Do 'Upper Class' People Actually Take This Habit With Them Everywhere (Even On Vacation)?

Stories about highly successful, upper-class individuals having a habit of bringing work everywhere they go are certainly compelling and have been around for ages. One such example is a 2014 article in HuffPost, in which Paul C. Brunson spoke on his experiences working with Oprah Winfrey and Turkish businessman Enver Yucel, saying one of the billionaires' key habits was never taking any days completely off. Brunson described going on vacation where business was still discussed, and he noted that both of his employers frequently went to dinner with groups of people to learn useful information. But does his story actually mean the wealthy work more than others? Probably not, when taking a closer look.

Sure, Brunson's insights were in line with a Harvard blog from the same year that postulated rich people work longer hours than others due to both personal ambition and institutional needs. Similar sentiments have been expressed across social media in the years since, including Neil Patel's 2025 LinkedIn post titled "Rich people don't take vacations." Yet despite the common belief that upper-class folks have a habit of working longer hours to the point of bringing work everywhere they go, recent data suggests that it may all be a myth.

Naturally, there are high earners who do log intense hours, especially early in their careers. But it's not a prevalent trend. Along with having more free time being among the signs you're in the upper class, digging into the actual data shows the answer really isn't as simple as "more hours equals more money."

Data reveals that upper-class earners may not actually be working much more than others. A 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report shows that the highest-earning individuals in the U.S. work an average of 7.91 hours a day, compared to 7.92 hours for their lowest-earning counterparts. At the same time, workers in the two middle income tiers worked between 8.05 and 8 hours a day. The same BLS report also showed that top earners who work on weekends and holidays put in just 3.48 hours on those days, while the lowest tier of earners worked the highest average amount of hours on these days, at 6.83. Meanwhile, according to a World Economic Forum report, the top 10% of earners in the U.S. work just 4.4 hours more weekly than individuals who are in the bottom 10%. The few extra hours are more likely to represent a working lunch than "taking work everywhere they go." 

So, yes, despite stories of billionaires who dropped out of college and hustle culture describing rich people working on vacation, the simple truth is that income and wealth are shaped by many factors beyond just hours worked. Additionally, one of the most common points of financial advice that billionaires make prioritizes investing, not necessarily working more. Kevin O'Leary's advice for becoming a millionaire before retirement involves setting aside a certain percentage of one's earnings for investment. Echoing this, tech entrepreneur Ashley Fox told the YouTube channel School of Hard Knocks, "You cannot save or work your way to wealth. You can only invest your way there."