How Much Money do you Need to be Considered Wealthy?

Spoiler: If You’re Reading This Article, Chances are You’re Already Wealthy.

I live in Italy, and very often I hear people complaining about not having enough money: there are those who want a new car, those who desire a bigger house, and those who would like to buy the latest iPhone model. I have to be honest with you, sometimes I too wish to be wealthy… Yet, I already am. Most likely, so are you.

I found this out a few days ago, as I was trying to figure out what it really means to be rich. I was wondering: “How much money do I need to call myself rich?”

Let’s play a game: in your opinion, how much money does it take to consider oneself wealthy? Write it down on a piece of paper. Throughout this article, I will reveal the exact amount, and then you can let me know in the comments how close you got.

All the data used in this article comes from the Global Wealth Report 2022.

Article Structure:

1. The Basics: Extreme Poverty Threshold.
2. How Many Millionaires Exist Worldwide? (a lot!)
3. Am I Among the Top 50% Wealthiest?
4. Am I Among the Top 10% Wealthiest?
5. Conclusions.

1. The Basics: Extreme Poverty Threshold.

$2.15 a day. That’s the threshold for extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is defined as living below the International Poverty Line of $2,15 per day. As of 2019, unfortunately, a staggering 659 million people were still living on less than $2.15 per day.

Over time, this number is decreasing; year by year, many individuals are moving out of extreme poverty. This is a positive development.

I wrote an article to explain what it truly means to be so impoverished. The goal was to convey that being non-poor is much more significant than being wealthy.

We’ve just seen what it means to live in extreme poverty and how much money it takes to be in that bracket. Now let’s explore the opposite side of the spectrum — let’s understand how many super-rich individuals there are and where they reside.

2. How Many Millionaires Exist Worldwide? (a lot!)

Let’s start with some staggering numbers: There are 62.5 million individuals worldwide with a net worth of at least one million dollars. 39% of these individuals, roughly 2 millionaires out of every five, are located in the United States. Among these 62.5 million people, 264,200 possess more than $50 million.

Having $1 million places you in the top 1.2% of the wealthiest individuals in the world.

Remember when I mentioned hearing a lot of complaints in Italy? For the record, there are 1,410,000 millionaires in Italy. (In Italy, there are 59 million people, out of which around 49 million are adults.)

These numbers are really amazing. When I first saw them, I thought they might be wrong or that I wasn’t getting them right. I asked a few friends for help, and they were surprised too. But then we figured out that we were actually understanding them correctly.

3. Am I Among the Top 50% Wealthiest?

If we add up the poorest and the wealthiest, we come to around 721 million people. So, where are the other roughly 7 billion people? The majority of individuals fall in the middle. They aren’t extremely poor nor extremely wealthy.

At the end of 2021, if we had split the global population in half, it would have taken a net worth of $8,360 to be in the wealthier half. Net worth includes all our money plus our assets like a house, a car, or stocks. Many of us, just by owning a car, fall into the wealthier 50%.

Now, however, let’s delve into how much money is needed to be wealthy, not just within the wealthier half.

4. Am I Among the Top 10% Wealthiest?

If you were to pick 10 random individuals from around the world, only one of them would possess a net worth of at least $138,346. This is what it takes to be in the top 10%. While it might seem like a lot, it’s actually not.

In the USA, the average net worth is $579,051. Meanwhile, the top 50% of wealthiest Americans hold at least $93,271. In Italy, the average net worth is $231,323. Meanwhile, the top 50% of wealthiest Italians possess $117,224.

In Canada, one in every two citizens belongs to the top 10% wealthiest individuals in the world. In fact, the wealthier half of Canadians holds a net worth of $139,690.

As you can understand, for those living in the Western world, there’s a good chance of belonging to the top 10%, and if not already there, it’s quite close. For the most curious ones, to be in the top 1% wealthiest, you would need $1,146,685.

5. Conclusions.

You see, defining oneself as rich is quite subjective, and it also depends on where you live. I personally prefer to consider the beginning of the “rich” status at the top 10%.

In other words, $138,346 of net worth. What did you write on your piece of paper? How close did you get? Let me know in the comments.

I wrote this article because even I didn’t realize what it meant to be wealthy. I used to think you needed at least $500,000 to be considered so. I hope I’ve helped you understand where you stand in that ranking.

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