I have always seen wealth as a function of time and choice. I would echo the sentiments of thibaut_barrere, reasonattlm, and especially bmelton (as it pertains

I have always seen wealth as a function of time and choice. I would echo the sentiments of thibaut_barrere, reasonattlm, and especially bmelton (as it pertains to time and choice). In other words, I would call myself 'wealthy' if I had the opportunity to do what I want when I want to do it. I think in American society when we think of wealth we think of Wall St Bankers with multimillion dollar penthouses in NY, or we think of Ellison and his yachting, but I think we can boil it down to time and choice. Ellison can choose to pursue yacthing as a passion because he is wealthy, and the expense of that hobby is not a determining factor. Gates can choose to spend his energies at philanthropy because the lack of income and time constraints associated with that endeavor are not determining factors. For me, wealth would be 'the ability to follow curiosities and interests, whatever they may be.' If I have a 9-5 job AND trying to get a startup off the ground AND I have a family with young children, I am able to follow some of my passions, but not all of them, because there are large chunks of my time that I dont control.