The ability to do what you want, when you want to do it.
Ask HN: What is Wealth?
21–30 of 64 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#22Wealth = how long you could sustain your current lifestyle (same expenses) if your income stopped, today. EDIT: what I like about this definition is that it is not subjective and doesn't imply any need for comparison. As well, it conveys the idea that time and mobility are the new currencies, which I believe. (the definition I use; read it in a french book by Olivier Seban)
What if you have a cushy job that earns you $100k / year working 4 hour a week? (lifestyle business like Ferris like)
Protip: No one has that (including Ferris).
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#23Wealth is the future value of resource and human labor inputs that you control.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#24True wealth is love, happiness, and a big freakin' pile o' cash.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#25According to Bucky Fuller, "Real wealth is ideas plus energy"
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#26Wealth is reading a thread asking what wealth is and seeing all the interesting variations on the same answer.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#27http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth "Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions or the control of such assets."
Right on. I was just going to link to wikipedia, but you beat me to it.
Wealth has a very specific, easily quantifiable definition. For an individual or household, it's essentially your net worth. And you can actually have 'low wealth' (a.k.a you're poor).
I wish I knew what the subtext of the original question was. Can I be wealthy if I'm a school teacher or something like that?
If the question is really "What is wealthy?" I think Chris Rock's routine about 'rich' vs. 'wealthy' is as good as any. Wealthy is the point where your grandkids will never need to work a day in their life. Wealthy is getting foundations and libraries named after you. etc...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWERzwbobOk
I'll never be wealthy, and I'm fine with that. I'd gladly settle for rich.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#28Being rich is having money. Being wealthy is having time.
- Margaret Bonnano
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#29I have always seen wealth as a function of time and choice.
I would echo the sentiments of thibaut_barrere, reasonattlm, and especially bmelton (as it pertains to time and choice).
In other words, I would call myself 'wealthy' if I had the opportunity to do what I want when I want to do it. I think in American society when we think of wealth we think of Wall St Bankers with multimillion dollar penthouses in NY, or we think of Ellison and his yachting, but I think we can boil it down to time and choice.
Ellison can choose to pursue yacthing as a passion because he is wealthy, and the expense of that hobby is not a determining factor.
Gates can choose to spend his energies at philanthropy because the lack of income and time constraints associated with that endeavor are not determining factors.
For me, wealth would be 'the ability to follow curiosities and interests, whatever they may be.' If I have a 9-5 job AND trying to get a startup off the ground AND I have a family with young children, I am able to follow some of my passions, but not all of them, because there are large chunks of my time that I dont control.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#30I have my own personal definition of wealth, which is "net contribution - net consumption". The bigger the gap you can create, the greater the wealth you experience.
Lasting wealth can only come from a pattern of giving much more than you take.
Simply making a habit of creating and contributing without looking at what you get back is the first step. Then creating the pattern of minimizing your personal needs is second. Managing risks and continuing to value things intelligently comes final.
I don't define true wealth as a numerical value. I think merely appreciating any moment in time can create true wealth.
However, I think us humans are builders and creators. We like to make new things, and coincidentally, everyone I know who is happy creates things. So no, I don't think you can be static, sitting on a pile of cash doing nothing, and still feel "wealthy".
...But I may have something wrong with me. Or I just might not have met that numeral that truly makes me feel wealthy. But then again, I am very skeptical of the power of money to make me feel wealthy. I just like to use it as an (inefficient) measuring stick.