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Are You Rich? How the Wealthy Are Defined

Are You Rich? How the Wealthy Are Defined

Many factors can influence the perception of wealth.

By Emma Kerr  April 14, 2022

The vast majority of Americans do not meet commonly held definitions of what it means to be rich in the U.S.  Respondents to Schwab's 2021 Modern Wealth Survey said a net worth of $1.9 million qualifies a person as wealthy. The average net worth of U.S. households, however, is less than half of that.

But wealth is in the eye of the beholder – a person's location, career, community, background and so many other factors can influence his or her perception of wealth. Those perceptions may be evolving as new generations enter adulthood and redefine success.

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"The generations of today, Gen Y and Gen Z, they don't think about wealth and success the way boomers did, especially as it relates to finances," says Penny Phillips, president and co-founder of Journey Strategic Wealth in New Jersey and California. "It was, 'Save my money, make some investments and when I'm 65, I'll try to take my first big vacation.' Today, success is defined so much more by life experiences and impact and living for today."

Indeed, the annual Schwab survey found that respondents are lowering the bar for what they consider wealthy. Compared to 2021 standards, respondents to the 2020 survey described the threshold for wealth as being a net worth of $2.6 million.

Alongside the coronavirus pandemic, rising inflation and low unemployment rates are both factors that affect how consumers perceive wealth, according to Amy Richardson, a certified financial planner at Schwab, on the company's Intelligent Portfolios Premium team.

"We still don’t know how this bout of inflation is going to play out, but in the short term it’s probably fair to say that many people feel like they need to attain more to get where they want to go, regardless of their individual ideas about wealth," Richardson wrote in an email.

"On the positive side of things, the job market has roared back from the depths of the pandemic-driven recession and wages have steadily risen. So, while people are feeling the bite of inflation, many are also doing better from an income perspective and have been able to maintain their spending patterns while also focusing on amassing savings and investing," she said.

Net Worth vs. Income

Net worth is the sum of an individual's assets, less liabilities. But individuals with high incomes don't necessarily have a net worth to match, and the reverse is true as well.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://money.usnews.com/money/personal-finance/family-finance/articles/are-you-rich-how-the-wealthy-are-defined

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