How much money do you need to have to be considered rich, if it was defined by a specific number?
Posted by gawkgoat@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 137 comments
I think everyone’s definition or figure would be different but I’d be curious to know the different views on what we define as “rich”.
Super-Craig@reddit
You'd need to have a lot of it, potentially hundreds of millions, and it's location is a very important factor in determining wealth.
For example: The amount of $100,000,000 in a secure offshore account is worth considerably more than say £400,000,000 in a Barclays or Lloyds bank within the UK.
Anyone who has ever had to withdraw more than a few thousand pounds from the bank will run into resistance, and God forbid that you use the trigger words "It's my money" as the bank will threaten to call the police on you and dissuade of that notion post-haste.
The bottomline is that money just isn't that valueable. It's why there are so many millionaires nowadays, and why they're all so ineffectual, and why we collectively refer to them as paper millionaires in order differenciate them from real millionaires.
Becoming a paper millionaire is frighteningly easy; Converting that into real wealth is horrifyingly difficult.
Sdimfx@reddit
Found the overdrawn guy
TheGeordieGal@reddit
I'd say 5 mil+ is rich. I would have said 1 mil a few years ago but with the price of houses in some places and the cost of living, now you're looking at half of that to get somewhere to live if you're a family (all the new builds near me seem to start at 350k+ for a 4 bed and there's lots that are 500k+). Don't get me wrong, 1 mil would last a long time for me and is still pretty rich that most people won't reach (I def won't) but I don't consider it not needing to work again rich any more.
the_gwyd@reddit
If you have £5mil in cash, you can just live (if somewhat frugally) off the interest if you keep it in a decent savings account. To me that is roughly the limit of "rich". Buy a rental property or 4 and you're laughing.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
If you had 5 million where would you invest it?
TheGeordieGal@reddit
I’d invest some in premium bonds. My uncle has some and whilst he’s not got millions of pounds worth, he earns more via them than he would in interest in his bank. I think he may just be very lucky lol.
Agreeable_Pepper_465@reddit
certainly just very lucky. premium bonds pay out less than ea savings accounts (on average)
TheGeordieGal@reddit
My uncle doesn’t really have savings. He was self employed and honestly, didn’t pay himself anywhere near what he should have because he just loved his job and customers so didn’t put prices up when he should.
I think he seems to win £20+ every few months. It’s crazy. My Dad has some and doesn’t win anywhere near that amount.
Agreeable_Pepper_465@reddit
he seems like a swell chap, didnt mean to comment on his situation, just wanted to say that you're better off saving in a easy saving account than premium bonds.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I think that’s fair 5 million I think you’d be good 🤞
Agreeable_Pepper_465@reddit
probably around £50 million for me. at that point I could do anything and get almost anything i want for the rest of my life. a few million just doesnt cut it to be rich since that's basically just a good london house + pension, obviously that's good but what i class as rich is being able to do whatever whenever. so 50mil means you can take private jets, donate to organisations etc
Background-Shape-429@reddit
Depends on the definition. Something like 90% of the world’s population have less than £10,000 in cash. £12 million should with careful management give the average person a lifestyle virtually everyone would consider “jet set” I.e do whatever you want whenever you want. Think flying business class to the world’s best hotels, having assets like house and car around the £2 million mark etc.
Aggravating-Fig-9274@reddit
Minimum of 200k in the bank (while owning a property)
BTZ-25@reddit
Net worth: 3-5M
YouNeedAnne@reddit
How is 2.5 million not rich?
SpeccyPig@reddit
Scruff ain’t they
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Who scruff me scruff 😩
SpeccyPig@reddit
If you only have 2.5mil then yes
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
What’s your NET
SpeccyPig@reddit
150k
martin_81@reddit
A rich person would live in a very nice house, that's gonna cost you £1-1.5M. Now you don't have enough left to live on for the rest of your life without going to work. Therefore you're not rich.
DazzzASTER@reddit
Povvo mate
No_Law_1528@reddit
It’s not if you live in London. That’s everything in your house
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
😅
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Skint
BTZ-25@reddit
When you get to a certain figure, you realise what is and what isn't enough.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
And what figure was it that made you realise that?
BTZ-25@reddit
1.5M
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Also if you have 1.5 million your outgoings are no longer 3k a month prob 10/15 also where does that money come form if it’s a business bigger wins bigger losses same game just on a bigger scale but I agree with you 1 million only goes so far how many lottery winners think there live is complete then broke a year later
BTZ-25@reddit
I took some risks here and there. I do not currently have 1.5. No my out goings are not 3k. A lot less than that. With 3 million I'm confident that I could have made all the plays I needed to be comfortable for good. Where I am at, I have more or less what I need. Not much more than that. I haven't ever felt rich.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
But could you retire on 2.5 some could some couldn’t just curious
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I think that’s fair 👀🫡
YouNeedAnne@reddit
Million quid?
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
Let’s imagine you’re a 60yo single man and you own a house as well, if you expect to live for another 25 years without a need to work your 1M is just 40K/year. You won’t be able to live even comparatively modest middle class life without being worried about the spending on basic stuff like eating out, we are not even talking about expensive hobbies, travelling etc
3M will make it easier for this setup but even a single dependent pushes you back to non-affluent territory
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
Just 40k a year? That's a lot especially for a 60 year old, 1m would be more than enough for most people at 60
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
you must be kidding, your house, groceries, eating out, pub, dating sometimes, gym, couple of non-expensive hobbies and a car will cost you more if you are not careful, that’s decent but not much at all
you want an access to private healthcare or modest boat or travel few times a year? you can forget it with 40k
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
House would be paid off Groceries £400 a month Eating out £150 a month Pub £150 Gym £50 Hobbies £100 Car would be owned outright
That's only 10k a year, agree if you want a modest boat then that'll cost you but the vast majority of people don't want a boat lol
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
council tax, energy, internet, water bill 10% off your 40 a year easy, you’re left with 3 a month
one night out 100£ easy if you’re not going to McDonald’s and weatherspoons exclusively, let’s say about 250£ a week, 1k of your 3 gone towards that alone
groceries 400 a month means you’re not eating beef, fresh seasonal fruit and veg or drinking decent wine, ofc frozen nuggets and swede is also food but is it a nice life?
gym 50 might work though if you don’t pay for personal trainer, don’t buy expensive gear etc, hobbies probably not but you can pick cheap ones, car needs gas and service and replacement
all in all if you want to live frugal you will manage but that’s not rich
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
I eat beef a few times a week l, eat fruit and veg, drink wine, eat healthily in general for far less than 400 a month
If you know what you're doing at the gym you don't need a PT
You can live frugally and still be rich imo
We can discuss this all day tho I guess, rich is subjective
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
I don’t disagree with you that it can be done but only if you limit yourself, you can live frugal and feel rich cause you do not have to care much about earning money, and still it’s not the same as if you don’t have to care about overspending with basic modest lifestyle
it’s possible to eat healthy for less but also nice steak, bottle of good wine and few sides cost you 30-50£ and that’s eating in at home, just one dinner
you can have meatballs, mash potato and 10£ wine instead and have as much fun but that’s really not the same experience
As for PT, that’s even better example, rich life is first and foremost about exploration and experiences for me, so if you want to do same squats and deadlifts for your whole life, fine. But I’d like to learn new stuff, maybe get into some new sport, meet new people.
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gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Pub £150 I would have to turn into one of them guys when it’s my round I jump out the toilet window
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
Haha depends how often at the pub I guess and if you need the crisps and nuts
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I was only planning to live to 61 so I thought I would have been alright 😅🤪
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
you can self regulate with partying ;)
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I guess at 60 40k a year you would be good unless you had a shopping addiction 😅
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I think when you breakdown the maths it makes you think look at all these lottery winners who end up broke
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
that’s actually more complex cause you invest, take some risk but also live on income without massively depleting your capital, but there’s also inflation etc etc, so this model with you just taking out and using your money is a good simple approximation
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I think that’s fair you sound like you have experience 👀😅
BTZ-25@reddit
Its really not.
outlawsmokeyscottish@reddit
Money is for shit. You can buy a watch but it won't buy you time, you can buy a doctor but it won't buy you health. Be poor and be happy.
audienceandaudio2@reddit
Enough money where you no longer needed to work, and if you did work it was solely because you chose to. I don't think there's a specific £ figure, a single person's definition of rich is different to a family of 5.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Give me your figure…
SpeccyPig@reddit
6 Brazilian
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Ehhhh I’m confused
TheJezster@reddit
It's a little over 5 Brazilian and just under 7. Hope that helps?..
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Still lost could you elaborate
toilet-breath@reddit
One or more or less than what is needed
iffyClyro@reddit
Simple answer would be you need at least £1million in savings and investments with a car and house you own outright.
So on paper if you’re living somewhere like London you might have £1.8m in assets but in Glasgow it’s maybe only £1.4m but you’d be equally rich(in a way)
QueefInMyKisser@reddit
£2.5m
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
What would you do with it?
QueefInMyKisser@reddit
Invest it and live off the returns, which I’m counting as £100k a year
BigReference1xx@reddit
It used to be that being "a millionaire" was the threshold. 1 million USD, net worth. But inflation and house prices mean that quite a lot of no so wealthy people are now millionaires.
It's more like 3M net worth now.
OkGreen3481@reddit
What's that in pounds sterling?
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I’m talking GBP what about you 😩
OkGreen3481@reddit
Its always about you...
Check the post I replied to...
1 million USD
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh inflation is a MF 1 million is not the 1 million that we grew up dreaming of more like 100k now 😅
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
No real need to think about money at all, in terms of financial comfort or being able to more or less do whatever you want within reason. But numbers wise, I'd say net worth of £500K+.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I think 500k liquid is more than comfortable rich is such a broad word how can you distinguish what rich is I guess everyone will have their own opinion
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
I guess I think one kind of has to define wealth relative to others, if putting numbers on it, and view £500K and above as being way better off than most.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I guess it also depends who’s on your circle
Overgrown_fetus1305@reddit
I guess I think "I have at least a couple of years of median wages worth leftover after buying two starter homes in the South-East outright" is to me, rich. Not rich rich, but still rich. Sure, it's locked away, but having stable housing and never being at risk of eviction is the dream- and sadly, an unaffordable one for many.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
And that’s the whole point rich is such a broad word that if you look at the comments everyone has such a different perspective but I agree with you and glad you he made it ❤️
OkPea5819@reddit
I’m not sure that net worth is a good measure of comfort - but I don’t think £500k is it. Someone in London with a paid off house easily has the but not necessarily any free cash to do anything.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
The thing is owning a home the money is stuck it’s of no use to you unless you move or die or remortgage
Wiggles_21@reddit
For someone my age (late 20s) I'd personally consider:
£36,000+ to be a pretty decent wage
£50,000+ to be a very good wage
£75,000+ to be very well off
£100,000+ to be approaching rich
£150,000+ to be rich
£200,000+ to be very rich
£500,000-£1m+ to be extremely rich
It feels like nowadays people either earn £32k or £100k and nothing in between
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
What do you do for work and where do you stand in your breakdown sorry I am very nosey 😩
Wiggles_21@reddit
I'm a SAHM but my husband works on the railway and earns £35k. I feel like we're doing really well, we bought our own home with no help, and we have two kids! But we do live up north and I don't think we could manage on this wage down south.
None of our friends earn more than £36k a year, if one of them did, I'd be impressed! None of us come from any kind of money
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I’m glad you are doing well for yourself but more so you seem content and happy I’m happy for you ❤️
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
If you can afford to retire today, I'd say you're rich. If you need to keep working, I'd say you're not. So really the figure depends on how much your life costs.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
What would you need to retire what’s your figure how old are you sorry I ask a lot of questions
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
I'm 36 and at the moment my life costs about 34k a year, will be 26k a year when my mortgage is paid off. To retire you need roughly 25-33 times your annual expenditure invested, so for me I'd need about 650k-850k invested
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Do you think you’ll be able to achieve that
UnfairlyBanned1l@reddit
Yep
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
💯
Sea-Still5427@reddit
Money-wise, I'd consider someone rich if they have enough assets and investment income to be financially secure and enjoy a very nice lifestyle, whatever life brings, whether or not they choose to work. Large house with land and probably a holiday place that are owned outright, travel, theatre, nice restaurants, well dressed etc. So maybe £5m in investments, plus assets.
But there are lots of ways to be rich apart from money.
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
single with no kids — few millions
wife, kids — at least 10M
Cruddok@reddit
And that depends on the wife.
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
and there’s always risk of losing her and half of your net worth
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
How do you avoid if do you have experience in this sector
ComfortableTackle479@reddit
accept the fragility and transient nature of everything and earn more haha
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
😅
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Prenuptial agreement 😅✍️
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Hahaha this made me laugh because you are actually spot on whatever number you think double it because it will be halved down the line 😅
egleadall05@reddit
genuinely impossible question. you can give a number where someone is undeniably rich i.e. £10m, but it’s impossible to say what point someone becomes rich just by giving a number without any context at all. it looks different for everyone. i grew up poor, in a town where most people are very poor, and i was called rich because my parents owned their home and had a new car. my idea of rich is someone not having to check their bank account before going into a shop, or keep a meticulous list of expenditure. couldn’t give you a number 🤷🏻♀️
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I know and that’s why I asked curious to see the different perspectives but I dunno from reading and even from what your saying I feel it’s also down to who you surround yourself with as that’s most likely who you are comparing yourself too
fire-wannabe@reddit
When you can live off the interest that the interest generates.
£8m ish
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
What would you get a year off that and where would you invest it?
fire-wannabe@reddit
You could lend it to the UK government at over 5% for 30 years
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates-bonds/government-bonds/uk
That generally wouldn't be considered a good idea, but the above (living off the interest that the interest generates) is an old rule of thumb for being rich
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I guess it would be a safe option
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Depends on so much. Do you own your house ? Do you have a family ? What expenditure do you have ?
Personally , I would think myself rich if I could have £1000 totally spare cash each month to do what I wish with. This is after bills, food etc.
A lump sum amount - difficult to work out as depends on how much interest your money can obtain and whether you can live off the interest.
Rough figures , I would say around £500,000 if I wanted to only spend the interest.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
If you had 500k in the stock market 7-10% a year even 10% max thats 5k a year in interest makes you realise that 500k wouldn’t leave you set but of course it is still a large amount
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
7-10% would be up to £50,000, no?
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Girl maths 🤪
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
You or me ? Have I lost it ?!
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I’m out I fucked it it’s too late for me 🤪
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Relieved here lol
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I’m not going to downvote myself 😏😅
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Haha. I’m not going to downvote you either
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
You could have absolutely slated me but you were very kind ❤️
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
I’m not that kind of person and I have a feeling you aren’t either, fellow Redditor
chocolateybiscuit81@reddit
Your maths ain’t mathing dude
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Mine or the replier ? I don’t think I’m wrong but questioning myself now.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Hahaha everyone’s loosing it here your spot on unless I’m wrong again 😅
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Bless you. Thanks for the kind words.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Help us break it down
Espresso-Newbie@reddit
Ok so 10% (easy figure) of 500,000 is £50,000 not £5,000. Of course taxed on any interest above ISA allowances etc
GlitchingGecko@reddit
If you had a million in either (non-mortgaged) property or in the bank I'd call you rich.
DazzzASTER@reddit
I live in a million quid house but I owe 660k. How about now?:)
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Do you feel rich?
DazzzASTER@reddit
Nope. Broke AF. I have a mortgage till I am 70 and unless I work harder that's what it'll be.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Everyone is in debt this is just the way the world is meant to be so no point loosing sleep over it some would say rich isn’t a number but more so being fulfilled in life
GlitchingGecko@reddit
So you 'own' 340k of it. I'd call that 'well off'. Pay off another 160k and I'd upgrade you to 'very well off'.
DazzzASTER@reddit
Thanks buddy. I printed it off and send it to Nationwide. Fingers crossed it is redeemable.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Yeh I think that’s fair million in the bank sounds nice 🤔😅
Itchy_Hunter_4388@reddit
Foe the average joe, about £500k in the bank.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
500k spare is a lot of money and most of all having that liquid aside I’m sure you would sleep well at night but with 500k your outgoings are prob going to be much more than a normal person
AuraMinus1@reddit
A million as a minimum
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
Million under the bed
EyeAware3519@reddit
I'm in the top 10% of households by salaried income,m with no kid. I suppose that makes me rich, I definitely feel rich compared to the amount my parents were paid yet they still had a much bigger house than me at the same age.
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
If you don’t mind me asking how much do you make a year
CodeToManagement@reddit
This is reddit so basically anyone who makes more than you is rich. You’ll get people on 30k telling you someone making 60k is rich etc.
Realistically I’d say it’s the point where you don’t have to work, and can afford real luxuries without it taxing you to the limit of what you can afford
As an example I used to work for a guy who owned the business and he would periodically come in with a new car - lambo, Ferrari, Aston etc. but they were all bought on credit and all the low end models - that’s not rich it’s just well off.
Someone who’s rich buys the lambo they want and doesn’t need to finance it. And doesn’t complain about the 5k service fees
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
I agree with what you are saying but also most rich people don’t own cars houses etc most things are leased or mortgaged or bought on credit use the banks money rather than your own so there is the other way to look at it also
PhotoProfessional669@reddit
About a fucking tenner, the rate I'm going
gawkgoat@reddit (OP)
🙈
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