Teacher stands up for herself after rich employer used her as an example of helping 'poor people'

Employers often mistreat their employees by making them work extra hours or not paying what the worker deserves. Antoinette–who goes by @amoneymoves on TikTok–had a slightly different experience. She was put down for being poor and was not even given her last pay. She shared her experience on the platform and wrote in the caption, "Please don't compare yourself to rich people because I promise you they're not as benevolent or thrifty as we think they are. Their actions are self-serving and that's how they get and stay rich."

The video is a stitch with @geezelouiseeeee. She began the video by saying, "I stopped comparing myself to rich people after I tutored their kids. For reference on wealth, one of my clients was so rich that they had a walk-in fridge in their mansion." Then she talks about how she was driving a Honda "from mansion to mansion in the Hills because that's all the amount I had saved up as a hostess." And one day, her car broke down. Upon enquiring, the servicemen said she would have to pay $1500 to fix it. "My heart sank because I did not have that money and it would take me two months to save that much money at that time. So I called my most frequent client and told her that I wouldn't be able to drive up to your mansion today because my car broke down and I need some time to save to fix it," she shares. 

Her client asked her to come home anyway and assured her she would fix her problem. "I don't know what to expect I'm thinking she'll Uber me to her mansion every day, she'll let me borrow one of their 10 cars, I don't know," she says. "Once I finally got there, she sat me down and looked me in the eyes and said, 'I'm going to give you an advance because my son will not pass the eighth grade without you,'" she says. "Which was true. They kept going on international vacations. And I was writing all his essays and submitting all these final projects," agrees Antoinette.

She wrote her a check for $1,500 and gave her a referral to her husband's mechanic. "And this whole time, I'm so grateful." After that, things didn't go the way she expected. "She turns to her son and says, 'You see, son? This is why we need to help people like her. This is why we have money. Some people can't even afford to fix their cars, and you should be grateful that you are as privileged as you are.'" After saying this, the mother and son looked at her with "a look of pity" that she excused herself and went to the restroom to cry because her car was her livelihood.

Antoinette states, "She was only helping me because she needed me to tutor her son to pass the eighth grade. And then she used me as this real-life example of, 'look at the poor, so helpless and fragile.'" The tutor also opened up that the woman never sent her last pay cheque. "This is also why I don't listen to career or financial advice from rich people who have always been rich because they just don't know and they never will, even if it's right in front of them," she concludes in the video.

The video went viral, garnering nearly 9 million views and over 1 million likes. People on social media were shocked to hear Antoinette's story. @stackedteacups commented, "Rich people are so cheap. She gave you an advance instead of giving you money if she was truly kind." @lostlug shared, "Yup! They will only do things for you if it serves them. The minute you don't they don't know who you are." @klonko13 expressed, "As someone who works with the rich if you ever gifted or given anything. Act like you deserve it. Don't overthink."