@GossiTheDog Depends how you define it. There is a point of net worth where you are basically decoupled from what is happening in the economy - you no longer have to work & provided you don't do anything really stupid & have a diversified portfolio you will be absolutely fine for the rest of your life.
The amount varies on what kind of lifestyle you want, and where you want to live - but $10M will do it pretty much anywhere. Those are the actual rich.
@GossiTheDog there’s a comparative aspect, a level of comfort but underpinning it all is the difference between income and wealth. Earning well does not mean wealth - people have mortgages, loans (student loans are especially bad for this), outgoings. Even high earners can struggle with child care costs.
Wherever you live, it’s likely that people around have similar houses, similar cars etc
But then look at actual rich people - it’s a different life.
There’s some complexity about the trappings of being rich - iPhones are quite egalitarian, is a big TV a sign, or is it gauche?
I’m lucky in that I can afford to do things that many other people can’t, but then I can’t afford to do things that other people do as well. It’s all about compromise but I don’t think an actual rich person would be having to make those choices.
@GossiTheDog I think a lot of people measure "richness" by whether it feels like they're having to be careful.
We grow up thinking that being rich means breezing through. But in practice people's outgoings expand with their income (bigger mortgage etc), they feel like they're still having to count pennies so "can't" be rich, forgetting how much more they've got than someone on a lower wage.
I remember earning £10k and having a major's wife tell me how hard it was living on their income
Add comment