Odd that these studies confuse millionaires with “rich.” As has been correctly pointed out to me on this board, people with less than $10 million or so in net worth are not “rich” in the sense of the word given it by society.

If you have $1 million of net worth outside your equity in your home, you are upper middle class or just financially comfortable. If you have $10 million then you are financially secure and perhaps upper upper middle class. Above that number and you might be “working rich” or lower upper class. There are lots of lawyers, investment bankers, venture capitalists, and CEO’s who are working rich. They make $1 million-$75 million per year, but they work.

On the low end of that range, many must work to support their lifestyles and do not have high net worths. On the high end, they probably don’t have to work and if they have gotten their net worth over $20-$30 million, then they are finally what I would call “rich,” which I define as someone who is financially secure enough to live 100% from conservative appreciation of their liquid or nearly liquid assets AND have the kind of lifestyle/posessions society attributes to “rich” people.

Mind you that there are pleanty of folks who live very modestly and have few possessions and are “financially independent” from frugal savings and don’t have to work either. Those are not the type of folks society thinks of when they think of “rich” people, but many are more happy than your typical rich person.