As they say, one man’s trash is another’s treasure which means when it comes to defining wealth, everyone can have a very different interpretation.
Charles Schwab has tried to put a figure on this however in their 2022 Modern Wealth Survey by polling over 1,000 Americans and asking them at which figure they would feel comfortable and where they would feel rich.
While the clients that we serve go way beyond the criteria of this survey, according to the respondents who are not currently deemed Ultra-High-Net-Worth-Individuals, comfortable is defined at a net worth of $774,000 while being wealthy is defined, in numbers, at $2.2M. While many are comfortable with less and many wealthy with more, the shock factor comes into play when comparing these with figures with those from previous years.
In 2021, Americans said ‘being comfortable’ was around the $624,000 figure while wealth began at $1.9M. A huge difference of $300,000 which might beg the question, why the price of wealth gone up but with a cost of living crisis upon us, this part is perhaps easily explained.
The shocking comparison however comes when looking at 2018’s survey results where comfortability was defined in wealth terms at $1.4M, almost double the net worth that American’s feel comfortable with today which is especially surprising given the inflationary climate we find ourselves in. While some believe the pandemic has made us content with less, others believe other factors have become more important and we have seen this very scenario unfold in today’s jobs market.
Candidates no longer care about their compensation exclusively. Today, it is all about finding a role that offers good compensation alongside upskilling and opportunities to grow, flexibility and work-life balance, a great organisational culture and a team of like-minded people. All things that, contrary to belief, money cannot buy.
In an industry that works with wealth, we want to hear from you. Why has the price of wealth decreased and is less more?