Wolf in wolf’s clothing

Displays of excessive spending and disdain for those with less don't serve those in the financial services sector well.

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Greed may be good again in the world of finance, but boasting about being rich certainly doesn't impress the rest of us. And, as Singapore-based British wealth manager Anton Casey discovered this week, the internet isn't going to let anybody get away with making fun of those who live their lives without the benefit of bankers' bonuses.

Mr Casey posted photographs on Facebook of his young son, first on the metro, with a caption ridiculing commuters as “poor people”, and then in the family’s Porsche convertible, with a line about washing off “the stench of public transport”. A social-media storm ensued and Mr Casey was forced to apologise.

Sadly, he isn't the only city hot-shot flaunting what he's got. On Monday, staff from a recruitment firm in the UK attended a private screening of The Wolf of Wall Street and got into spirit of things by dressing up as the film's "hero", corrupt stockbroker Jordan Belfort. The fact that Belfort was jailed for fraud seemed to be lost on them.

Is it any wonder that those who don’t work in the financial services sector have such a low regard for those who do – no matter how much they earn?