Timothy Sykes, Christopher Lourdes, and Tai Lopez are three eccentric millionaires who “sell” with social media. Utilizing the global reach of platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube, these influencers paint a prestigious, digital portrait of their abundant lifestyles. Scrolling through their feeds is an addicting experience, indeed. These successful entrepreneurs place centerstage everything from half-naked models (pictured above) and their luxury, six-figure watches to private jets and weekend trips to the Maldives; all photos and videos to be consumed by the millions of their collective fans and followers.
Some critics argue the end goal of these users and their posts is selfishly to seek attention. Other disenchanted commenters suspect the fame and fortune being portrayed is merely a marketing tool used to sell them on some get-rich-quick scheme. The social media professionals insist their objective is less malevolent: to motivate their followers to work hard by flaunting wealth and indulging their lust for materialism. No matter what the intentions of this rich and shameless trio, it is clear they are making waves on social media, whether loved or hated.
Dedication is a prerequisite for success, and the frequency at which these users post to social media is no exception. Not only do they consistently post multiple times per day, but each millionaire also shares their elitist content on numerous platforms. Even so, Snapchat appears to be leading the charge in terms of activity, engagement, and generation of original content.
The three users are effective in communicating their messages through the channel of stories (whether Instagram or Snapchat) because they lend raw, unfiltered authenticity to the audience. When Lopez sends out a Snapchat of his hand clutching the wheel of his Ferrari in rush-hour traffic, his audience recognizes him as authentic. Instagram and Snapchat stories, unlike Twitter and Facebook, provide followers with a higher standard of accountability. Content creators are forced to snap photos and videos natively within the apps in real-time, preventing them from stealing the content of others and claiming it as their own lavish lifestyle.
Each millionaire’s call-to-action may differ, but the kind of motivational work being done is predictable. Lopez coolly pitches his 67 Steps program, which promises to help followers achieve the four pillars of “health, wealth, love, and happiness” in life, by attributing his material success to investing in himself as a teenager by purchasing an online course (which he hopes you do, too).
The investor and entrepreneur, at least in his online presence, assumes the role of mentor and life coach. He regularly quotes Warren Buffett as saying, “The more you learn, the more you earn.” Sharing motivational quotes about confidence and determination, taking his audience on video tours of his $20 million Beverly Hills mansion, and Snapchatting his VIP meetings with Bill Gates and Arnold Schwarzenegger are all strategies employed by Lopez to make his followers thirst for and achieve success commensurate to his own.
Residing in Miami Beach, Sykes is a 35-year-old stock trader who has profited more than $4 million since first experimenting with the markets as a college student. His original investment was only $12,415: a sum of cash gifted to him at his bar mitzvah. Most photos that flaunt Sykes’ obscene stacks of cold, hard cash usually feature the hashtag “#StudyHard” in their captions. The mantra is used by Sykes to convey that getting the “good life” is a process of studying and working hard, not just luck or coincidence.
Known for his openly opulent lifestyle, Sykes’ “Millionaire Challenge” is promoted most aggressively on his social media accounts. It’s an invite-only program that requires an application. If accepted, the student will be taught by Sykes the tips and tricks of trading for a handsome $4,000. The proposition is certainly enticing when comparing the private jets and tropical beach views seen in Sykes’ social media feed to stomaching the temporary loss of a few grand.
Despite all the criticism, Sykes is challenging the archetypal image of a degenerate millionaire. The philanthropist created “The Timothy Sykes Foundation” in 2014 and has donated over $2 million in trading profits to charities including Make-A-Wish and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Sykes’ foundation is currently in the process of funding the construction of schools in Bali, Laos, and Cambodia, too.
Lourdes, an heir to the fortune of his grandfather’s AUGE Publishing Co., is the outlier amongst the trio. Interestingly, he exploits social media more to validate his ego than to sell. Linked in the bio of his Instagram is the website TravelThreeSixFive which “curates the best travel insight from locals [and] key individuals in each city.” Lourdes is sometimes seen making cameo appearances on the travel business’ Instagram, but the brand is not actively promoted on his personal page in any other capacity. The question is: Why wouldn’t the millionaire choose to capitalize on his 115,000 followers? (Unless he actually is signing brand deals with Ferrari, Hublot, and Dom Pérignon that are so effective they appear not as advertisements, but content themselves!)
However, Lourdes’ siblings – Sean and Alexandra – are tagged in his posts from time to time. Both are entrepreneurs who are affiliated with The Lourdes Foundation and The Refined Agency, respectively. Even though Lourdes is not visibly selling to his followers a specific product or service, one would be naive in thinking his content is solely recreational and does not, in some way, benefit his inner-circle.
Speaking candidly about money remains taboo in American culture. Over the past decade, emergent social networks have made it easier than ever before to peek into the lives of the filthy rich. This fact, combined with the pressure to skew one’s digital persona by filtering only life’s best moments, has rendered the rich and shameless evermore divisive. Some followers elect to live vicariously through the shared media, while others may react with envy or vitriol.
For example, Lopez has been consistently ridiculed as a “fraud” by some online communities for supposedly renting his mansion and sports cars, as if leading viewers to believe they are his own when – allegedly – they are not.
Sykes, on the other hand, intentionally pokes fun at the stereotypes of his Jewish heritage. He routinely appends the following hashtags to his posts on Instagram: JewMobile (when referring to his luxury cars), JewsWithViews (when referring to the inspiring vista of an infinity pool or penthouse suite), and EdJewCation (when referring to the necessity of studying hard). Of course, some take offense to Sykes’ playful self-hatred.
But Lourdes (although rarely) and Lopez sell with sex, which is quite controversial. The unspoken meaning is: “The more money you have, the better women you’ll get!” Some audacious haters even publicly accuse the girlfriends and models of Lourdes and Lopez as being gold-diggers.
However, Lourdes’ approach to selling with Instagram is nuanced (relative to that of Lopez), and it is a topic of dispute. Lopez pontificates about investing in oneself by choosing mentors and reading a book each day. Like Sykes, Lopez entices his followers with the event first (the models, the mansion, the Lamborghini) and subsequently informs them of the actual process (hard work). The danger with Lourdes’ social media methodology is that it entirely ignores the trying and unglamorous road to wealth and success.
The rich and shameless further the dialogue about selling with social media by propelling themselves forward with self-induced controversy. How many likes or retweets would be garnered by a photo of a normal watch, against a nondescript white background, versus an eighteen-karat Rolex studded with diamonds? These millionaires praise their haters because they’re paying the bills through unwitting promotion. Being loved or hated is irrelevant for these social media celebrities, so long as everyone feels passionately about them in one way or another.