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If you earn more than $31k a year, you're in the top 1% richest people globally
- kalterstern 14y agoUmm, I think the cost of basic, unavoidable living expenses has something to do with how "rich" you are. Which is why $31k might seem plenty "rich" in many parts of the world, but in places like NYC or London or Moscow, not so much.
- Flimm 14y agoBelieve it or not, this takes into account living expenses. Currencies are not converted using current exchange rates, but using PPP (purchasing power parity). According to these figures, it takes the median average American on a salary of $50k two minutes to earn enough to buy a can of Coca-cola. The average Indonesian needs to work two hours to buy one, at local price.
- TheCoelacanth 14y agoLiving expenses (especially housing) vary wildly within the area that uses American dollars. Someone in San Francisco can hardly afford a place to live on $31k. Someone living in a rural area in the US can afford a pretty nice house on the same amount.
- kalterstern 14y agoOk I admit, I TL;DR'd it. Thanks for the correction.
- Bluestrike2 14y agoThese sorts of things are really just apples to oranges comparisons at best. By the time you correct for differences in the cost of living to start--let alone differences in the standard of living--it kind of becomes meaningless.
- Flimm 14y agoActually, they do take into account differences in cost of living. The basket of goods used to calculate the PPP rate includes things like cars, vacuum cleaners and electricity. (I don't know the details, TBH) See my other reply to kalterstern.