If you ever want to feel rich just head over to globalrichlist.com to find out where you are on the spectrum of wealth. For example when I punched in my income I found out that I am in the top 1% of all earners in the world 🙂 My income is so high I can afford to pay the annual salaries of 10 doctors in Azerbaijan, a small country between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. All you need is to earn more than $32,000 USD to be in the top 1% as well.
In terms of wealth I input $300,000 CAD as my total net worth and it turns out I’m in the top 5% 😀
To be in the top 1% you’ll need a net worth of $830,000 CAD or $770,000 USD. But for now I am already very pleased being at 4.61%. If I take just 1% of my current wealth I could feed a family of 4 in Ethiopia for 3 years 😯 My personal wealth is equal to the combined wealth of 231 people in Afghanistan. What a financially empowering realization!
I think the moral we can take away from this relative wealth exercise is don’t work in Azerbaijan if you’re a doctor.
It’s possible to feel financially inferior after getting used to living in a first world country. Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that making even just $30,000 a year and having a $50,000 net worth would already put someone in a very favorable financial position.
Other than using that website to compare our wealth with others for fun, we can also use it as a motivational tool. Find out how rich you are today in terms of both income and wealth. Write down your results, or take a screenshot and email it to yourself. Then go back to the site next year to input your new income and net worth to find out how your position has changed. You should be moving up the ranks every year. If not, find out what’s preventing you from getting ahead. In a global competitive world if we don’t improve, but others do, then we will get left behind. For my own goal, by this time next year I hope to be in the top 4% of the richest people in the world by wealth 🙂
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Random Useless Fact:
If plastic is made from oil, and oil is made from the hydrocarbons of decomposed, prehistoric plants and animals, then that means plastic toy dinosaurs are partly made from real dinosaurs.
Great site Liquid,thank you for sharing.
I just checked my status, and I am at 15.30% richest people in the world.I am not sure how accurate the information is, but really interesting to see our progress.
Cheers,
That’s great 🙂 You’ll be much improved by next year given your current trajectory. But I’m not sure how accurate the site is either. For example I think the currency conversion rate they use between USD and CAD is out of date.
Have you read Capital in 21C yet? Given the tone of some of your posts, I think you would find it interesting. I think it would also give you more of a critical eye with things like the “Global Rich List.”
Based on your results I suspect this website is comparing wealth and income on an FX basis and not purchasing power parity. If they created their distributions using the more proper purchasing power parity, you probably wouldn’t be so rich in the global distribution. In other words, in order to be as rich as that website is saying you are, you would actually have to live and consume in Afghanastan, etc. and not in expensive (relative) North America.
Thanks for the suggestion 🙂 I have started to read Piketty’s book. Still on the first chapter though. Lots of cool data but a bit dry sometimes. Maybe I’ll write a review once I finish reading it 😀 Yes, that’s a great point. I think that website doesn’t use PPP so the comparisons will not be reflective of real life.
That calculator is simply a “guilt generating” tool to try to make you feel some imagined guilt that you working your butt off and becoming successful requires you to redistribute that to a charity. It’s not realistic in the least. Would a family making 80k be considered a 1%er? Of course not.
Plot twist: Liquid is actually a communist and he started his blog 4 years ago to attract financially savvy readers, just so he can link to that website now and guilt people into supporting his left wing cause 😐 #conspiracytheory
I Knew it!
I heard about that “cause” listening to late night am radio between the space alien segment and the ghost haunting. I have my eye on you now.
But seriously one could make $100,000 a year have a mortgage a couple of cars some medical bills etc., lose their job long term term then they can go from 1%er to bankrupt in 12 months. Don’t get complacent because you read a number on a little wealth calculator. It’s just a novelty for amusement, there is no real basis behind it.
I think it’s quite an interesting tool, I think it really helps to keep a perspective of how we measure wealth. It is easy to see people close to us making more money and feel a bit jealous, but we seem to not notice how much better off we are than other people and then ourselves 2 years ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago. BTW I LOVE the random dinosaur fact!
Yeah, dinosaurs rule 🙂
Sometimes… when I’m feeling down… I go to this list. Then I feel happy again.
For serious. Everyone reading this blog right now is so well off.
That’s true. According to my survey about 50% of Freedom 35 Blog readers earn more than $80,000 a year.
We as a general society love comparisons. Everyone is always envious to the one who has it better. It’s human nature to always want more. But I am grateful for what I have build up. I may be part of the top richness percentile in the world, but in the greater Vancouver area, I’m viewed as lower middle class.
Vancouver is one of the most expensive places in the world by some standards. I’d still rather be lower middle class here rather than be wealthy in a place like Somalia lol.
Yeah, it says we’re doing well… but we knew that ;). Live on less than you have coming in throughout your life, and retire when your investments provide more than you are spending to live comfortably… KISS baby 😉 – Cheers
Your kid is going to inherit a fortune some day 😀
If he works hard and deserves it yes… otherwise, well there are many options… Stay focused my friend and let your understanding of the herd pay you well – Cheers.
I think you definitely got the moral right.
Weird thing about Azerbaijan – there are a bunch of expats there working in oil (BP has a bunch of operations there)… so like many poor nations, they have INSANE wealth disparity.
Sucks to live in a poor nation 🙁 Unless you’re one of the wealthy 🙂 But it would still suck because you’d still be surrounded by poverty 🙁