To ask if you're wealthy, how did you acquire your wealth?

[PinataHeeHaw]

I'm sat here in the early hours looking at luxury Spanish villas, wondering how I've never got rich.

@IceCreamScream - I really don’t think that being able to go on overseas holidays every year or eating out often makes you wealthy in the sense that OP is talking about. There are loads of people who can do that. Mortgage free can mean all sorts depending on the value of your house.

My personal view is that somebody can’t become wealthy in one generation other than through running their own business very successfully / selling it, or perhaps by incredible skill/luck investing. (Or by marriage, obviously.)

I earn over 300k a year in a corporate job, have two properties and significant savings. We holiday as we want, when we want etc. But I don’t think I’m wealthy in the sense the OP means. I still debate whether flying business class is worth it and I couldn’t just spend 500k on a holiday home without a mortgage for it. I think my children quite possibly will be if we make sensible decisions and support them in the right way (and they make the choices that lead to being wealthy).

But this probably just shows that “wealthy” has very different meanings to different people.

I'm not wealthy, but amused that in my active threads list this thread appears adjacent to one asking "how many rugs does your horse have in its wardrobe?"

I wouldn’t count us as wealthy, but comfortable. Day to day we probably look better off than our salaries would suggest (house in London, 3 x private school fees etc).

But that money came from other sources - we initially received £100k when DH’s uncle died which meant we had an enormous deposit (at the time) to buy our first property.

And the school fees are paid by my Mum - the money can from her uncle who was as working class as you come, a northern bus driver who turned out to have a sideline in investing and did very well.

So yes, intergenerational wealth, but both strands from very normal people who would never have stood out as wealthy.

@Badbadbunnylets not forget the sector we all choose to work in matters too. I’m a social worker, very very very unlikely to become wealthy. I log in every day and work 3-4 hours outside of work time per week just to keep my head afloat. No amount of ‘work ethic, drive, ambition’ will allow me to get to anything above 60K. But that’s not why we do it.
However, these threads always bring out the same people who say the reason that we all don’t have 2 million pound properties is work ethic.
Yet we need all sorts of professions. I used to work with older adults, some of whom had done very well. Yet we couldn’t get carers for them. Essentially this is why capitalism is crumbling. We cannot teach our children to all be financial accountants. Some of our children will have to be carers or hospital porters.
If it was up to me we would have some sort of mandatory system where we all rotated doing MW jobs. What we’re seeing at the moment is mass rebellion against the unfairness of the capitalist system where some could work so hard for their whole lives and never be wealthy, and some have so much they will never be able to spend it all.

I think another poster described having drive, and the things you describe certainly need some sort of drive. Like taking risks, I admire anyone who will do that unless it tramples on others, and you need a certain confidence in yourself to do that. So good for anyone who does all those things and either has the inner drive, guidance, or education to go for it.

But the ‘work hard and you can also have this’ isn’t true, and besides those at the top do well from those who work very hard for them, increasing their profits, etc, but their hard working roles will never bring them riches, however much they may be needed and appreciated. I guess it’s just life in a capitalist system.

I agree also that passive wealth income should be taxed more equally so that people’s income from work isn’t higher than being able to watch the wealth accrue.

We had no family help at all, all parents still alive thankfully but even so neither mine or DH parents had money to give away. My husband was first in his family to go to university, came from a very modest background. We are both accountants although I work in a very different field these days. MBO of a business 20 years ago that turned into a very in demand sector with the rise in online shopping. I now work very part time in my hobby. DH still runs the business. We get dividends most years and have saved a huge amount, enough to retire and keep lifestyle, in case it all goes wrong.

No mortgage 7 figure property, several properties in other countries not Europe . Independent schools paid upfront to 18 for kids. We don't really have a holiday budget or budget of any kind. I would guess our household outgoings approx £7k month. Always fly at least business, I have just spent £21k on flights for me and teens to Australia. So I guess we would fit the wealthy criteria and every penny earned by us.

Great post @Flowersinthehood

What is wealth?

Well as my grandad would say "If you've got your health, you're a millionaire", and he wasn't wrong.

However, in the context of this thread, I'd say £5million+ of investments/ liquid assets.

I would very much agree with your grandad.

I expect many would consider me wealthy. I consider myself comfortable not wealthy. I like others on thread worked hard at school, went to a good university, got a decent job and worked hard, alongside bringing up 3 DC and later 2 foster DC. DH similar and went into high paying profession. When we married we both had our own houses. We sold one, and bought a bigger house together and let out the other house. Any money we made on btl we invested in buying further houses. Now we have 11 and in the process of buying a 12th btl and a small weekend retreat on a promenade overlooking a beach in the UK. We also have a large holiday home in France we let family and friends borrow but are considering letting it out too. Our own mortgage paid off so e time ago and we both retired early, me at 57 and DH at 60 but we are still foster carers for 1 over 18 year old and 1 16 year old both with learning disabilities. We have time to do hobbies and lunch out several times a week.

I agree it is very much dependant on what your definition of wealth is. For many years now I've lived a life of positivity and manifestation. To a certain extent that's always been my mindset subconsciously as I've never feared lacking in anything because I just believe things will come when I need them and they have done.

I consider myself medium maintenance. I always want to roof over my head and to be able to do the things I want to do with my friends and to be able to travel as much as possible but place very little value on material wealth.

I don't aspire to have a villa in Spain but the things I do want to do come to me quite easily. I did fairly well in school but never wanted to go to university. I'm an absolute grafter and have been since I was 14. I'm now in a position where I work 4 days a week with school holidays on a salary that's very decent for me. I'm single by choice and I have struck the work/life balance almost to perfection. I have some savings and a home I love which will be paid off in about 10 years. I'm grateful every day and I consider myself truly wealthy.

I agree. I know loads of people that have two brand new range rovers, three hols a year, tons of outings and trips and hobbies for kids and themselves , big flashy house but I wouldn’t even class them as wealthy wealthy they just earn well. My brother is one, he’s just a normal well off person with a good job. We also live in an area where a massive 5 bed with huge garden and fancy German kitchen is only about £750k so not that unaffordable

when I think wealthy I think like when you go to London and walk around the huge beautiful townhouses that are worth 40 million and the people getting out of chauffeur driven cars in Kensington and stuff, people who have a country mansion, a flat in London, a villa in Spain and a ski lodge in France, peoole who own superyachts. I often wonder if a lot of it is down to keeping money overseas??

The luck of targeting highly paid professions (think partner elite law firm - so drawings of £1mln +) when younger without knowing they would be that, saving early on, buying property when prices low, very good investments.

when I first read this I thought it said independent school pay up front for 18 kids 😂😂 I was like wow now that is impressive 😂😂

@CuriousGeorge80 Someone wrote they owned a couple of houses but scrimped and didn’t seem to do anything at all, one holiday in six years. It was to counter that really. For my age group we have around 7 times expected average assets.

If op means really wealthy then I know a couple of people like that. One is my brother who flies first class everywhere and owns a couple of houses that are worth 2 million each, who knows what assets he has, rather a lot. The other is DH mate who is a multi millionaire. But even then it’s not 25 million yacht, been on one once and it was an eye opener.

Ha, gosh yes that would be🤣🤣

The people I know who I would consider rich (millionaires) either work in finance, business or technology and they all come from middle/upper class backgrounds.

It’s refreshing to hear a lot of honesty on here.

I’d like to know if there is anyone who became wealthy/comfortable whilst being a single parent and without help from family.

I’m seeing a lot of ‘we’ or ‘DH’ and/or help from family/inheritance.

I’m hoping that one day I will be wealthy but from these replies I can’t see it happening.

Hasn’t it just. I’m selling us as well.

Most of the wealthy people I know are self employed.

Yeah I love this post too! I often hear that

I work with teens and we had a careers day and one girl said she really wants to be a speech and language therapist but her dad just keeps telling her to get a job where ‘she will be Rich’ and she doesn’t even know what job that might be except a doctor, and she doesn’t want to be one. The world needs mid paid professionals like midwives, occupational therapists, radiographers, play therapists, phlebotomists, secretaries, nursery nurses - but they’re then told they’re not rich and cant live on their wages because they’ve not worked hard enough and don’t ‘have enough drive’???

I do think however privileged their upbringing my kids have a great work ethic. They both have part time jobs and pay for all their own socialising.

Not true at all in my experience. My grandparent’s lives were far far worse off than now. My grandfather was a GP. There was no booking service in the 50s. People just turned up and he saw whoever was there. He was sat seeing people from 8 until 8 on most days. Grandmother ran a hairdressers so was flat out keeping it going to bring in income so they could keep above the breadline. No UC in those days. My mum and her siblings had to help from their early teens. Other grandfather did long hours down pit and then worked as a builder until he died in his 70s. Their wealth was in their houses which was the same houses they bought when young to old. They don’t feel the wealth as the asset was the same.

I don't think we are wealthy but on paper we probably are.
DH earns well. I don't probably need to work. I enjoy working though and it's good modelling for DC. Family money also very present in the background.