Decadence can be interpreted differently.
It can apply to those with massive amounts of money who know how to live in the lap of luxury but doesn't necessarily buys them class.
Decadence can also reflect moral depravity and individuals who are classless and degenerate.
The commonality here is that both groups can be highly amusing to witness.
Curious to hear some of the wildest anecdotes, Redditor tawnymouth asked strangers online:
"What’s the most decadent thing you ever witnessed?"
Only The Best
"I had Italian Porcelain floors installed in my garage. Always wanted a custom garage, and 48 years later, I have it."
– CompetitionFalse3620
"In our garage, we have some decadent salt leftover from our last snowstorm. Then again, having a garage is decadent to most of the world so I’ll be grateful af💁🏼♀️"
– ActiveJury3131
Lavish Reception
"My buddies wedding cocktail hour had a sushi station, fresh pasta station, prime rib, whole pig, whole lamb, a 12x12 cheese and cracker display, martini ice luge, and I’m sure other items. And that was just cocktail hour."
– Wise_Composer_2661
"Sheeeit, son. I've been to 'destination' weddings where it's a weeklong affair."
"The Thursday before the wedding, they had this golf outing for wedding guests. A chartered bus shows up and takes anyone who wants to go, to a private golf course for an entire day. Meals and snacks and drinks are included, as are free club rentals and golf carts."
"This appealed mostly to the men, so for the women, they had another chartered bus take them to a shopping trip to the ritzy downtown area for clothes and handbags. Reservations at a classy upscale brunch restaurant were included."
– whomp1970
Indulgent Dessert
"Saw someone order some $25k piece of cake at a restaurant in Miami."
– StackIsMyCrack
"At that price, I hope it was premade cake from Walmart, and the money is going to some charity."
"25K isn't cake money."
– Mr_ToDo
"I saw a couple in France walk into McDonald's, order 45 cheeseburgers and just sit down and lay into them. They were normal sized regular people. I wonder who gets the odd cheeseburger."
– grahamsz
Raining Cash
"I once went to a strip club that had a balcony area on the second floor. I see money raining down and I look up and there's an older gentleman throwing money. He must've had close to $5k in $1 dollar bills because he had three other dancers with him, each with a huge stack of $1s helping him make it rain down on the stage below."
"He and the ladies finish throwing their stacks and then retreat into a private room as a few more women join them. About an hour later some EMTs and a few cops come in and head up to the private room. 30 minutes later, they roll the old man out in a stretcher."
– WilliamMButtlicker
Fancy Wedding
"A very wealthy friend threw a wedding, around 300 people."
"When you got home, you were delivered a small replica of their wedding cake, a case of wine from their winery, and a week invitation to use one of the guest homes at their vacation homes."
– leg_day
"My buddy married a woman who's dad is a mining magnate. Their wedding had a happy hour, hor' d'oeuvres full catered dinner and then an open bar with liquor shots. In slightly less than hour you had guys puking off the outdoor balcony, girls crying in the bathroom, the elderly cutting a drunken rug on the dance floor and people making incoherent speeches when they could go grab the mic while the DJ wasn't looking or fending off drunks making incoherent requests."
"It was awesome."
– notjawn
Flights Of Fancy
"I managed to get a first class ticket on Emirates about 10 years ago with my old work - they had an excess of air points from a previous deal that paid in points that were set to expire so let everyone use them up."
"Holy sh*t, that lounge at Dubai had everything. Had to wait 1 and a half hours there. All ranges of wines, champagne, fancy meals. I had some fresh oysters, some lobster, and some wagu steak. Best meal I've ever had in my life. Each course was paired with a matching wine."
"There were some people you could tell were regulars, and they were just used to all of this like they have it every day."
"Then more of the same on the plane itself. So much delicious food. And you got your own room on the plane with a bathrobe and slippers. And the attendant came and made my bed for me haha."
– brutalanglosaxon
Extravagant Furnishings
"My aunt and uncle are yacht captains. They'd get flown in, take command of some rich guy's yacht, pilot it, serve as cook/waitstaff, clean the boat, etc. Most weeks they just sat on these expensive boats doing nothing. For thousands of dollars. Lotta stories of out of touch wealth."
"But the one I always think about was the wife of one of these captains of industry spent 30,000 USD on a pack of 6 throw pillows... and didn't like them so she had the crew throw them out and bought another set costing 30,000 more."
"And she insisted they be thrown out rather than the crew taking them because they were worried that if the designer or whatever saw them being resold, she'd be cut off."
– pbradley179
"Coming home to my grandparents-in-law for the first time. He is the owner of a workwear business in Iceland and is -rich rich-. I felt like if I even accidentally breathed in the wrong direction I’d have to sell both of my kidneys because all of their furniture and decorations were probably worth more than my entire body on the black market."
– BeelzeBat
"I was dating a woman and we were breaking up, mutually. She was moving to Switzerland from SoCal, and honestly, the relationship just wasn't there for either of us."
"She bought a giant rug that cost 4.3k... a week before she moved."
"Still don't know why. Her sister ended up keeping it, and later sold it for 4.1k."
"One of the oddest purchases. Especially because I never inquired about what the f'k kind of rug it was??"
"In one convo, I did ask her 'why did you buy this? You're leaving in a week.' "
"And her response was something like 'wanted to see what it looked like.' IN A HOUSE SHE WAS MOVING OUT OF."
– Pitiful_Winner2669
Going Places
"The president of a company I once worked for. He was chauffered to work in a Mercedes every day. He lived in a luxury apartment only one block away from the office. Every year he got a brand new Mercedes to be chauffeured in."
– BubbhaJebus
God's Feast
"In China, we offered a set menu called an ‘gods feast’…. It came out plated on a huge board bigger than a table, carried by 4 staff in Chinese lore costumes carrying the food on their shoulder and walking down to you. In the background, there were gongs and traditional instruments being played. I was so embarrassed I wanted to ostrich up."
– xlOREOlx
Not everyone who lives a decadent lifestyle is thoughtless and uncharitable. There are plenty who enjoy extending privileges to others by throwing lavish weddings or Gatsby-esque galas.
As long as we get RSVPs to such glitzy affairs, who are we to judge?
And for those who are perverted and debased, we hope to see them at these convivial affairs with drinks in hand.
Let the party begin!