For the wealthy, “rich” is no ordinary term

It’s a question many of us have never really considered before:

What makes you rich?

Well, to answer that question, it seems, it depends on how rich you are. According to a story on The Wall Street Journal’s website, there is definitely a wide gap between what a typical American considers “rich” and what a wealthy American considers “rich.”

Having a net worth of $1.4 million will put you in the top 5 percent of Americans, according to the Federal Reserve. But, let’s be honest: Does $1.4 million, in this day and age, REALLY strike you as someone who is rich?

The difference is striking, as respondents from affluent households felt that a better benchmark of wealth was significantly more. Forty-five percent of respondents felt that threshold was $5 million, 25 percent said $25 million, and 8 percent said that $100 million or more qualifies as rich. Conversely, only 22 percent believed that $1 million was enough to qualify someone as rich.

Previous studies had shown that typical Americans double their annual income to determine their concept of rich.

Via The Wall Street Journal