What does rich mean?

Reader comment on: Thomas Sowell on Who Is Rich

Submitted by ben (United States), Aug 18, 2010 23:38

I remember a class in college where the professor asked students in class to raise their hands if they were "rich." Although this was an Ivy League university, surely filled with many of the children from the wealthiest families in the country, perhaps 5 out of the 200 in the lecture did so. Most people raised their hands when she asked for those who were "well-off" or "middle class." Having not looked at the actual numbers, I would use the term rich not based on the absolute value of the dollars earned, as Sowell does here, but on the relative income (or better yet, net worth) compared to others. I would say if a person is in the top 10% of income earners, he/she is rich. What is the cut off? Now I have to go look this up and see if Sowell and I agree on something. . .

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