How many people are rich

[scaeagles]

I think such a high percentage of the upper middle class have done such a poor job of managing their lives as lower income earners that their income to debt ratio makes their income in effect much smaller. Are they still "rich" because they are in a percentage level? I don't know.

I know DINKs that have lower income than my wife and I do but have far more disposable income because they have no children. I would qualify them as rich long before I would qualify us. We have some good friend who are DINKs who just spent a week in Belize and put a down payment on some property there because they love it. We make more but could never even think of doing that.

I don't think you can define rich by level of income.....I think it has more to do with assets vs. liabilities.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

I don't think you can define rich by level of income.....I think it has more to do with assets vs. liabilities.

True. But on the other hand if you are making $250,000 a year and have yourself so in debt that you're barely getting by you may no longer be effectively rich but I also don't want to hear the whining about how it really isn't that much money and "woe is I" and all that crap.

[scaeagles]

Originally Posted by Alex

True. But on the other hand if you are making $250,000 a year and have yourself so in debt that you're barely getting by you may no longer be effectively rich but I also don't want to hear the whining about how it really isn't that much money and "woe is I" and all that crap.

Of course. I don't have sympathy, but I don't really regard such a person as rich.

However, I think Trump has said something like he has huge influence with banks because of how much he owes them. I think if you take the amount of debt to huge extremes the pendulum swings back toward rich....or at least living like it.