I personally am in the top 3% and feel far wealthier than nearly anyone I know. Are their those so much richer than me that they earn more than my entire net worth in a year? sure, but that doesn't negate that fact that I am wealthier than 97% of the people, and since many of that remaining 3% probably live in high cost of living states like New York and California, the reality is that I am probably richer than 99% of the people in my state, and 99.9% of the people in my small town.
- I live in a 9,000 square foot dream home sitting on the priciest real estate in my town, with every conceivable luxury, which I nearly own outright.
- I have three different servants that I employ regularly to help me clean and maintain the house, and in addition to those, I have several other people who work for me indirectly that perform various needed tasks.
- I drive a $60,000 car (paid off) and own a $60,000 speedboat, have no credit card debt and over a million tucked away in retirement funds of various sorts.
- My four kids also attend the top private school in my area
If you don't call that the life of a rich person, then I don't know what is.
DH and I probably climb just over the top 1% mark. We are not rich. We pay > 100k/yr in state and federal tax. Sending 2 kids to private college with no breaks as we are wealthy - we pay out of pocket. Now raising a granddaughter as well. Trying to save for retirement as we expect no social security or other subsidy, nor do we want it.
There are plenty of months where things are tight. I drive a honda not a mercedes. I do not play in the same league as the super rich by any means. I dont say we are not blessed, but super rich? I dont think so. And I can’t afford any more tax burden. If I want to work extra to pay for a larger purchase, the > 50% marginal tax rate discourages that in a big hurry. I don’t know what the circumstances are of those that are higher in the tax bracket than myself, but I wouldn’t judge unless I walked a mile in their shoes.