Ironically, billionaires probably do worry about money a lot. Just not in the same way everyone else does.
this post was submitted on 19 May 2026
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Got a job making good money then boom the price of things keep going up π
Hmm. honestly, the lifestyle described here might cost some money, but if people are rich, they typically have 100x or 1000x the money needed to do even that.
The simplest way to classify "rich" is capitalist class. Those that no longer perform labor. Instead, their wealth passively generates wealth that sustains their lifestyle. There's no set, defined number. Someone who is "rich" does not need to work and affords luxury.
Which, this is only facilitated via an exploited working class that are not fairly compensated for the labor that they perform and the profits of said labor is traded back and forth amongst said capitalists. Hence why the rich are a parasite class. Socialism for the wealthy and slavery for the workers.
Basic fundamentals of capitalism. Meritocracy is the myth that allows it to function similar to how a religious mandate provided legitimacy to a monarch.
The simplest way to classify βrichβ is capitalist class. Those that no longer perform labor. Instead, their wealth passively generates wealth that sustains their lifestyle.
That means everybody who managed to retire is rich.
On some level, that is a useful way of looking at things. The reason for making the distinction between workers (people who sell their own time for a living) and owners (people who own for a living) is because they have different political interests. The workers benefit from paid sick leave, higher minimum wage, and from wellfare state stuff like progressive tax funded health care and all that. All of this disadvantages the owning class. And, if you assume retirees fund their retirements through investments (which is not generally true btw, private pensions are not the only model), this holds on some level for retirees as well. If their income depends on the profits of some company, then it is not to their benefit if that company needs to pay workers more.
It's a simplification, but yes, it can be meaningful to think of retirees as "rich" in this sense for some political analyses.
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What even is the standard for rich though? I need at least half a million just to take the edge off.
I was there for a while. Our rent was low and we could buy whatever we needed.
Then landlords gonna landlord and we were kicked out of our perfect home. Now we own a polished turd and weβre one paycheck away from homelessness because we were forced to buy near our jobs, in 2024 when there was no inventory, and the first one that even came close to being habitable was expensive AF.
The whiplash has fully radicalized me. The landlord class must be dealt with.
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I understand. I agree. I really do.
I NEED ELEVENTY GAJILLION DOLLARS TO NOT WORRY ANYMORE. ANNUALLY. NOT A PENNY LESS.
This guy billionaires.
And there it is. My whole view on life.
I remember a study saying roughly 50 000 eur or 70 000 dollars annually and after that the increase of happiness with money is negligible. But that was like 15 years ago at least so I'm thinking it's more like 80k eur and 120k USD or smth at the moment at least.
But yeah after that what's to worry about
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in spontaneous daily casual conversation, I definitely say "if I were rich"
but what I meant is more about financial stability & the ability to cover daily food & monthly expenses, and housing
Any time I say "if I were rich", I mean it in the context of the Simpsons episode where Homer's a successful boxer, and can suddenly afford to splurge at a car wash.
plot twist: most people with more then enough money worry more about money then the ones with enough money.
It's like going to the gym. The first day you go is the last day you liked your body
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Such a true statement!
How are we defining "rich" here? Are we just talking billionaire fuck-you type money? Because in my head, the threshold for "rich", as opposed to simply being well off, is whether or not you have to actually have a day job. And I'd argue that most people want to have the type of wealth where working is optional.
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