Ok, now you're mad. Just because I'm rich, you are pissed off. You don't know how rich, where I got my money, what I do with it. You are just irritated. So typical. <sigh> It's not easy being rich. I speak to CEOs of companies that are as small as a few person tool and die making company to as big as internet moguls. I mean these are people might have a million dollars in assets, (not like that is much anymore), to billionaires. I hear the complaints that they have and if you heard their tales of woe, you would shed tears for their plight. First, money takes a lot of time. You have to invest it so that it will make more money. You have to protect it from paying too much in taxes. Of course, you have to count it and that means reports and accountants and lawyers. The lawyers don't count it, they just write agreements so you can control it while you are alive, but more so after you are dead. Of course, you have portfolio managers, money managers, bankers and their staffs to “help you” with your money. They send monthly statements to prove their value. They want quarterly meetings. They call regularly to seek permission for transactions and annual planning sessions. It takes a lot of time, exhausting! Second, you have to buy stuff. Being rich and not having stuff is like one hand clapping in the forest. Nobody knows you are rich if you do not have stuff. Bigger is always a good place to start. This include houses, boats and other obvious toys. Collections are nice; like cars, motorcycles and art. If you want to add some flash, there is always jewelry, after-market surgery, (Botox, lifts, adds, subtracts and multiplies), or being a clothes horse. Travel and vacation homes are good, but becoming a bit underwhelming for the wealthy. There are just too many average people getting exotic experiences through online offers to be able to show off. Your own plane, not just fractional points in a private jet service, but the real plane, that's the coup de grace. Stuff is not only an outward sign, but it is a conversational lubricant at the countless community events that you are expected to attend. Third, one more dollar. Being rich is good, but it can be a little itchy. There is a sense of "what now?" You have to mind the store so to speak. If you do not keep doing the things that made you the money, then it could become less money or the money could go away. But doing the same things becomes a bit boring. However, there is a yardstick of success for whether what you are doing makes a difference and that is making more money. There is a maxim for people who own boats that goes; "Everybody wants a boat that's at least a foot longer." See? Don't you feel a little bit of pity for the rich now? Sidebar - I have noticed something; Nobody sends mission trips to the wealthy. Who comes to the rich people who are miserable and works on their basic emotional needs? Rich people are neglected. People are so busy trying to help the enormous number of people who do not have food, shelter, clothing or clean water that the top 1% are just ignored. It's the unspoken tragedy. Where does all of the time come from to be rich? It is a constant effort and it is exhausting. Even the stuff that looks as if it should be fun - travel, buying stuff, cool hobbies. Throw those in with the list of holding on to your money and it is more time than there are in the day. Ouch. I forgot about family, faith and friends. If you have parents, children and extended family, that takes time. If you believe that faith is more than Sunday morning, that takes time. Friends you can weave into the sum of the "being rich" list, but they might have this extra baggage as well. You are stuck. Something has to give. Very, very few rich people can get it all and keep it all. No doubt. It is easier to be any level of middle class. Not too much money to burden you, but enough to cover your basic needs. Of course, as measured on a global scale, you are rich. You are rich. You know the calculation, but I will help. If you have safety, shelter, clothing, food for today and tomorrow, clean water, transportation, money in your pocket and an education, you are in the top 5% of the planet. Throw in any scale of those items like your own car, big screen TV, internet and cellular and you are like in the top 2.5%. I think that if you have internet that stays up and cellular that never cuts out, you may be Bill Gates. Speaking of Bill Gates, he and his wife have found it so difficult to be rich that they are giving all of their money to their foundation to tackle some of the world's biggest health problems that hurt predominately poor people. Warren Buffett has tossed all of his money in to help. They have convinced a dozen other billionaires to set their estates up to give most of their money to causes and charities. The more I read, these mega rich are spending their money as fast as they can in this life and setting the balance in the next life to get rid of it. "Cry Not for Me Argentina," as the song goes, these people are still evaluating their strategies for giving on their own planes and yachts. But they are leaving a very small fraction of their estates to their children. They must think that being rich is a bitch as well. A week at our house would be woefully disappointing for those wanting to see how the rich live. We are rich like you are; wealthier than 97.5% of the planet. Actually, just a little bit better, our internet is good. However, to balance it out, my cell service sucks. I guess I'm stuck at that 97.5%, just rich enough that it is not too much of a bitch.