The Top 1% Must Stop Insisting They’re Not Rich Right This Instant

[elias7]

12. The top 1% has nothing to do with annual salary.

Real wealthy people are trust fund folks, blue blood inheritors of estates and empires. These folks don't need to work, ever. These are the folks with off shore accounts, major tax shelters, major philanthropic donations.

No one making 200k/ yr will ever reach wealthy status of this order. Failure to understand the basic difference between those making a top 1 % salary and those who have 1% wealth is evident in this thread.

As a physician, I have made close to 200k for about 10 years. I am not a millionaire, I don't drink champagne in the afternoon, belong to a country club, have offshore accounts, multiple house, or have anything that people tend to associate with the one percent. If i stopped working, we would be in deep shit within 2-3 months. This is not wealth. This is relative comfort.

Interestingly, my wife's ex has never held a job for long; he never needed to because he was a trust fund baby. Born on 3rd base and thought he hit a triple. He has multiple properties, massive investments, no need for a job, no concerns financially. That is wealth.

He is against the estate tax for obvious reasons; he stands to inherit millions, and after 3.5 million or so, you start to get taxed. He is wealthy. I don't care about an estate tax for several reasons. First, I will never inherit money, second, I will never make enough to pass on significant wealth to my kids, third, I think the estate tax should be in effect for basic fairness.

People need to understand the fundamental difference between someone in my condition and the condition of a truly wealthy person.

It really has nothing to do with salaried income.