What’s Wealth Mean To You?

Wealth: 1. an abudance of valuable material possessions or resources  2. abundant supply  3. a.) all property that has a money value or an exchangable value b.) all material objects that have economic utilty; especially: the stock of useful goods having economic value in existence at any one time.

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

I had the opportunity to join Tim and Tom Mullooly on their podcast, Living With Money, last week (it’ll be released this Thursday–don’t worry, I’ll let you know all about it!) and during our conversation they asked me a simple question, “What does it mean to have wealth?”

The Traditional Definition Of Wealth 

This powerful chart, courtesy of Visual Capitalist (thanks to Josh Brown for putting it on my radar), shows what makes up the traditional definition of wealth. It is fascinating to compare the breakdown of individuals with the highest net worth to those with less. A lot of conclusions and assumptions can be made, but the obvious way to increase net worth is to own a business or have a number of business interests—so simple, right?

Take a few minutes to digest this chart and take away from it what you will…

A Different Definition Of Wealth

I have a slightly different definition of wealth than our friends at Merriam-Webster; while my definition of wealth includes money and material possessions, it extends well beyond net worth. I don’t want to spoil the podcast, so I won’t tell you my definition of wealth in its entirety, but I will share this: the wealth I strive to build is measured by the experiences with my family, the relationships I build with those closest to me, and my impact on others (which is hopefully positive). Sure money and material possessions will be a factor in achieving this “wealth”–they will be a necessary means to my end, but they will not define my wealth.

I’m interested in hearing your definition of wealth; feel free to let me know on Twitter (@Jus10Castelli) or shoot me an email at contact @ allaboutyourbenjamins dot com. I’d like to compile a list of your definitions to share on a future post–don’t worry, I’ll keep your definitions confidential if you’d like, just let me know.

I will also make the question posed to me the final question to my guest on the All About Your Benjamins Podcast this year, so be sure to tune in to see how my guests define wealth.

Enjoy Cam’ron’s definition of wealth…..

Disclaimer: Nothing on this blog should be considered advice, or recommendations. If you have questions pertaining your individual situation you should consult your financial advisor. For all of the disclaimers, please see my disclaimer page.