Learning From The Cases Of Doni Salmanan And Indra Kenz: The Crazy Rich Phenomenon Of Luxury

The term crazy rich is inspired by the film Crazy Rich Asian. (Photo: Warner Bros. Entertainment)

JAKARTA - In today's social media people easily call themselves crazy rich. They are idolized by their followers and they are usually super rich. The public was fascinated by a piece of the story that they used to have a hard life. The phenomenon of the emergence of someone who suddenly becomes an elite on social media. What is it?

We are not forbidden to be rich, but how do we become rich? It's just been set.

The names of Indra Kesuma alias Indra Kenz and Doni Salmanan were dubbed Indonesia's "crazy rich" before being named suspects by the police. Indra Kenz is known to be an investment affiliate under the guise of binary options trading, Binomo. Meanwhile, Doni Muhammad Taufik alias Doni Salmanan is an affiliate of Quotex.

The public was so boisterous with their initial appearance on social media. They suddenly appeared so gleaming. Super-expensive cars, elite vacations, and mansions like in a fairy tale.

Doni Salmanan, a former Crazy Rich, suspect in the Quotex affiliate case. (Photo: Instagram/@donisalmanan)

The term crazy rich began to resonate in the community after the appearance of a book called Crazy Rich Asians in 2013. It was even more unstoppable when in 2018, the book was brought to the big screen. This story of the life of a rich Asian man was filmed in a romantic comedy drama in the United States. Crazy Rich Asians became one of the most watched and talked about films during August 2018.

Since then, many Indonesians have referred to themselves as “crazy rich”. The public also supports their presence, we can see it from their followers and comments on their accounts.

We can see the presence of the crazy rich in several countries in real life and on social media. The South China Morning Post once made a report about five people who were said to be young, elite, and crazy rich in Singapore. But the public knows his background and the business their parents own. They are not young people who fell from the sky with a drama story of getting rich.

On the other hand, in Indonesia, it is difficult for us to know the past business of young people who suddenly became crazy rich. Their emergence in just two-three years raises many question marks. The role in social activities is also less visible. Unfortunately, a number of media actually agree with their "eliteness". They show more wealth on social media with engineered communication.

When the age has not reached 25 years but has a fantastic treasure, it will certainly make people curious. People will start asking what is your business? Tell me the secret. And to answer all curiosity, these “crazy rich” started to open their money machine kitchen. Don't invest.

Indra Kenz, investment affiliate under the guise of binary options trading. (Photo: Instagram/@indrakenz)

So young people who also want to rush to get rich a la crazy rich, are happy to deposit money through an application made by "crazy rich". And this is where the bitter pill begins.

In his Youtube account, Professor of Management Science, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia, Rhenald Kasali, stated that the "crazy rich" were just showing off. They are doing flexing, a marketing pattern by showing off their wealth even though they are not real rich people. He said the term “poverty screams but wealth whispers”, meaning that the rich don't really like to show off and want privacy.

So the way of flexing is marketing to build trust in the customer, finally he believes and puts the money.

Crazy Rich Original Doesn't Like Showing Off

Citing Vice, Rachel Sherman, a professor of sociology at the New School for Social Research, New York, studies the spending habits of the wealthy. The research found that the rich are very careful in spending their money.

They do not like to attract attention by buying luxury goods. On the other hand, these super-rich people try to spend their money "as normal as possible".

You may be familiar with the content of young people in their 20s who show off their parents' wealth. However, according to Sherman, the super-rich he studied actually made such content as a bad example that should not be imitated. They don't want to be like that.

"...they want to say that, 'Yeah, we're rich, but we're not the attention-grabbing type of rich people'. They kind of distance themselves from that sort of thing," he said.

Warren Buffet, one of the richest people in the world who lives a calculated life when it comes to money. (Photo: CNBC/Gerry Miller)

There has been no specific determination regarding the minimum amount of wealth that must be owned to be named one of Crazy Rich Indonesia.

However, globally, Credit Suisse reports that it needs a net worth of US$871.320, or around Rp. 12.4 billion, to be designated as the richest person in the world.

The events of Indra and Doni provide many lessons for us. The crazy rich phenomenon has created the imagination of luxury for many people. Social media and television contribute to creating people who have the desire to be rich in any way, who every day presents shows that spread luxury.

On the other hand, the presence of the state is very necessary. Educate its citizens. Educating the public is a necessity and must be done continuously.

Think clearly, that no wealth comes in just one night. All need process and sacrifice. Instant profit offers from fake crazy riches should be suspected of being fraudulent.