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"Unless you're exceptionally lucky as well as exceptionally successful, it takes more than one working lifetime to amass enough wealth to be in the top 1%, and

"Unless you're exceptionally lucky as well as exceptionally successful, it takes more than one working lifetime to amass enough wealth to be in the top 1%, and so you will only get there if you inherit some significant amount of wealth." Not really. In terms of income, it's $500K/year. If you go into certain kinds of banking from a decent school, and do well, you can 'easily' earn that. Again, this is 1% income, not assets of which I'm speaking. But even then - if you spend 30 years in banking, and do well, you'll probably be in the 1%. If you were to say the top 0.05% - I think I might be more inclined to agree with you. Most of the 1% are not 'rich', they're really the upper bounds of 'upper middle class' - I'd say the 0.1% is where you can start calling yourself 'wealthy' in terms of economic class.

tabeth 10y ago
I'm sorry, but you must be out of touch with reality. Certain kinds of banking from a decent school? You mean an Ivy League or top school with acceptance rates lower than 20%? The reality is, you must be exceptionally lucky to have the circumstances that get you into your so-called "decent" school that gets you into "certain kids of banking" that allow you to "easily" earn 1% income.
- tcbawo 10y ago
  I have worked in the finance industry. The people making 500K all have a pedigree. Those who come from humble backgrounds are exceptionally rare.
  - hadfgdasf 10y ago
    Truth
  - edblarney 10y ago
    " The people making 500K all have a pedigree. Those who come from humble backgrounds are exceptionally rare." There are 3 million people in America earning more than $500K a year. If any Ivy graduates 5K/year, let's say a nice round 10 Ivy Schools - that's 50K/year or 500K grads every 10 years. That means it would take 60 years for the Ivies to produce enough grads to make up that 3 million. At a '20% of Ivy grads to 1%-er rate' - you get only about 20% of those 3 million '1%-ers' as Ivy League grads. Ergo - the clear majority of 1%-ers are not Ivy League grads. Not even close. In banking, admittedly, it might be a little a higher ratio than other industries.
    - mcguire 10y ago
      https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/economix/2012/01/17/measuring-the-top-1-by-wealth-not-income/?referer= https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/economix/2012/01/17/measuri... Using data from 2010, * ...estimated the threshold for being in the top 1 percent in household income at about $380,000, 7.5 times median household income, using census data from 2008 through 2010. * But for net worth, the 1 percent threshold for net worth in the Fed data was nearly $8.4 million, or 69 times the median household’s net holdings of $121,000.
    - learc83 10y ago
      >There are 3 million people in America earning more than $500K a year There aren't nearly that many people earning $500k a year regularly. A huge percentage of the people in a given year who earn that much did so because of a one time real estate sale. Then you have another large chunk who some kind of temporary windfall--particularly good bonuses, commissions etc... And people who sold a business. Basically if you look at people who regularly make $500k+ from a job, the percentage from top schools is going to be very high.
- lloyddobbler 10y ago
  ...so those who are part of the <20% who get into those top schools are "lucky," and that's why they get in?
  - learc83 10y ago
    Yes, to a large degree. A child born to a stable 2 parent family where both parents have college degrees and earn a high income is much more likely to get into a good school than the child of a single parent who makes $10 an hour at Walmart. And the children from disadvantaged backgrounds who make it into good schools do it mostly through luck, since intelligence is a byproduct of inheritance and environment. Even work ethic is mostly a learned behavior.
- edblarney 10y ago
  "I'm sorry, but you must be out of touch with reality." You obviously don't know any bankers, and probably don't have exposure to the industry. There are tons of middle-class folks who earn $500K/year in banking, most of whom did not attend Ivy League - even if they did - it's not a big deal as most who do attend Ivy League are in fact 'middle class'.
  - FireBeyond 10y ago
    Apparently being in the top 1% of income earners is "middle class". That's a pretty severe bell curve you got going there.
    - edblarney 10y ago
      Yes, it's definitely 'middle class'. $500K/year is mid-range doctor salary (some earn much more) - it's enough to have a nice house or flat (probably in an expensive area - meaning that its' not even that nice, just has a good location), nice cars, travel, a cleaner, pay for your kids private schools, and have a cottage/second house. But not that much more than that. After all the 'added expenses' of a upper-middle-class lifestyle, they can sock away some money, but not that much. I know several families in this range and you would not consider them 'rich' by any means. They're just 'well off'. To be 'economic upper class' you'd have to be way past the many millions in net worth. I'd say more than $20 million at least. Probably more.
      - havetocharge 10y ago
        You're using extremely subjective labels 'rich','well off'. These terms mean different things to different people. Also, the discussion was around income, not net worth.
      - Merad 10y ago
        > $500K/year is mid-range doctor salary (some earn much more) - it's enough to have a nice house or flat (probably in an expensive area - meaning that its' not even that nice, just has a good location), nice cars, travel, a cleaner, pay for your kids private schools, and have a cottage/second house. The suggestion that this is a middle class lifestyle is patently absurd.
paulddraper 10y ago
Your numbers are incredibly stretched. I'd like to see your sources.
conductr 10y ago
Even if true, there is obviously not enough of these high pay jobs to go around. If there were it'd be a 2%er job.

tabeth 10y ago

I'm sorry, but you must be out of touch with reality. Certain kinds of banking from a decent school? You mean an Ivy League or top school with acceptance rates lower than 20%? The reality is, you must be exceptionally lucky to have the circumstances that get you into your so-called "decent" school that gets you into "certain kids of banking" that allow you to "easily" earn 1% income.

tcbawo 10y ago
I have worked in the finance industry. The people making 500K all have a pedigree. Those who come from humble backgrounds are exceptionally rare.
- hadfgdasf 10y ago
  Truth
- edblarney 10y ago
  " The people making 500K all have a pedigree. Those who come from humble backgrounds are exceptionally rare." There are 3 million people in America earning more than $500K a year. If any Ivy graduates 5K/year, let's say a nice round 10 Ivy Schools - that's 50K/year or 500K grads every 10 years. That means it would take 60 years for the Ivies to produce enough grads to make up that 3 million. At a '20% of Ivy grads to 1%-er rate' - you get only about 20% of those 3 million '1%-ers' as Ivy League grads. Ergo - the clear majority of 1%-ers are not Ivy League grads. Not even close. In banking, admittedly, it might be a little a higher ratio than other industries.
  - mcguire 10y ago
    https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/economix/2012/01/17/measuring-the-top-1-by-wealth-not-income/?referer= https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/economix/2012/01/17/measuri... Using data from 2010, * ...estimated the threshold for being in the top 1 percent in household income at about $380,000, 7.5 times median household income, using census data from 2008 through 2010. * But for net worth, the 1 percent threshold for net worth in the Fed data was nearly $8.4 million, or 69 times the median household’s net holdings of $121,000.
  - learc83 10y ago
    >There are 3 million people in America earning more than $500K a year There aren't nearly that many people earning $500k a year regularly. A huge percentage of the people in a given year who earn that much did so because of a one time real estate sale. Then you have another large chunk who some kind of temporary windfall--particularly good bonuses, commissions etc... And people who sold a business. Basically if you look at people who regularly make $500k+ from a job, the percentage from top schools is going to be very high.
lloyddobbler 10y ago
...so those who are part of the <20% who get into those top schools are "lucky," and that's why they get in?
- learc83 10y ago
  Yes, to a large degree. A child born to a stable 2 parent family where both parents have college degrees and earn a high income is much more likely to get into a good school than the child of a single parent who makes $10 an hour at Walmart. And the children from disadvantaged backgrounds who make it into good schools do it mostly through luck, since intelligence is a byproduct of inheritance and environment. Even work ethic is mostly a learned behavior.
edblarney 10y ago
"I'm sorry, but you must be out of touch with reality." You obviously don't know any bankers, and probably don't have exposure to the industry. There are tons of middle-class folks who earn $500K/year in banking, most of whom did not attend Ivy League - even if they did - it's not a big deal as most who do attend Ivy League are in fact 'middle class'.
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  Apparently being in the top 1% of income earners is "middle class". That's a pretty severe bell curve you got going there.
  - edblarney 10y ago
    Yes, it's definitely 'middle class'. $500K/year is mid-range doctor salary (some earn much more) - it's enough to have a nice house or flat (probably in an expensive area - meaning that its' not even that nice, just has a good location), nice cars, travel, a cleaner, pay for your kids private schools, and have a cottage/second house. But not that much more than that. After all the 'added expenses' of a upper-middle-class lifestyle, they can sock away some money, but not that much. I know several families in this range and you would not consider them 'rich' by any means. They're just 'well off'. To be 'economic upper class' you'd have to be way past the many millions in net worth. I'd say more than $20 million at least. Probably more.
    - havetocharge 10y ago
      You're using extremely subjective labels 'rich','well off'. These terms mean different things to different people. Also, the discussion was around income, not net worth.
    - Merad 10y ago
      > $500K/year is mid-range doctor salary (some earn much more) - it's enough to have a nice house or flat (probably in an expensive area - meaning that its' not even that nice, just has a good location), nice cars, travel, a cleaner, pay for your kids private schools, and have a cottage/second house. The suggestion that this is a middle class lifestyle is patently absurd.

paulddraper 10y ago

Your numbers are incredibly stretched. I'd like to see your sources.

conductr 10y ago

Even if true, there is obviously not enough of these high pay jobs to go around. If there were it'd be a 2%er job.