-gay. There are certainly many heterosexual couple like that.) And I would further guess they didn't earn their money but inherited it. So underlying all this is low self-esteem and a constant need to make sure people know you are important - because you suspect you are not. People who are actively involved in earning their own money or working hard in creative fields don't act that way. They are very interested in other people and have a lot of confidence. They don't need to impress you. In the future you can refuse invitations to dine with the wealthy and self-centered. You are just wallpaper to them anyways. You can skip it!