Here's How Much You Need To Earn To Be 'Rich' in 23 Major Countries Around the World

Leongsam · Aug 11, 2021

Here's How Much You Need To Earn To Be 'Rich' in 23 Major Countries Around the World

Nicole Spector

17-22 minutes

It might be time to move to Indonesia.

AS Inc. / Shutterstock.com

America is the richest country in the world, and 2020 receipts prove it. During the peak of COVID, the U.S. saw the highest growth of financial assets due to tax cuts and an explosive stock market. But as all too many folks know, the prosperity is not very well spread out; in fact, the income gap is widening. Billionaires’ wealth skyrocketed during the pandemic, with data from Forbes finding that as of April 12, 2021, America’s 719 billionaires accounted for more than four times more money ($4.56 trillion) than all 165 million Americans on the bottom of the socioeconomic plane ($1.01 trillion). It wasn’t always this way. Back in 1990, it was the opposite: billionaires held $240 billion of the country’s wealth, while the bottom half of earners had $380 billion combined.
See: These Billionaires Got Richer During the Pandemic
Find: Weird Things Top Billionaires Have in Common
As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, the U.S. is hardly the country where everyone’s dreams can come true. It is indeed getting tougher for the middle class to hold their ground, let alone manage their bills and other expenses. Could it be worse though, if you lived in another country? In other words, is the cost of living considerably less elsewhere? The answer is: Absolutely yes.
Here’s a look at how much you need to be considered rich in 23 countries around the world.
Last updated: June 22, 2021

1. Australia

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $219,931
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: 103,376

Australia has been a pioneer in economic freedom since the dawn of the of Economic Freedom Index in 1995. In 2019, its annual GDP was $1,356.21 billion. In 2020, unemployment soared to 6.9% but has since stabilized some, now at 5.1%.
More: 10 of the World’s Richest Millennials — And What We Can Learn From Them

2. Bangladesh

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $42,746
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $12,338

It doesn’t take much money (in American dollars) to live like a king in Bangladesh. According to the 2021 Index of Economic Freedom, Bangladesh’s economy remains primarily unfree and the opening of the banking branch to foreign competition could economically help the country. In 2020, it held an unemployment rate of 5.3% and is now hovering at 6%.
Discover: The Richest Celebrity From Every State

3. Brazil

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $150,658
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $34,751

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Brazil is mostly an unfree economy, and it has overwhelming debt (just like America!). Its fiscal health score is poor and it has been nearly devastated by COVID outbreaks. It holds a staggering 14.7% unemployment rate.
Try: How To Invest In Foreign and International Stocks

4. Canada

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $268,197
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $107,026

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Canada’s economy is in the upper tier when it comes to the most free. The unemployment rate stands around a dreary 8.2%.
Related: LeBron James, David Beckham and the Richest Athletes In The World

5. China

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $121,168
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $44,182

China has one of the largest economies in the world, but according to the Index of Economic Freedom, it’s mostly unfree and has been slumping in fiscal health. Its unemployment rate was about 13% as of February 2021, with many young people struggling to find work in a semi-post-COVID world.
Learn: China To Sell Off Reserves of Aluminum, Copper and Zinc In Order To Tame Prices

6. Egypt

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $152,424
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $39,906

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Egypt has been improving its economic freedom score for the past three years, but it still needs to cut down on public debt and up the ante on property rights and other rule-of-law indicators.

7. Ethiopia

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $35,868
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $8,381

Eight thousand bucks doesn’t go far in the U.S., but in Ethiopia it can launch you into the top 10% of earners. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the country’s economy is mostly unfree and could benefit from a rejuvenation of its multiparty democracy. The unemployment rate in Ethiopia is currently around 2.1%.

8. France

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $251,865
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $92,016

It’s still not anywhere near what you need in the U.S. to rank high (we’ll get to that later), but an annual income of $92,016 to be in the upper crust isn’t exactly pocket change — at least, not when you compare it to countries like Ethiopia. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, France runs a mostly free economy, and is working to reduce unemployment, which currently hovers at a rate of 8%.

9. Germany

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $327,069
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $100,996

Even more expensive than France is its next door neighbor, Germany. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Germany is a largely free economy, but could be even more so if the government cut down on its spending and relaxed its strict labor laws. Germany’s unemployment rate is around 6%.

10. India

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $93,917
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $14,077

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, India has a mostly unfree economy, and would need ample and wide-reaching reform to improve its fiscal health. Decimated by COVID, the OECD's Economic Outlook 2021 shows that the Indian economy contracted by 7.7% in 2020. The unemployment rate stands at around 8.7% and should be falling as infections drop.

11. Indonesia

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $113,939
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $30,544

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the Indonesian economy has been slowly rising to be a more free economy, but needs more governmental measures to decrease corruption and modernize investment regulations.
More: The 50 Cheapest Countries To Retire To

12. Italy

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $207,748
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $78,923

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the economy in Italy is mostly free, but as we’ve seen with other countries, high government spending is holding it back. One of the ground zeros for COVID when it first struck, Italy's unemployment rate hovered at around 9.2% in 2020.

13. Japan

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $240,301
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $89,643

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Japan’s economy falls in the mostly free category. Its only major stumbling block is high government spending. In 2020, the unemployment rate in Japan held at roughly 2.34%.

14. Korea

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $234,887
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $79,531

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, South Korea is a mostly free economy, with a top-notch labor force and a tremendous aptitude for innovation. But there’s still some corruption going on that would need to be addressed in order for the economy to better thrive. North Korea, on the other hand, is the least free economy in the world.

15. Mexico

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $187,917
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $51,709

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Mexico is a moderately free economy, but governmental scandals have held the country back from being in the clear. A serious revamping of governmental integrity and a cleaning up of corruption are in order. As of March 2021, Mexico had an unemployment rate of 4.43%.

16. Nigeria

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $87,331
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $23,638

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Nigeria’s economy is predominantly not free, seeing extreme political instability, policy failures and serious security threats. Nigeria’s unemployment rate has soared over the last five years as the economy endured its own recessions, and now stands at 33% — the second highest rate on the global list.

17. Pakistan

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $70,024
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $16,058

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Pakistan’s mostly unfree economy isn’t looking too bright for the future. The country faces mountainous debt and chronic corruption.

18. Philippines

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $102,436
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $26,512

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the Philippines is so-so free, but it has some significant challenges around weak spots in its judicial system and chronic corruption with slack government response. As of April 2021, the unemployment rate in the Philippines was at 8.7% — relatively low given its past unemployment rates.
See: 24 Ways To Stretch Your Unemployment Benefits

19. Russian Federation

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $174,753
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $44,195

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Russia doesn’t have much of a free economy — but it has been getting better in that department. To make it even freer, the government needs to liberalize its investment code and strengthen its rule of law, among other things. As of April 2021, Russia’s unemployment rate stood at 5.2%.

20. Singapore

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $627,111
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $193,352

It takes a lot of dough to be among the wealthy elite in Singapore. This is partly because the country is the most stable in the world, with no foreign debt and high government revenue. According to the Index of Economic Freedom, Singapore is ranked as the freest economy in the world.

21. The United Kingdom

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $255,019
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $84,900

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the UK has a mostly free economy, but it stands to do better through post-Brexit opportunities. In April 2021, the UK unemployment rate dropped to 4.7%, the lowest it has been since the summer of 2020.

22. The United States

Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the 1%: $506,752
Annual pre-tax income needed to be in the top 10%: $138,475

According to the Index of Economic Freedom, the United States is mostly free — but it still ranks at only No. 20 on the list of free economies. America’s biggest setback continues to be its high government spending and completely unfeasible levels of debt. And let’s not forget the less than fair healthcare system. As of May, 2021, the unemployment rate in the U.S. is 5.8%.

About the Author

Leongsam · Aug 11, 2021

thekickassentrepreneur.com

What Net Worth Makes You Rich? The Average Net Worth to Make it Into the Top 1% and How to Get There | The Kickass Entrepreneur

Jeff Wiener

10-13 minutes

What net worth makes you rich? Don’t look to Shawn (not his real name) for any inspiration.
Shawn has a BMW 5 series.
His wife has an Audi A7.
The lawn is perfectly manicured, and he spent over $30,000 on the nightscaping. I know how much he spent because he told me. I didn’t ask.
Both his daughters attend the best private schools. Shawn’s got a large mortgage on his home and has almost more debt than his assets. I know because he told me. I didn’t ask.
For whatever reason, Shawn likes to brag about how well he’s doing and how much he spends on things. He has this insatiable desire to brag about everything. One day we were speaking about investments, and he happened to mention that he has so far saved $200,000 in his retirement savings account and that he figured his total net worth wasn’t much beyond $250,000. He mentioned this number to me figuring I would be impressed.
Shawn is 52, and he’s living large. And he has a spending problem.

The Millionaire Next Door: What Net Worth Makes You Rich?

In the book, The Millionaire Next Door, Thomas Stanley describes someone like Shawn as, “big hat, no cattle.” That’s Stanley’s expression for someone who, by all appearances, looks like they have wealth, but has accumulated well below their potential.
** As a complete aside, The Millionaire Next Door is one of the best books on wealth creation I’ve read in the last 20 years.

Stanley actually puts this into an equation he calls the wealth equation, which looks at age and income, and then groups people into one of three categories: UAW, AAW, or PAW.
What net worth makes you rich? Let me explain.
The wealth equation suggests that you take your household’s annual income, multiply that by your age, and then multiply that by 10%. Someone who has this amount fits into what Stanley calls an AAW (Average Accumulator of Wealth).

It looks like this: Household Annual Income X Age X 10%
In Shawn’s case, although he didn’t outright tell me his and his wife’s salaries, I can surmise based on some conversations that it’s approximately $300,000 per year. In Shawn’s case, and in order to be an AAW, he should have a net worth of:
$300,000 (annual household income) X 52 (age) X 10% = $1,560,000
According to Stanley, Shawn is a UAW, or Under Accumulator of Wealth.
In order to make it to the category of what Stanley calls PAW (Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth), then you need to have twice the number, or in Shawn’s case: $3,120,000.

Stanley’s Points on Millionaires

Stanley has a few points that he discusses in his book in regards to how to accumulate wealth, and no surprise, one of his main points is that you need to spend less than you make. The traditionally spoken of number is that you should save and invest at least 10% of your salary, although that alone probably won’t get you into the PAW category.
I speak with entrepreneurs all the time, and I am often surprised by not only how little they have saved and how little personal wealth they have created—especially in compared to the size of their business—but even more so by the lack of financial discipline, especially as it relates to removing profits from the business. This problem has become even more apparent since publishing my book, as I’ve received no fewer than 20 emails from business owners asking me how they can save more of their business’s profits. They also want suggestions I might have on ways of accumulating their dollars strategically so that they can keep better track of their savings.
To the entrepreneurs, I follow the same 10% rule that’s discussed for individuals, and it is as follows:
Put 10% of your revenue aside in a separate savings account (or holding company). This is part of a more detailed strategy that I discuss in my larger book (you can pre-register for a free copy here), and discussing cash flow is something I will continue to write about on my blog. It’s not a topic I’ve delved into much yet, but I definitely intend to do so.

Regarding the notion of building wealth, what net worth makes you rich, and following Stanley’s discussion about the wealth equation, it should come as no surprise that the way to make it into the PAW category is to take some level of risk beyond investing in the stock market, and that’s typically through business ownership.
I found an interesting chart at Visual Capitalist net worth chart:

What this chart suggests is that the more affluent one is, the more business ownership represents a part of the total wealth equation.

The Three Contributors to Becoming a Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth (PAW)

According to Stanley, and based on what I discussed, there are three primary contributors to wealth creation and to becoming a PAW:

Save as much as you can
Earn as much as possible
Inherit the wealth

For those that want to know where they stand on the PAW spectrum, I created a chart that shows how much you should have saved based on your age in order to make it into the PAW camp. I’ve covered the ages between 25 to 65, and three income levels: $100K, $200K, and $300K.

What Net Worth Makes You Rich?

Based on the above chart:

Age 25 = $1,500,000
Age 35 = $2,100,000
Age 45 = $2,700,000
Age 55 = $3,300,000
Age 65 = $3,900,000

If you’re not a PAW yet, don’t despair. Becoming wealthy, or as Stanley calls it, a PAW, is territory open to anyone that either saves and invests, accumulates profits from a well-run business, and/or inherits their wealth.

Interestingly, even the top number in the chart—$3,900,000—wouldn’t even qualify someone to be considered UHNW (Ultra High Net Worth, or the 0.1%), which requires a total net worth of over $25 million, or according to the chart above, more than 10 times the age/income number from Stanley’s wealth formula for most people.

The 8 Steps to Become Ultra High Net Worth (UHNW). What net worth makes you rich?

The difference between PAW and UHNW is extremely large.
So what net worth makes you rich?
It’s a long-distance from $3.9M, the top number from the chart, to $25M, the minimum number required to be considered UHNW. The road to UHNW must come from more than just saving and running a small business. It invariably includes some, or most, of the following:

8 Steps to Become an Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual (UHNW)

Taking some significant risks in business
Making lots of profit in business
Investing the profits strategically
Selling your business as a one-time cash infusion
Having multiple sources of revenue streams
Diversifying assets across multiple asset classes (as discussed extensively in my book which you can download free here)
Investing in revenue-producing real estate
Winning the lottery or inheriting a fortune from your long lost uncle

I wouldn’t necessarily count on the last one—lottery or inheritance—to make it into the UHNW camp, which leaves one of the many other, albeit not so easy choices to help you climb the wealth ranks. In the end, though, it means being prudent with investments, taking strategic risks, and having the power to compound assets, which Einstein declared as the 8th wonder of the world.

The 7 characteristics of PAWs: Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth

Thomas Stanley identified seven characteristics of PAWs:

They live below their means
They allocate their money, energy, and time in ways that contribute to building wealth
They believe that financial independence itself is more important than the display of appearing to have a high social status
The average PAW’s parents did not provide what Stanley calls “economic outpatient care”
Their adult children are self-sufficient economically
They understand how to target economic opportunities
And they choose the right occupation

Of course, there’s never a guarantee of one’s ability to create wealth, but, these 7 traits are what Stanley determined to be the attributes that were most common amongst the PAWs.
Notice that of the 8 steps I listed above, a few of them are consistent with points six and seven from Stanley’s list, in particular, an individuals ability to understand how to target economic opportunities, and then, having the wherewithal to seek out those opportunities, take appropriate risk, and then profit from that risk.
That’s the key. Understanding risk, and then taking appropriate action to profit from that risk.
Now that we understand what you need to do in order to get rich, let’s review some basic personal net worth statistics:
The average net worth by age for American families:

Under the age of 35 = $76,200
Ages 35 to 44 = $288,700
Ages 45 to 54 = $727,500
Ages 55 to 64 = $1,167,400
Ages 65 and older = $1,066,000
Average Net Worth by 40 = $242,000
Average Net Worth by 50 = $590,000
Average Net Worth by 60 = $920,000

High Net Worth by Age

To be considered high net worth by age group, here is how much you need to have:

Age 25 = $380,000
Age 35 = $1,500,000
Age 45 = $3,400,000
Age 55 = $6,000,000
Age 65 = $9,100,000

How Much Net Worth Makes You Rich, and What is the Net Worth To Be Considered Wealthy?

To be considered “rich”, or in the top 1% of wealth for Americans, you should have approximately $10 million. Broken down by age, here is what is required by age to make it into the Top 1% of Wealth in America.

Prodigious Accumulator of Wealth Calculator

The formula for prodigious accumulator of wealth is: ((annual household income) X (age) X 10%) X 2
Hopefully you now better understand what net worth makes you rich, and more importantly, how to get there.
Here’s a video I think you might enjoy on how to become rich.

Good luck with your wealth-creating journey.
And before you go, you might also enjoy this blog post: My Response to an 18-Year-Old Who Wants to Become a Millionaire by the Time He’s 30.
And this one: How Do You Teach College Students About Money? A Message From a Father to His Daughter
____________________________
Want to know more about me and read some of the other interesting small business growth, profit and wealth stories I’ve written.
Here’s one of the first articles I wrote: My Journey Post Business Sale as I Sail Into a New Harbour.
My goal is to help entrepreneurs scale their business, improve profitability, and then, use those profits to create massive wealth. Subscribe to my blog to receive my latest thought on scaling your business and creating wealth.

Leongsam · Aug 11, 2021

stuff.co.nz

How rich are you? Stats NZ's wealth calculator will tell you

Rob Stock21:23, May 03 2019FacebookTwitterWhatsAppRedditEmail

4 minutes

Stats NZ data shows New Zealand wealth is concentrated in the hands of the few.
Stats New Zealand has created an online calculator so people can see how their wealth compares to that of other Kiwi households.
But the data behind the calculator is hampered by the fact that rich people can be reluctant to fill in the government statistician's surveys.
Though the calculator is not designed to highlight disparities in wealth on a national level, the data published by Stats NZ at the same time shows just how unevenly spread wealth is in New Zealand.
It shows the top 1 per cent of individuals owned around 20 per cent of the country's wealth at the end of June 2018, and the top 10 per cent owned 59 per cent of the country's wealth.
READ MORE:
* Renters, young people, regions missing out on wealth creation
* Absurd financial pressure on parents
* Finding your rung on the wealth ladder
But the "sampling" error for the data relating to the very richest people and households was very high, and Stats NZ spokeswoman Emily Shrosbree said that was because of the small size of the sample of wealthy people surveyed.
"There would not be very many people in our sample," she said.
"Potentially, people who are at the top of the wealth spectrum could be hard to get hold of, and less willing to answer when we send surveyors out to ask them questions," she said.
But whether or not the top 5 per cent has increased its wealth share, the have-nots continue to own just a tiny fraction of the country's wealth, though the data only shows privately-held wealth, and does not include communally-owned wealth like Iwi land, and nor does it seek to put a value of access to state health care, or NZ Super.
It showed the bottom 50 per cent of all Kiwis had just 6 per cent of the country's wealth at the end of June 2018, a similar figure to the end of June 2015.
Today KiwiSaver provider Kiwi Wealth released its state of the Investor Nation survey which indicated 21 per cent of Kiwi adults had no savings, and no investments, at all.
And, Kiwi Wealth found, 26 per cent of Kiwis felt they had got less poorer in the past year, instead of seeing their wealth moving forwards.
The Stats NZ data showed property was a key driver of wealth increases for middle New Zealand households.
At the end of June 2018, the average value of the real estate wealth controlled by a household in the middle fifth of households by net wealth was $630,000, up from $536,000 at the end of June 2015.
The poorest fifth of households remained underwater, however, with debts greater than the value of their assets, the data showed.
The two groups at the very bottom of the net wealth statistics were single-parent households with dependent children, and renters.
The wealthiest households held their wealth in family trusts.
The median net worth for families living in homes owned by family trusts, which people use to protect their assets from creditors, was just over $1 million.
Labour market and households senior manager Jason Attewell encouraged people to use the new wealth calculator.
"Using data sourced from the household net worth statistics, Kiwis can now see themselves more clearly in the data," he said.

Here's How Much You Need To Earn To Be 'Rich' in 23 Major Countries Around the World

Leongsam

High Order Twit / Low SES subject