Although this is drifting away from the original topic, let me tell you that wealth is relative, especially in a social context. The bottom line in a social co

Although this is drifting away from the original topic, let me tell you that wealth is relative, especially in a social context. The bottom line in a social context isn't how much money you have, but how much value you bring to the table. Value is incredibly dependent on a wide range of factors, so you can tweak and specialize for certain situations, adding more than any amount of money could (Compare the value Bill Gates could add to a rap battle with the value Jay Z could add. Bill Gates is massively more wealthy, but in this context, Jay Z has a distinct advantage). Let's apply it to networking. Of course, being valuable businesswise is important, but I can go to a networking event and use my conversational skills and my area knowledge to my advantage."So anybody up for this amazing insider teppan yaki 2 blocks from here? I promise it'll blow your mind." At the end of the evening I'll go home with half a dozen great contacts, which beats 200 cold business cards by lenghts. That's exactly how I ended up with that crowd, but it wasn't actually the network I was aiming for. I was looking for contacts in the nightclub management/ promoting area, but I didn't dismiss them because they were fun at parties, they made me seem more connected, and because their parents were usually businesspeople, which would extend my network into that area. I'd be viewed as a good influence on them, which instantly put me on good terms. I know that sounds awfully calculating, but it generally does when you break down social interactions in that manner. I hope it helps in case you want to do networking.