Man Acquires Money, And Then Houses

Today’s least offensive Times op-ed (we can’t even talk about this) begins like this:

Just five years ago, Adam Fleischman was in a two-bedroom rental with his wife and their year-old son, fumbling around for a career that might stick. Screenwriting hadn’t worked out. Same for finance. He was 38 and, he told me, “It was do or die.”

Today he owns two houses here, one with six bedrooms and a makeshift vineyard out back. He said that he’s toying with the idea of a third in London.

That’s about the founder of Umami Burger, but: it seems like that’s all people can think to do when they get some money. Six bedrooms? Two houses in the same city? Like great, buy a nice house, sure, but…. Maybe it’s just because it’s snowing and it’s almost Christmas and I’m feeling sentimental but I just found this incredibly dispiriting. Hashtag capitalism.