Again – I disagree that it is relative if you ask the question – what can I do?
If I can have lobster for dinner tonight in a warm shelter and some guy in Africa who is, like me, happy and spending time with his family but is unable to afford lobster tonight in a warm shelter, he isn’t as rich.
Now, lobster may cost more or less there, and it may or may not be available. So, yes the dollars needed to be rich vary from person to person and place to place.
But, you can compare your own personal freedom and options directly and objectively to others anywhere, independent of money.
Being rich isn’t about what you choose to do – it is what you have the ABILITY to do. Thus, the guy with 100 billion dollars who is working 100 hours a week is rich if he doesn’t have to work 100 hours a week. Though he may not be happy because he chooses to, he is rich if he doesn’t have to.
