Definition Essay: How Do People Define Rich?

Willingness to Spend – an inclination to buy because of expected satisfaction from a product, influenced by the ability to buy and numerous psychological and social forces.

The wife of Bath is correct when she says that the truly rich are the people who refuse to needlessly covet what they cannot have. My friend Nicole is wealthy and has a large amount of money at her disposal, despite that she is constantly wishing for what is unattainable such as popularity and boyfriends. As a result, Nicole has a tendency to be unhappy. Although Nicole does have of worldly goods, I'd venture to guess she doesn't believe her money makes her rich. Material processions and money are both convenient resources, and people are inclined to utilize them; nonetheless, money does not induce jubilation. While I wouldn't

Wealth is something that not all people have, but most typically want more of it. There are many people on Earth that wish they had more wealth, and there are even a select few that have too much. “The Gospel of Wealth” by Andrew Carnegie is all about what should be done when there is too much wealth held by an individual. Carnegie begins his essay by describing how the disparity of wealth has changed over the years. He also describes how wealth has simply grown in general over time.

Often when asked about wealth, you tend to associate wealth with money. Although money is an aspect of wealth, that has not always been the case. In precolonial times, Indians had a much different view of wealth, in fact, money was nonexistent. This concept evolved once the Europeans settled the lands of America.

In the world now people think wealth means you are powerful, or important to society. In the world that is true, even back in the Anglo-Saxon time period this was also true. Back then if you were not wealthy you were not powerful, and your kingdom was not strong enough, and other could attack. The Anglo-Saxon time period was the time Beowulf the poem was written, this is a story about a man that is so powerful he can kill anything. In this poem wealth is about being powerful, ending feuds, and having a great future for the kingdom you are living in.

Some people assumed that once you get to America, they’ll be automatically wealthy, but to be wealthy you have to work for it. The idea of being wealthy is intriguing because when you’re rich, you feel superior. You feel like you’re on top of the world. An example of being on top of the world is in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Gatsby is pretty wealthy himself. He has a lot of money, nice cars, and a huge mansion. But he also wasn't exactly wealthy because he didn't feel it. He was missing one key aspect. That is, being with the love of his life. He had all the riches in the world that he could dream for but he wasn't satisfied. He wanted to be with his one true love. Wealth isn't always just about money. There’s a wealthy in the aspect of having a lot of money and nice, luxurious things, and then there’s the wealthy of just how you’re living your best life.

How does one earn the title of wealthy? Authors Dr. Thomas J. Stanley and Dr. William D. Danko have studied how people become wealthy for over twenty years. They have conducted research, written books, conducted seminars, and advised major corporations on whom the wealthy are and what are the characteristics of the affluent in America. The research for The Millionaire Next Door was comprised of personal, as well as focus group interviews, with more than 500 millionaires. A survey of 1,115 high net worth and/ or high income respondents was also compiled. The authors define the threshold for being wealthy as having a net worth of $1 million or more. This is one distinction that the authors make in comparison

I always believed that you are considered wealthy when you make a high income. According to the authors, most high income earners are not rich, which surprised me. Most people with high incomes fail to accumulate any lasting wealth. They live hyper-consumer lifestyles, they spend their money as fast as they earn it. I always perceived millionaires as living the lavish life with their big sport utility vehicles and huge mansions. Well I was wrong, in

“Approximately 13 percent of the American population- that is, nearly, of every eight people in this country- live below the official poverty line,” (Mantsios 179). I define being wealthy as having an immense amount of money, enough to not be stressed about paying bills.

The word rich is thrown around like a rock on the lake shore. Very similar to the work love, people use it like it has no meaning. Many seem to ignore the fact that there are hundreds of different ways to become rich. Of course, some are handed the money due to deaths in a family, retirement, rich ancestry, and lots of other ways as well. In my case, that is not how it worked. But for some reason, often times, close to about five times a day, I would get called rich. I was not a kid who had all the newly released hockey gear or electronics. As a matter of fact, I did not get a cell phone until I was thirteen years old. Out of my friend group, I was the very last one to get a cell phone. Growing up playing hockey, my dad had a rule that I could not purchase a stick over the price of one hundred dollars. My dad would gladly like to be the first one to tell you, hockey sticks are not cheap. Still, I would get called rich by my friends. I had a bigger house but nothing breath taking. I had four siblings and a dog, we needed a bigger house to fit all of us. Luckily growing up, I did not take much offense to the criticism. As a matter of fact, I did not really take it as criticism when I was younger. The term never really hit deep until I reached high school. The slurs continued as I attended a public high school after graduating from a private grade and middle school. Perhaps that was why kids called me rich. Shortly after my freshman year, after I took a personal finance class, the way money worked was clearer to

In the book Money and Class in America written by Lewis Lapham, the way Americans look at money is exposed. It compares other nations view on monetary value against that of the Americans. It is a fact that we place more value on money than anything else. This book illustrates the corruptness of the “American Dream” as it focuses money as the “currency of the soul” and through the dream, men remain free to rise or fall. Their life is the product of the effort and the decisions put forth by them.

Is everybody supposed to be rich and wealthy? If so then nobody would be truly happy or rich.

Most people in today’s society define success as someone who makes a lot of money or has done something important to help form today’s society. People such as Bill Gates or Donald Trump are considered successful because they have lots of money. Even actors whose lives are wrecked and destroyed are considered successful because of the money they have. Others, like Thomas Edison, are considered successful because of accomplishments they achieved in their lives. Thomas Edison, for example, created the light bulb, so most people would consider him successful. In his book, Think & Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill gives 13 steps on how to have the right mindset, attitude, and ability to become successful.

​ Without a doubt, those who are “rich” and those that are “poor,” in terms of material possession, share a similarity: the desire to be rich or richer.  No one really wants to be “poor.”  Those who are rich are rich through inheritance or have mastered the know-how to become rich. Such as Prince Williams, who obtained his wealth from his mother and father, Princess Diana and Prince Charles of Whales.

One is considered rich or wealthy depending on his/her financial ability. Affluence in rich people can be measured by annual income or consumption, lifetime expenditure or income, and wealth. Consistent with how the taxation system works, affluence should be measured annually. This might mean that those who are rich in a particular year may not fall in the same class the