<p>As an aficionado of all things CC and a devotee of its science of mind, this is my up-dated definition of wealthy-kids (in the pejorative sense but is there another?). </p>
<p>If you can refer to the moneyed racial oppressor, err teenager, as any one of the followingthough, with the conjunction of all three you have an absolute dead-ringer (with a smirk if visible): </p>
<p>wealthy white elite</p>
<p>elite preppy</p>
<p>**"them"<a href="in%20quotes">/b</a></p>
<p>rich white preppy kids</p>
<p>[Note: by definition, this excludes all non-white-preppiesso dont even think about it!]</p>
<p>So what I'm trying to do is reconcile this discussion with this thread: "What are the Lifetime Advantages of Attending Top Colleges," as well as all the assumptions of the children on CC that if you don't go elite you're a failure.</p>
<p>My wife and I didn't go to elite schools. We went to five colleges--I went to two state schools, my wife went to one state school, a no-name private paid for by the VA or social security, and a decent private for a specific training program paid for by the Federal Government. No i-banking for us instead careers in the Federal government, and now for me at a state university. G-d we're obviously a bunch of losers. </p>
<p>Yet when I read this thread I may be among the wealthy on salary alone. I don't get it. How did I get so wealthy without going to HYP? How did I get wealthy trained as an historian and my wife as a social worker? "I don't know. It's a mystery."</p>
<p>I'm trying to remember where on that particular thread anyone said that the point was to make more money. I'm sure you'll find a place in CC where someone did, but it was definitely not the opinion of most people there.</p>
<p>If you're going to react to the children of CC's assumption of "loser-ness", perhaps you should be posting on their threads. I don't see much of it here.</p>
<p>Congrats to you for figuring out how to be wealthy on public salaries. There's a lot of that going around these days.:)</p>
<p>
[quote]
There's a lot of that going around these days.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Especially among those the individuals the great American public has chosen to send to DC. As someone once said--Americans get the politicans they deserve.</p>
<p>all the assumptions of the children on CC that if you don't go elite you're a failure.</p>
<br>
<p>This doesn't need to be reconciled with anything. The children on CC are children, and they are mistaken. It's an understandable mistake, since this is the first big public test of their merit. If the world is only offering one way to measure you, and you don't measure up, it's natural to feel like a failure. It's certainly how I felt at the time. Later in life, there will be lots of other ways to keep score, and they'll realize that this is just one of many.</p>
<p>
[quote]
No i-banking for us instead careers in the Federal government, and now for me at a state university. G-d we're obviously a bunch of losers.
[/quote]
I'd say anyone working for the Federal government must feel rather secure in comparison with the folks at Enron and so many other companies that do not provide health care and have pension schemes that disappear in smoke along with the jobs. </p>
<p>As for definition of "loser," yours does not sound like mine or my kids'. To each his or her own.</p>
<p>marite, it's one of them thar double entendries we got from you frenchies.
you're responsible for your generosity no matter what it yields.
(and your close reading rewards my efforts,..thanks)</p>
<p>I should have made myself clearwhat I meant by wealth. In my mind, wealth depends on your age and relative status. </p>
<p>From my point of view, any student who has a four-year degree--from any college--and no student loans is a wealthy college graduate.</p>
<p>Adults over about about age 45 to 50 are wealthy if they own their own house without a mortgage, and have sufficient savings to live comfortably without ever working again, after putting the kids through college.</p>
<p>Rich is above and beyond either of those definitions.</p>
<p>And for those who asked: the loans should belong to the student, not to the parents, if loans have to be taken. You can't borrow for retirement, and you <em>can</em> borrow for college.</p>
<p>Darn--I guess I'm not wealthy, and I was just getting used to the idea. So I guess going to all those state schools, and being trained as an historian, and being a Fed did indeed doom me. Alas.</p>
<p>My eldest daughter forced DW and I to come up with a definition of wealth. (This was just after the "rich" branch of the family sold off their concours-winning Lagonda.) I told her that anyone with a realistic opportunity to achieve their dreams was wealthy. Yeah all I got back was a blank look. But I do think this pulls together some thoughts of prior contributors. A student graduating from college debt-free with a degree in a field s/he loves sure seems wealthy to me. Whether that wealth goes toward making money (or preserving it), public service, or raising the next great generation is a personal choice, no?</p>
<p>Oh, for those individuals who don't think "wealth" and philosophy belong in the same sentence, "rich" in our area starts at around $20 Million. (I guess a million isn't what it used to be.)</p>
<p>I can't even make a guess as to what a "concours winning Lagonda" is! :)</p>
<p>I like your definition, Newhope, esp in regards to where the wealth can go.</p>
<p>I would also add that you are wealthy if your income exceeds your outgo--so that lowering the latter can be just as freeing as raising the former.</p>
<p>Thomas J. Stanley, Ph.D. and William D. Danko, Ph.D. in their book 'The Millionaire Next Door' define "The Nominal Definition of Wealth" as being</p>
<p>One way we determine whether someone is wealthy or not is based on net worth- "cattle," not "chattel." Net worth is defined as the current value of one's assets less liabilities (exclude the principle in trust accounts). In this book we define the threshold level of beaing wealthy as having a net worth of $1 million or more. Based on this definition, only 3.5 million (3.5 percent) of the 100 million households in America are considered wealthy. About 95 percent of millionaires in America have net worth of between $1 and $10 million...." (12)</p>
<p>They further developed a calculation to determine how much you should be worth at any given time:</p>
<p>"Multiply your age times your realized pretax annual household income from all sources except inheritances. Divide by ten. This, less any inherited wealth, is what your net worth should be."(13)</p>
<p>At my school, a top 50 LAC, 3 students, 2 twins and there younger sister, father owns a company who recently had an IPO worth 32 billion... it was reported on in some biz magazine</p>
<p>" only 3.5 million (3.5 percent) of the 100 million households in America are considered wealthy"</p>
<p>Uh oh. According to my calculation students at elite colleges comprise less than 2% of the total college student population! Proof! (or was that spoof?)</p>