Per Wikipedia, where you can follow up on the sources: "In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are prese

Per Wikipedia, where you can follow up on the sources: "In a medical context, alcoholism is said to exist when two or more of the following conditions are present: a person drinks large amounts of alcohol over a long time period, has difficulty cutting down, acquiring and drinking alcohol takes up a great deal of time, alcohol is strongly desired, usage results in not fulfilling responsibilities, usage results in social problems, usage results in health problems, usage results in risky situations, withdrawal occurs when stopping, and alcohol tolerance has occurred with use" Many of these don't apply to wealthy people who drink regularly, simply because they have more resources to avoid the consequences. Thus they may not be classified as alcoholics, where the same degree of consumption would classify them as such if they had fewer resources.