Writing for the outlet, Andrew Lisa explained that Americans hold a combined $160.35 trillion in wealth. To the average person, that sounds like quite the payday, but someone in the top 1% probably wouldn’t see it that way. According to Lisa, “The bottom 50% of the country shares less than 3% of that enormous pie, while the most fortunate 10% gorge on nearly all of it.”
There are approximately 340.11 million people in the U.S. If they all shared that $160.35 trillion, each person would come away with $471,465. Not only is that more than the average person could even imagine, but it only compounds when you consider how it would add up for families. For example, a couple would hold a combined $942,930, and a family of four would have $1.89 million. Because, of course, in an ideal world, wealth would be distributed evenly regardless of age.
Okay… Your point?
Say it’s a upscale mobile home in Podunk for $100k. That leaves you with $375k. Can you imagine (per the article) other ways to spend your $375k?
A 2026 Ferrari 896 is $350k. Can you imagine driving a Ferrari every day? Sure it’s a dumb way to spend your money, but surely your imagination is capable of considering it.
You can get a lakefront home in the Ozarks for $325k. Can you imagine vacationing from Podunk to your second home in the Ozarks? Sure it’s hot and sticky most of the year, and too cold the remainder, but can you imagine it?
A horse costs ~$2k/month to care for. Can you imagine having a couple of horses for like 6-7 years then realizing you’re out of money and selling them to the glue factory?
My point is not that anyone needs any of these things, but I hope that “most people” can imagine quite a bit more than simple having $500k per capita.
https://www.zillow.com/burbank-ca/
https://www.zillow.com/fresno-ca/
https://www.zillow.com/chico-ca/
Bit of a price difference was my point.
I think different people with differing experiences and income and exposure have differing abilities.