Mirage77

That's true. I change my mind, 100 million would be more appropriate.

Curb Zone

 

DaSilva

I think you need at lest 2 Billions to be "rich" and you need to have half in cash

I'll personally Chill the day I have 4 Billions.
Before that, I'll work everyday and try to stay very lucky!

Matt

When they talk about the top 1% of the country, their not talking billionaires per se. They are talking about people with incomes above half a million. They fall right into to the top 1% and are in the highest tax bracket.

BMW_Dude

You need way more than $1million to be rich. I reckon at least $50million to make yourself rich.

The defination of rich is you can afford anything you want, and basically have everything you want!

450SEL6.9

Take a look at the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List.

I do have my doubts on their accuracy. Privately-held fortunes are impossible to value. Celebrity fortunes also keep increasing at massive percentages. Hmm . . . I always wonder if some celeb publicist planted certain numbers. They seem perpetually inflated.

A Canadian Rich List retracted one family when it wrote to the magazine saying that if the editors believed their valuation of their family business, the family will sell it to them for a 50% discount.

Centurion

You are absolutely right. Most lists are only approximations and are subject to be false. There are all sorts of lope holes in some countries allowing you to hide money. Lots of rich people hide money abroad, in places like the Cayman Islands and even Switzerland to prevent their fortunes be raped by the tax authority back home.
You'd be amazed by the number of rich people who hire attorneys specialized in hiding money and keeping it away from the domestic government.

The Artist

hmm give me enough to buy and own a zonda without it stressing my pocket..
that would be rich enough for me..

NarutoRamen

In my book in order to be "Rich" you need a few things to qualify.

1. Huge Mansion.
2. Vacation Property somewhere in the world.
3. At least 2 exotic cars.
4. Enough money in the bank where even if you didn't work you'd still make thousands off just interest.

By my calculations that should put you around the 25-50million mark.

450SEL6.9

Why would you need those things to be rich, Naruto? They might make you feel rich, but many households who own mansions, exotic cars, cottages, etc. . . do so by writing cheques they one day can't cash.

Hong Kong billionairess Nina Wang died a few weeks ago. She had none of the top three things you listed. She was a self-confessed penny pincher. Her husband, who was kidnapped in 1990 and never found, was another notorious miser. Their collective business left her with a $4.2 billion U.S. fortune. That figure is probably very low. Their real estate company used very little debt and paid cash to build many of its skyscrapers, which is almost unheard of. It's not unrealistic to think Wang was worth more than $10 billion! That didn't change her spending habits. She's not alone; many older billionaires are dirt cheap. They would never splash out on more house than they need, much less cars that depreciate the moment they leave the lot.

Is being rich now a material image promoted by the marketing men? Is that why so many middle-class households borrow and borrow to live as if they're truly rich? I'm sure Naruto isn't the only one who associates wealth with mansions, flash cars and other exotics.

Hypersonic

I totally agree Ray.

I think the big mansions and exotic cars are part of the American dream.

It seems to me, that when Americans make a lot of money, they immediately buy an enormous house and fill it with tasteless, chintzy, furniture and objects -- much like you see on the music videos -- of course, this is not just an American thing though.

That's all very well if you're happy to live a life of fake luxury (as many people do) ...but to live genuinely well is terribly expensive.

Curb Zone