Are there rich people who think that they are poor?

Yes. Someone may have a net worth of a couple of million dollars, but it is tied up in retirement accounts and other assets such as home equity. They may struggle to pay regular bills at times and feel poor. They probably drive a beater car, but it’s paid for. The truth of their situation is they’re very good savers but don’t leave themselves much working cash. They feel like they’re living paycheck to paycheck even though they may have a little cash in the bank for emergencies. They may not make six figures but they retain a good percentage of what they earn. They don’t have debt except for perhaps a small mortgage on a modest home.

Someone may feel rich and spend freely on lavish things like dining out, a fancy car, boat, or other things but do not save anything in any appreciable amount. They may live in an apartment, mobile home or worse, a McMansion purchased at the wrong time with bad terms and they’re upside down. All their money is tied up in other assets that go down in value. They have a negative net worth. They have no money in the bank for emergencies, and they really do live paycheck to paycheck. They have car payments and credit card debt, along with other debt on luxury items. They’re upside down on the car too. Does not matter if they make six figures, they spend it all. By all measures, they’re poor or will be poor the day they lose a job or get slapped with medical bills or some other unforeseen expense.

“Rich” and “Poor” are so amorphous as to be meaningless. And very situational.

I may be a homeless person, begging for money and living in a shelter, but if I find a job for three days and $100 in my pocket, I feel rich.

By the same token, I might have $100,000 cash in the bank but debts that amount to $4 million. I sure feel poor.

Wealth or poverty is a relative term. No way to define it.

Yes, of course.

Don’t know about you, but I consider $5 million enough to last me for the rest of my life. Rapper MC Hammer earned $5 mil his first year performing. One year later he was filing bankruptcy because he was broke. I cannot imagine being able to spend that much in less than a year!!!

In my younger days I worked for a stock broker. One of his clients was good friends with a Day Trader who would comment frequently that he had lost $1 mil the day before. I was NEVER sure if he was bragging or complaining!!! He would make $8 mil in 1 day & lose $1 mil the next. He bought all his clothes from Goodwill. He went around to various local restaurants begging for food because he was hungry & broke. A net income of $7 mil in 2 days would make me feel rich as hell!!!

I saw a man hand a homeless man $500 & wished him a Merry Christmas. The homeless man felt rich & was broke before New Years!!! So, YES it is a thing for BOTH ways of life!!!

BTW, you used the correct “there” in the title!!!

See this Wall Street Journal illustration:
https://imgur.com/40wWY

Yes, thats probably how they got rich in the first place.

I am sure there are plenty of out of touch rich people that fancy themselves “poor”, because they were forced to decide between a supercar and a yacht this year, and could not afford both at the same time.

“Rich” and “poor” are in the eye of the beholder. To someone who has nothing, someone who lives in a house is “rich” even though it might be a small house that’s falling apart.

I have a friend who, with her husband, owns multiple houses yet they don’t have television or any streaming services because the husband is very frugal. They pay their mortages off asap and they keep their expenses very low. They are not poor by any means, nor are they rich, but they live very cheaply.