Why the Rich Avoid Eye Contact

Researchers at Berkeley find that the rich don't like eye contact. Why so snooty? Robert Frank in The Wealth Report offers a plausible explanation. The rich "always feel like targets."

So if you walk into a crowded room of wealthy people, most will avoid your gaze and look vacantly into the middle distance to avoid getting cornered by salesman, gold diggers, aspiring “friends” and other hangers on. ***

But if they know you, the wealthy can be just as locked in and engaged–perhaps more so–than the every day Joe. To me, it is more a function of familiarity than income.