What is rich?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you can order two desserts at the same time (plus drinks!), and not have to worry.

That’s being young.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you have to get vacation time approved, you're not "rich."

If you get an annual review at work, you're not "rich."

If someone else dictates your schedule on a daily basis, you're not "rich."

Sure, you might have a top 3% income via a W2. But if you stop working and are no longer "rich".....were you ever actually "rich"? Nope.

You need to rethink your definitions.

The CEO of the company I work has to have his vacation time approved. He gets annual performance reviews from his bosses: the board of directors. His schedule is not fully under his control.
His total compensation last year was 200m. His net worth is estimated to be 1.5b.
If he gets fired or lose his job, he will even get a golden parachute worth hundreds of millions.
If he’s not rich, what is he?

Meanwhile, my plumber doesn’t have to get vacation time approved. He can go whenever he wants to, as long as he can afford to.
He doesn’t get an annual review. No one dictates his schedule. But the guy is not rich by any measure.

Same with Uber drivers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other two recent posts about rich people got me thinking. What is rich? To me, the difference is do you have to work to maintain your wealth/status/lifestyle. We belong to the top 1% both in terms of NW and HHI, but all of this would evaporate if I lost my job. So I don’t feel rich. Wealthy? Yes. But rich? No.

That’s not a great definition. Plenty of FIRE folks are “rich” on $1M net worth then.

DP

True.

Why does there have to be a consensus on rich? Weird. My rich is someone else's poor and my poor is someone else's rich. It's all perspective.... subjective.

If you need an objective measure, I think it would be top 5% net worth and income for most social economists. Although I've also seen it defined as wide as the top 20% wealth and income.

There doesn’t need to be a consensus but I do think it’s a worthwhile discussion with you have people claiming not to be rich on their 1% incomes and 5% net worth. Or very high income individuals who spend everything then earn and then claim that they are rich because they didn’t save.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich is having enough to say “F it”, walk away, and never have to work again. It’s a different number for everyone.

But that requires saving right? So if I make 3M a year and blow it all year over year, I can never say “f it” and walk away. So does that mean I am not rich?

[Anonymous]

I think it's those people buying $30+ million properties and who probably own several houses. When I see that, I feel poor. I can't imagine having that much money.

[Anonymous]

When you can own a sports team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other two recent posts about rich people got me thinking. What is rich? To me, the difference is do you have to work to maintain your wealth/status/lifestyle. We belong to the top 1% both in terms of NW and HHI, but all of this would evaporate if I lost my job. So I don’t feel rich. Wealthy? Yes. But rich? No.

How would your NW evaporate if you lost your job?

I have the same question.

You don’t seem to need a job, OP. So how are you not rich?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich is having enough to say “F it”, walk away, and never have to work again. It’s a different number for everyone.

But that requires saving right? So if I make 3M a year and blow it all year over year, I can never say “f it” and walk away. So does that mean I am not rich?

It means you make a lot and spend a lot. But you have not made yourself independently rich. If I made 3M and saved half of it for 4 years, I’d be done working for the man.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich is having enough to say “F it”, walk away, and never have to work again. It’s a different number for everyone.

But that requires saving right? So if I make 3M a year and blow it all year over year, I can never say “f it” and walk away. So does that mean I am not rich?

It means you make a lot and spend a lot. But you have not made yourself independently rich. If I made 3M and saved half of it for 4 years, I’d be done working for the man.

+1. We already have $4M so if we made $3M in a year we’d be done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich is having enough to say “F it”, walk away, and never have to work again. It’s a different number for everyone.

But that requires saving right? So if I make 3M a year and blow it all year over year, I can never say “f it” and walk away. So does that mean I am not rich?

It means you make a lot and spend a lot. But you have not made yourself independently rich. If I made 3M and saved half of it for 4 years, I’d be done working for the man.

Ok sure. But are you honestly saying that someone who makes 3M every year and spends it all isn’t rich? I mean, if their income evaporated tomorrow they would no longer be rich once the well was dry, but that doesn’t mean they were rich when they had, and spent, 3M a year. Especially since outsiders will never know how much they actually made, spent or saved.

We hear this all the time with celebrities. They make a ton, don’t budget or save, live a luxurious lifestyle and then the jobs dry up and they lose everything. But at the time when jobs were coming in and they had $$$ homes, vacations, cars, etc. would you really not describe them as rich?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you can order two desserts at the same time (plus drinks!), and not have to worry.

What? Isn’t this a normal ability to do? Are you serious? Can’t be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich is when you don’t need a salary to maintain your lifestyle.

Rich doesn’t have a salary does it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you have to get vacation time approved, you're not "rich."

If you get an annual review at work, you're not "rich."

If someone else dictates your schedule on a daily basis, you're not "rich."

Sure, you might have a top 3% income via a W2. But if you stop working and are no longer "rich".....were you ever actually "rich"? Nope.

Exactly this. If there’s a leave slip or time card involved you’re not rich.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich doesn't concern itself with HHI.

An ex boyfriend of mine is wealthy enough that his (family) name is plastered all over the place on buildings, hospitals, etc. All over the world. That kind of money. Private jet money. Having an income will never be a concern for him (which does not mean he does not concern himself with it -- I remember him remarking on the relatively high cost of a particular DVD once). He is an attorney and works very hard and that was very much expected in his family (although practicing law was a little rogue, most of his more respected cousins are investment bankers in the family corp), but it has nothing to do with needing to earn a living.

There is a lot expected of him socially that he does not enjoy. It's hard.

What kinds of things were expected of him socially that he didn’t like? Golf tournaments? Fund raisers? Family estate meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The other two recent posts about rich people got me thinking. What is rich? To me, the difference is do you have to work to maintain your wealth/status/lifestyle. We belong to the top 1% both in terms of NW and HHI, but all of this would evaporate if I lost my job. So I don’t feel rich. Wealthy? Yes. But rich? No.

Being rich really has nothing to do with whether you can lose it in case something bad happens. By that definition, even billionaires won’t be rich because you’ll find many who worry about their fortune evaporating.

Many super rich people have massive investments that bring them a lot of money. Just like you, they worry about the possibility of those investments crashing down one day and losing everything.
It doesn’t remove the fact that they are super rich.

Agree. If you are in the top one percent you should be saving enough so that if you lose your job you still never have to work again. You may not have private jet money anymore but you’d still be rich. I mean, come on.