Better than finding out a friend is wealthy, I’ll tell the story of how I found out my wife was wealthy!

My wife and I had met while she was in grad school and working a part-time job for not all that much money. We dated for two years and decided to get married, at which point she had a full-time job not paying all that much money. I met her parents a few times before the wedding. They were both in their mid-60s and had retired recently. They flew coach, and wore t-shirts and jeans/khakis with old sneakers. When we had dinner, I paid - which isn’t saying much as they would usually ask for Thai food take-out. I just thought they were a regular middle-class family based on their appearances, as well as all my wife’s descriptions of her upbringing.

Four months after my wife and I were married (a small affair at the local Town Hall) I inherited $60,000 (US dollars) when my mother’s estate was finally settled about a year after she passed away. At the time, my wife and I were renting a one bedroom apartment. One night during our after-dinner clean-up in the kitchen, I said to my wife that with this extra $60K it might be a good time for us to make a down payment on our own condo in the city, or perhaps on a house in the suburbs. My wife said, “That’s okay. Hold on to your money. I was talking to my dad recently and he said he can give us up to a million dollars to help with that.” I said, “Oh, how much was that you said?”. Very nonchalantly she once again said it was one million dollars. I just nodded and said that would be great and I’d be very appreciative. Inside I felt like I’d just won a million dollars on a scratch-off ticket.

In retrospect, the only “clue” was that my wife’s younger sister is a bit more cosmopolitan in her choice of clothing. Other than that, I honestly had no idea.