This was the topic of a recent article in the Houston Chronicle called Got $5 million? Consider yourself rich, experts say. Here is a brief exerpt of the article:
"most people in finance use the $5 million mark, and apparently others agree. In a January telephone survey of 253 people with at least $500,000, 45 percent said it takes at least $5 million to qualify as rich.
Another 25 percent said $25 million, and 8 percent picked $100 million, according to the Spectrem Group, a consulting firm that specializes on research about wealth. For the Internal Revenue Service, earning $349,700 qualified for the top-tier 35 percent tax bracket in 2007.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, meanwhile, requires individuals to earn $200,000, couples $300,000 or households to show they have $1 million in the bank before they're considered wealthy enough to safely invest in lightly regulated instruments like hedge funds.
The U.S. Census Bureau, which in its most recent annual Current Population Survey in 2006, estimated that 2.3 million households — or 1.9 percent — brought in at least $250,000, the highest figure it measures."
2 comments:
My buddy and I have had this conversation before and we just always draw the same conclusion that wealth is relative. If you make 5 million dollars your interpretation of wealth will be completely different from someone who makes $5.15 an hour.
Thanks for commenting and reading my blog. It may have been some time since you did. I don't always check my older posts. You are probably right that how wealthy you are affects where you draw the line. Compared to most people who live in the world today (and in the past), Americans are very well off.
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