What income level and net worth level qualifies one to be called "rich"?

Question

There are frequent posts on this site talking about "rich" people. This is a pretty subjective statement. I would like to see if there is any trend or consensus. In answering please state whether you are liberal, conservative or middle of the road.

Answer 1

I am a Conservative, I think my definition would break into categories. Above 125K yearly I would consider well off but not rich. Depends on area, family size and many other contingents. For example I from OH someone making $125K yearly here would be considered well off, but when I lived in Boston that would not touch the wealthy. A lot of variables. When I think of someone who is truly "rich" I imagine millionaires.

Answer 2

In 2005, the top 1% in the United States had incomes of $348,000 or more. The top 1%, IMHO, would be considered rich because they normally derive their income primarily from wealth rather than salaries. (I don’t think that each one of those people would necessarily be considered rich because their yearly incomes may have been aberrational for a short period of time.)

In order to derive an income of $348,000 a year from investments, one’s net worth would be somewhat considerable.

The average income for the top 0.1 percent of Americans was $3 million in 2002. No other income group has risen as fast in income in the last two decades. The richest are leaving even the rich behind.

I'm a liberal.

Answer 3

Moderate
Depends on where you live and life style. I would consider my self rich to have everything paid for and an income of 100k a year. I could do what I wanted with that. Most people probably wouldn't consider that being rich. I am sure the Walton heirs would not be able to live on that.

Answer 4

I believe that depends on who is saying, who they are saying it to and what are they selling.

I believe the IRS defines rich as >80K a year, the point where the highest tax rate kicks in.

If it is a commie like hillary who is looking for big dollar donations it probably starts at 1% of your AGI if you make over a Million. If she is pandering for votes I am sure she uses a number like the IRS, that anyone who makes more than 80K a year is rich. Try that number out in SF or NYC, you will be lucky if you can rent a dumpster to live in. Use that number in a small Nebraska town and you are probably doing okay.

The funny thing about those names that socialists use, they will never define it with a number, and they only use them to stir someones envy and hate. What a fine bunch they are, pandering to envy and hate.

Answer 5

Rich Liberal and rich and wealthy are indeed subjective I'd say anything in the $500K per annum is wealthy and anything over 1 mil (my catagory is rich) but let's see where other fall on this question

Answer 6

I am middle of the road. I would say "rich," in the monetary sense, is not necessarily how much you make per year, but rather, how much you are capable of saving. If you have accumulated wealth that allows you, or will allow you, to retire and live comfortably, then you are "rich."

Answer 7

If you have a net worth of over one million that would be the top 10 % of Americans many would say you are rich But ask them and they would "I'm doing O K " Neocon

Answer 8

Time magazine (I think--possibly Forbes?) had an article on this about 4 years ago.

At one time, to be rich in the US meant to have one million dollars. You could live in luxury on the money your money could earn.

That is no longer rich. Now, the magazine said, it takes ten million to be rich, in terms of having luxurious versions of the basics (food, clothing, shelter) and the same percentage remaining to spend however you like.

Either way, I'm not there.

Answer 9

this really depends on your state.
I live in chicago where decent pay is about $15 dollars an hour and good money is $20+ an hour, but in southern states like FL $15 an hour is good.

I'd say lower upper class begins around $120k.
and upper middle class begins around $75k

I think sometimes the word "rich" becomes interwined with the word "snob". I've met people who were snobs and not making upper class money but I still refered to them as rich- because they acted like they had tons of money to throw around and this made them better than people like me (I had a single mother who made about $50K a year, even though she worked white-collar thats blue-collar pay)

Answer 10

I would define "rich" as "the ability to quit working and live off the interest generated from your investments".

Middle of the road.