A Man Said His Childhood Best Friend Became a Millionaire Selling Pokémon Cards — He Works a Blue-Collar Job and the Comparison Is Getting to Him

A Reddit user on r/BoyDinnerDiaries wrote that a childhood best friend became a millionaire through Pokémon cards. The post had gathered over 3,400 upvotes and 396 comments as of publication.

The poster said he was happy for his friend but could not stop comparing their lives. They had posted on Reddit as "just a vent of frustration."

The poster said his friend "isn't and never was a scalper," adding the clarification preemptively to head off criticism. The friend started with a personal collection, built a content creation career, and grew from there.

He had bought, sold, and traded Pokémon cards for a few years, and had once called the rising value of cards "diabolical and insane." The poster, on the other hand, works a blue-collar job and believes the pay is decent. However, the work still leaves them "physically just depleting myself."

He said their body has changed over the past five to seven years. "Not significantly but like I'd be lying if I said I wake up feeling the same," he wrote. They compared their situation with the friend, because of how long the two have known each other. "It just hits a little different when it's someone you grew up with and are pretty much family," the poster wrote.

The Redditor said that the friend's route to wealth surprised them. A career as a lawyer, doctor, or engineer would be one thing. Trading cards, they wrote, "just blows my f-cking mind."

They have been wanting to live "the most minimal life far away from society." Then they listed things they do have: bills paid on time, food, and clean clothes. The poster closed with a message to readers. "Happy Monday people. I hope you have a nice day and better week," they wrote.

One commenter replied with a note on comparison. "Comparison is almost always the principal thief of joy. You already know that. You make an honest living," they wrote.

Another commenter disputed the poster's claim about the friend. "It's physically impossible for him to have become a millionaire off Pokemon cards without scalping Pokemon cards," they wrote.

A different commenter offered a guess about the friend's finances. "My guess is the guy is already losing money," they wrote.

He continued, "Pokemon cards are up there with gambling in terms of addictiveness and more than a few people hide their habit and only show the wins."

One more reply said the friend was either gambling or scalping. "But you cant become a millionaire that way, the odds just can't work in your favour long enough," the commenter wrote.

The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the friend's identity, income, or business methods described in the post. The details above reflect the account shared by the original poster on r/BoyDinnerDiaries.