Written by J.P. Wicklein
Photo by pedrosimoes7
How much money do you need to have to consider yourself rich? It’s very debatable. Most people would agree, however, that rich people have the freedom to do whatever they would like with their time. Being rich doesn’t necessarily mean you can buy anything you want, but it does mean having the ability to live very comfortably without being dependent upon any job to sustain your lifestyle.
In 2008 dollars, I would define someone as rich if they had at least $10 Million. With $10 Million invested appropriately for your age, you could spend at least $400,000 (including annual increases for inflation) each year of your adult life. That said, how will you get $10 Million?
How to get rich
As I see it, there are only five ways to become rich:
1) Win a large lottery jackpot
2) Receive a massive inheritance
3) Consistently earn a very large salary through a highly lucrative position (such as an executive of a large corporation)
4) Generate significant profits through your own business
5) Invent and license a highly popular product
Unless you have a wealthy relative, are amazingly lucky, or have a knack for inventing successful products the only way I can think of to get rich is through the business world. Either set your sights on becoming a highly compensated executive or launch your own business.
What do you think? How much money would you need to have to consider yourself rich? Answer the poll below!
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5 responses so far ↓
1 Kimberly Roberts // Dec 6, 2008 at 1:26 pm
It’s funny. If I won a million dollars in the lottery my first thought would have been to quite my job. When you sit down and think about it though I couldn’t afford to do that. Eventually the money would run out. Either that or I’d have to live bare bones. I’d have my freedom but I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the money. That’s kind of a depressing thought. I think you would need a lot more than $1 million in order to quit your job.
2 B. Estey // Dec 8, 2008 at 9:35 am
If I were my mother I’d say, “Being rich with friends and family is true wealth.” Well I think that’s crap. Being rich is having a lot of money, sorry Mom. And for me…I think that number hits at about 3 million in liquid cash, a few million in real estate and maybe another one or two million in various other semi-liquid assets. If you had that and managed it properly you’d never have to work another day in your life.
3 STOCKMANMARC // Dec 8, 2008 at 11:22 am
Always more than what you have!
4 Corey // Dec 8, 2008 at 12:16 pm
My .02$: Being rich isn’t just about money. As an estate planning attorney, my clients’ exhibit that fact every day. Some of my clients with the hightest net worths are also some of my “poorest” clients in terms of dysfunctional or even non-existant families. With that being said, if we’re talking dollars, being rich is very different from true wealth. To me, being wealthy means that no single event or even series of events could take place to remove from that status. A younger adult could easily deplete a $10 million dollar account before even hitting his or her quarter life crisis if given an opportunity. Rich : $5 million. Wealthy: 100 million. Although an individual who has the skills/discipline to save money and manage a growing investment portfolio (of even 100K) while maintaining and creating genuine relationships with family and friends is TRULY rich!
5 Tom Humes // Dec 20, 2008 at 4:42 am
Nice Site layout for your blog. I am looking forward to reading more from you.
Tom Humes
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