THE HARRISON VIEW OF RICH

You are rich if your net worth is one million dollars or more plus your liquid assets are a half million dollars or better. You cannot claim to be rich if you only have a net worth of one million dollars but no liquid assets. That situation allows you no room to maneuver. Net worth is the value of your assets minus your liabilities. For example, if your investment in real estate is $1.5 million but you owe $800 thousand and you have no other assets, your net worth would be $700 thousand. Under my definition you would not be rich. If your investment in real estate is $500 thousand and you have another $500 thousand in a savings account, you would be rich under my definition. On the other hand, if you had $4 million tied up in real estate but owed $3.0 million with no other assets, your net worth would be $1.0 million but you would not be rich under this definition.

 

My (William C. Harrison) definition of being rich considers not only the value of the asset but the ability to maneuver in time of crisis and the peace of mind knowing that you will not falter in case of a major decline in the value of your investment. The dictionary does not quantify what being rich is. It says something on the order of having great wealth, abundance of possessions, of great value or worth. Here, I have attempted to quantify what rich is. This Harrison definition of “rich” is an attempt to provide a more unambiguous clarification of the word rich. I recognize that others will continue to use loose descriptions in defining rich but my definition provides some clarity. Perhaps, definitizing the vague is why they call me WildWilli (http://www.wildwilli.com). Oh, I’m just a flower (http://www.flowers.biz) looking for clarity. Thanks and enjoy.