Are You In The Top One Percent Of The Global Wealth Elite?

[Jingthing]

Technical glitch -- sorry, you must vote in both questions to record any vote. A glitch came up when I edited from two questions to one, it wouldn't accept a one question setup, thus the weird kludge. The second question is of course meaningless.

Recently on another thread about is one million baht a lot of money (answer -- it depends) it was brought up that only one percent of people in the world have a net worth over 500K usd. Wow. Only one percent.

So I thought it would be fun to measure whether the group here stacks up to that result.

I am guessing as this is an English speaking board of computer users given the known large first world origins of the members here, that a lot more than one percent of us will be in the so called elite financially. But we'll see.

Definition of net worth --

The amount by which assets exceed liabilities. This term can be applied to companies and individuals.

For example if you own a house worth a million dollars on paper but still owe 900K on it, you don't own a million dollars, do you?

Info on the one percent --

Those with assets of $500,000 could consider themselves to be among the richest 1 per cent in the world.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article661055.ece

Edited February 4, 2011 by Jingthing

[gregb]

Do keep in mind that they were stating net worth per adult, not per household. Most of us don't tend to think that way. We calculate our household net worth, but then you have to divide by 2 because your wife lives with you.

So really, your household net worth needs to be over $1 million USD in order to be in the top 1%.

It is very misleading the way it is phrased.

[Jingthing]

Not sure what isn't phrased clearly. In the poll question is the word you as in Do you have a net worth over 500K usd?. That doesn't imply the ONE person reading the question? If the question was about your household or immediate family, it would say that explicitly.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Jingthing

[manarak]

it is 500k if you are single, or 1 million if you are married, obviously (but depending if a prenup exists or not)

but I always have been against measuring wealth in currency.

in Thailand, 500k gets you a rather nice villa with pool, while where I live, you get a 60 square meter 2 1/2 room apartment next to a road and with neighbors you wouldn't want.

I'd rather compare wealth using a basket of goods and services reflecting everyday life.

Edited February 4, 2011 by manarak

[smokie36]

it is 500k if you are single, or 1 million if you are married, obviously (but depending if a prenup exists or not)

but I always have been against measuring wealth in currency.

in Thailand, 500k gets you a rather nice villa with pool, while where I live, you get a 60 square meter 2 1/2 room apartment next to a road and with neighbors you wouldn't want.

I'd rather compare wealth using a basket of goods and services reflecting everyday life.

I wouldn't want to live next door to George Osborne either.

[gregb]

in Thailand, 500k gets you a rather nice villa with pool, while where I live, you get a 60 square meter 2 1/2 room apartment next to a road and with neighbors you wouldn't want.

In many areas of Bangkok, 500k will buy you even less than that, while in many areas of the USA, such as Las Vegas right now, 20% - 30% of that will buy you your villa with a pool.

Countries aren't monolithic, and cost of living varies dramatically even within a specific region. Cost of living also varies by taste. Is a 30 baht plate of fried rice equivalent to a $6 plate of Mexican food? I hardly think so. Good cheap Mexican food is a serious detriment to the quality of life in Thailand, but that doesn't mean others would agree with my assessment.

Items you put into that "cost of living" basket are very subjective and vary from person to person. I don't consider Thailand to be less expensive than living in the states. Used to be, but not any more. Only difference is that here I don't fix my own car or do my own plumbing. So given that my cost would be zero in the US for those items because I'd have do it myself, how do I factor that in?

(Sorry US guys...no mechanic, plumber, electrician, welder, etc. is worth $85/hr. You people are delusional.)

The world is not really much different today. Cost of living is what you want to make it.

I'm here not because it is cheap, but because Asia is the best place to raise my children. Otherwise, in my studies, many places in the rural US are less expensive. I think simply taking the "money is money" approach is probably the best way to do it.

And if I was one of the lucky few that had $1 million USD in household net worth, I'm quite certain that small differences in cost of living would not be a significant contributor to my happiness.

[smokie36]

in Thailand, 500k gets you a rather nice villa with pool, while where I live, you get a 60 square meter 2 1/2 room apartment next to a road and with neighbors you wouldn't want.

In many areas of Bangkok, 500k will buy you even less than that, while in many areas of the USA, such as Las Vegas right now, 20% - 30% of that will buy you your villa with a pool.

Countries aren't monolithic, and cost of living varies dramatically even within a specific region. Cost of living also varies by taste. Is a 30 baht plate of fried rice equivalent to a $6 plate of Mexican food? I hardly think so. Good cheap Mexican food is a serious detriment to the quality of life in Thailand, but that doesn't mean others would agree with my assessment.

Items you put into that "cost of living" basket are very subjective and vary from person to person. I don't consider Thailand to be less expensive than living in the states. Used to be, but not any more. Only difference is that here I don't fix my own car or do my own plumbing. So given that my cost would be zero in the US for those items because I'd have do it myself, how do I factor that in?

(Sorry US guys...no mechanic, plumber, electrician, welder, etc. is worth $85/hr. You people are delusional.)

The world is not really much different today. Cost of living is what you want to make it.

I'm here not because it is cheap, but because Asia is the best place to raise my children. Otherwise, in my studies, many places in the rural US are less expensive. I think simply taking the "money is money" approach is probably the best way to do it.

And if I was one of the lucky few that had $1 million USD in household net worth, I'm quite certain that small differences in cost of living would not be a significant contributor to my happiness.

Overall I'm one of the lucky few. But given my age and the state of the economy in the west its hardly comforting....no way could I give up work sell up and retire.

Still thanks for making me feel better about myself....I'll try to remember that on Monday morning.

[manarak]

in Thailand, 500k gets you a rather nice villa with pool, while where I live, you get a 60 square meter 2 1/2 room apartment next to a road and with neighbors you wouldn't want.

In many areas of Bangkok, 500k will buy you even less than that

your nickname must be "topper"?

the 60 sqm in Bkk for 500k USD probably look very different from the sub average union-built apartment I am writing about.

and how to calculate the basket should be treated in another thread - I just think it would be fairer instead of comparing raw currency.

[Jingthing]

Gosh, darn, so far we are a VERY elite crowd here! Over 50 percent elite vs. 1 percent globally. Wow. BTW, I don't cut it myself, so I can guess I can legitimately cry poor.

[manarak]

the average Swiss citizen has a net worth of USD 372,692 - but there is nothing in the life of the average Swiss citizen to be envious about.

[jamesinchina]

I hit my $1,000,000 this week - always said I would retire, but still working.

[Jingthing]

the average Swiss citizen has a net worth of USD 372,692 - but there is nothing in the life of the average Swiss citizen to be envious about.

Perhaps not elite enough?

[mca]

but there is nothing in the life of the average Swiss citizen to be envious about.

Chocolate

[Thailaw]

the average Swiss citizen has a net worth of USD 372,692 - but there is nothing in the life of the average Swiss citizen to be envious about.

Perhaps not elite enough?

Not elite enough, indeed. From the Merryl Lynch World Wealth Report: The club of millionaires (in US$ terms) is not "elite" in any real sense of that word. The number of millionaires across the globe has risen by 17% in the last year (2009 which is the last year for which data is available). The ML Report defines a "millionaire" as those households with at least $1 million in investable assets, not including primary residences. There are now 10 million of these households in the world, up from 8.6 million in 2008. The Asia-Pacific region (Hong Kong in particular) now has 3 million "millionaire" households, matching Europe. North America has 3.1 million "millionaires" (2.87 million of which are in the U.S.). Collective wealth held by this group now equals $39 trillion. The use of "households" as a measure is far more reflective of wealth and living standard than individuals, which can be very confusing and misleading. There are now more than 2.87 million "millionaire" households in the US -- not a very "exclusive" club for sure. And with every central bank printing money like there is no tomorrow, the number of "millionaires" in 5 years (especially in China, India and other rising stars) will be double what it is today. And a million US$ won't buy any where near as much as it will today (and it doesn't buy today any where near what it bought 5 years ago. I get no comfort or satisfaction in having wealth figures diluted by including the populations of countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Botswana, and Eritrea, where incomes are below poverty levels and entire populations live hand to mouth. Accumulating wealth in the vast majority of the developing world is simply not possible. And including these people and their wealth holdings in a threshold for the wealthy "elite" skews the measure to the point of making it meaningless. The reality is that US$500,000 of investible assets doesn't put you (or your household) in the wealth "elite", and US$1 million probably doesn't either. Next....

Edited February 6, 2011 by Thailaw

[Jingthing]

OK, well, I am using the word "elite" a little flippantly, but if you have a wealth level that 99 percent of people in the world don't, you have a reason to feel some kind of special.

[krading]

Maybe this could lead into another poll JT.

Eg. How many expats were worth half a mill before they moved here

and are they still worth that now.

[SantiSuk]

The result is hardly surprising. If you are not wealthy you are hardly going to be motivated to vote in a poll that reinforces your relative lack of spondoolics.

[Jingthing]

Thanks for the (to me) new word.

Business owners -- time to advertise on thaivisa will all these rich beyatches on here!

Edited February 7, 2011 by Jingthing

[PattayaParent]

Do keep in mind that they were stating net worth per adult, not per household. Most of us don't tend to think that way. We calculate our household net worth, but then you have to divide by 2 because your wife lives with you.

So really, your household net worth needs to be over $1 million USD in order to be in the top 1%.

It is very misleading the way it is phrased.

My missus has twice as much as me but I qualify on my own.

[PattayaParent]

The result is hardly surprising. If you are not wealthy you are hardly going to be motivated to vote in a poll that reinforces your relative lack of spondoolics.

That's maybe why there's a numerical difference between the number of cast votes (64) and the votes counted (47)

[Bizz]

Why did you not ask me 3 years ago.

Now, no way back to work again.

[Jingthing]

The result is hardly surprising. If you are not wealthy you are hardly going to be motivated to vote in a poll that reinforces your relative lack of spondoolics.

That's maybe why there's a numerical difference between the number of cast votes (64) and the votes counted (47)

Not really. That difference is simply the number of people who choose to view the results, which precludes voting.

[travelmann]

Kid I went to school with is now worth half a bilion £s ,not dollars I guess hes kinda rich married 4 times now married to an ex FHM south african model and previously Jackie St clair amongst others, Id describe him as single minded totally ruthless and not at all pleasant even as a kid he was always number one. His name............Kevin Cash checkout google.

[GreenSnapper]

it is 500k if you are single, or 1 million if you are married, obviously (but depending if a prenup exists or not)

No.

What you have earned and saved, is yours. If the wife has earned nothing, it is still your property.

[Jingthing]

Do you think the poll results accurately reflect the actual wealth levels of expats in Thailand? Because I don't believe it. Well over 50 percent responding being in the elite category. Really?

[SantiSuk]

Why don't you start a poll that asks 'are you handsome or ugly' Jingthing? You'll be even more surprised about the number of rich handsome expats there are in Thailand.

Women look in a mirror and say 'god I'm a mess, my hair is terrible and I look fat'. Men look in the mirror and say 'god you're looking great'.

[Jingthing]

Why don't you start a poll that asks 'are you handsome or ugly' Jingthing? You'll be even more surprised about the number of rich handsome expats there are in Thailand.

Women look in a mirror and say 'god I'm a mess, my hair is terrible and I look fat'. Men look in the mirror and say 'god you're looking great'.

Net worth is something that most any person can easily calculate. It's a number. It's objective. Did I answer your question adequately?