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My uber driver in Los Angeles was telling me about how his parents bought a house in the seventies in the west side and now it's worth it a million or more and

My uber driver in Los Angeles was telling me about how his parents bought a house in the seventies in the west side and now it's worth it a million or more and he inherited it and wasn't sure what to do with it. My Uber driver was a millionaire by equity.

lotsofpulp 5y ago
I think any useful definition of millionaire involves either having a million dollars of income over multiple years or being able to spend a million dollars without it affecting your lifestyle.
- vmception 5y ago
  Why is that important to you? An illiquid millionaire still has access to the lowest interest rate capital, compared to someone that has no assets or assets valued much less. There is still a distinction between someone that can even invest in private equity funds, versus someone that would either be legally barred or not able to make the minimum investment.
  - lotsofpulp 5y ago
    Because having title to a home worth a million dollars does not give you the distinction of being able to invest in PE funds. A 50+ year old married couple that earned incomes around the median and set some money aside in their 401k might have a million or two million dollars of “total net worth”, but it does not mean they can become venture capitalists or develop land or go out and buy a Ferrari. They’re probably still shopping at Costco and flying economy class. In common vernacular, a “millionaire”, at least when I was growing up, meant someone who could afford luxuries that almost all could not. And while a secure retirement may be available to a select few, that was not the kind of luxury you would refer to when labeling someone a “millionaire”. I would say describing someone’s wealth in terms of what they can afford to risk, or what they can afford not to worry about is most useful. You can start with shelter, food, loss of income, health, retirement, legal, etc. By the time one can (per my judgment) start affording discretionary luxuries or investing in PE funds, you should probably have your legal risks covered, which involves you having enough assets or cash flow to not have to work and simultaneously pay lawyers.
    - vmception 5y ago
      > A 50+ year old married couple that earned incomes around the median and set some money aside in their 401k might have a million or two million dollars of “total net worth”, but it does not mean they can become venture capitalists or develop land or go out and buy a Ferrari. But they could if they wanted to, by borrowing against their 401k at nearly the lowest interest rates possible. I want a simple term that describes people that can and can't do that. Millionaire is it as there is a clear distinction between people that have zero and negative net worth, and people with one million dollars in assets that can be borrowed against. > a “millionaire”, at least when I was growing up, meant someone who could afford luxuries that almost all could not. Well that's inflation for you. I think you're the one that will need to pick another word. My experience with the luxury concept is that people imagine things are more expensive or unattainable than they are. Like, there is a kind of "commoner's luxury" which is catered towards via leasing and borrowing and there is no way to distinguish which person has actually afforded the lifestyle or simply assumed even more debt. The "millionaire" colloquialism seems to have spawned generations of posers with nearly zero net worth, surrounding themselves with the image of luxuries, which even the illiquid farmer with millions of dollars of land can afford.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
- nickthemagicman 5y ago
  As a person from a blue collar family that's been broke as hell my whole life having a single million dollars would be insane and almost unimaginable to me. Lol I think most of the working class feels the same way which is like 50 to 80% of the country. They don't really have a fined grained classification for millionaire beyond having a million bucks.
jollybean 5y ago
If he has a million dollars in net value then he's just a millionaire, that's it. Most 'millionaires' are that way. It's not like you're only a millionaire until you have a million in the bank.
nly 5y ago
Well his job is inherently mobile. Living in it seems like a good option.

lotsofpulp 5y ago

I think any useful definition of millionaire involves either having a million dollars of income over multiple years or being able to spend a million dollars without it affecting your lifestyle.

vmception 5y ago
Why is that important to you? An illiquid millionaire still has access to the lowest interest rate capital, compared to someone that has no assets or assets valued much less. There is still a distinction between someone that can even invest in private equity funds, versus someone that would either be legally barred or not able to make the minimum investment.
- lotsofpulp 5y ago
  Because having title to a home worth a million dollars does not give you the distinction of being able to invest in PE funds. A 50+ year old married couple that earned incomes around the median and set some money aside in their 401k might have a million or two million dollars of “total net worth”, but it does not mean they can become venture capitalists or develop land or go out and buy a Ferrari. They’re probably still shopping at Costco and flying economy class. In common vernacular, a “millionaire”, at least when I was growing up, meant someone who could afford luxuries that almost all could not. And while a secure retirement may be available to a select few, that was not the kind of luxury you would refer to when labeling someone a “millionaire”. I would say describing someone’s wealth in terms of what they can afford to risk, or what they can afford not to worry about is most useful. You can start with shelter, food, loss of income, health, retirement, legal, etc. By the time one can (per my judgment) start affording discretionary luxuries or investing in PE funds, you should probably have your legal risks covered, which involves you having enough assets or cash flow to not have to work and simultaneously pay lawyers.
  - vmception 5y ago
    > A 50+ year old married couple that earned incomes around the median and set some money aside in their 401k might have a million or two million dollars of “total net worth”, but it does not mean they can become venture capitalists or develop land or go out and buy a Ferrari. But they could if they wanted to, by borrowing against their 401k at nearly the lowest interest rates possible. I want a simple term that describes people that can and can't do that. Millionaire is it as there is a clear distinction between people that have zero and negative net worth, and people with one million dollars in assets that can be borrowed against. > a “millionaire”, at least when I was growing up, meant someone who could afford luxuries that almost all could not. Well that's inflation for you. I think you're the one that will need to pick another word. My experience with the luxury concept is that people imagine things are more expensive or unattainable than they are. Like, there is a kind of "commoner's luxury" which is catered towards via leasing and borrowing and there is no way to distinguish which person has actually afforded the lifestyle or simply assumed even more debt. The "millionaire" colloquialism seems to have spawned generations of posers with nearly zero net worth, surrounding themselves with the image of luxuries, which even the illiquid farmer with millions of dollars of land can afford.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
nickthemagicman 5y ago
As a person from a blue collar family that's been broke as hell my whole life having a single million dollars would be insane and almost unimaginable to me. Lol I think most of the working class feels the same way which is like 50 to 80% of the country. They don't really have a fined grained classification for millionaire beyond having a million bucks.

jollybean 5y ago

If he has a million dollars in net value then he's just a millionaire, that's it. Most 'millionaires' are that way. It's not like you're only a millionaire until you have a million in the bank.

nly 5y ago

Well his job is inherently mobile. Living in it seems like a good option.