One Billion Dollars Is The New Standard of Wealth
If you want to be considered “rich,” forget about saving a million bucks, because these days, experts tell us you’ll now need at least a billion dollars to impress anyone! Here are the facts about the new standard of wealth, according to Yahoo Finance:
- Everyone on the Forbes “rich list” is a billionaire. In fact, when Forbes first began publishing their “richest Americans” list in 1982; there were only 13 billionaires. Today, there are more than a thousand.
- Another reason why a billion dollars is the new standard of wealth: Millionaires are too common. Before the recession, statistics showed there were over 8 million North Americans worth a million bucks or more. That number fell when the real estate bubble burst, but in many cities, even being a millionaire is no guarantee that you can afford to buy a home.
- Also: A billion dollars is the new gold standard in pop culture. One of the biggest hit songs of last summer was “Billionaire” by Travie McCoy. The highest grossing movies of all time – “Avatar” and “Titanic” – each earned more than a billion dollars at the box office. Today’s bookstores are filled with titles like Become a Billionaire, Think Like a Billionaire, Blueprint to a Billion, and even a children’s book called Billionaire Boy.
- One more reason why a billion dollars is the new standard of wealth: You need that much money to run a sports team. A decade ago, there wasn’t a single professional sports team valued at $1 billion dollars. Today, there are at least 25 – including more than half of the NFL, the New York Yankees, and four European soccer teams.
