Who doesn’t dream about being rich?
I’m certainly not afraid to admit I occasionally wonder how it would feel to be independently wealthy.
The World’s Richest People
The other day I was reviewing a list of the world’s billionaires and I noticed that Elon Musk is still at the top — to almost nobody’s surprise, I’m sure.
Another billionaire in the rich-guy Top 10 is somebody named Amancio Ortega. I know; I had never heard of him either, but it turns out that Mr. Ortega is the founder of the world’s largest clothing retailer, Inditex. Ring a bell?
Well … it didn’t for me.
By the way, did I mention that Inditex runs a very popular clothing chain known as Zara? They do. In fact, there are more than 2000 of them worldwide. Even so, I’d never heard of that store either.
I guess I really should get out more.
But back to Mr. Musk. According to one report, the man earned a whopping $203 billion last year. For those of you counting at home, that’s approximately $556 million per day. Putting it another way, that’s almost $23 million per hour. Yes, that assumes he works a 24-hour shift — but I strongly suspect that is indeed the case for Mr. Musk. After all, anybody who earns that much cash in a single day has to be superhuman. Right?
So … Have you ever wondered what it really feels like to be a billionaire? Well, I’m going to show you.
What It Feels Like to Be a Billionaire
The US median income last year was approximately $80,000. That’s just 0.0000004% of Mr. Musk’s 2024 income. With those figures in mind, and ignoring the effects of inflation, here’s a very close approximation of what most people would experience — give or take a few cents — if their modest wages had the same purchasing-power as the Tesla billionaire:
- A four-year stint at a private college cost about a nickel (real; not wooden). That’s assuming annual tuition and other expenses of $160,000. Just bear in mind that
ifwhen tuitions increase, you’ll have to shell out a few cents more. - The average home in the United States could be purchased for 17 cents, based upon the current median price of approximately $420,000.
- Of course, folks who feel like moving up could “bite the bullet” and buy a spacious $6 million Vail mansion for $2.40 instead.
- For just $79 you could have also closed a deal on the $200 million 40,000 square-foot Malibu mansion that Jay Z and Beyonce purchased in 2023. (Hopefully, the home isn’t on a corner lot.)
- If you wanted to avoid the hassle of flying with the general public, you could buy a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for $100, based upon an approximate list price of $250 million. Of course, you’ll also need to shell out an additional 14 cents per year to pay for the pilot, assuming an annual salary of approximately $350,000. That is, unless you already know how to fly a jumbo jet.
- That pair of hockey tickets I purchased for $2462 to attend the 2014 Stanley Cup Finals would have cost me less than a cent, which means I could have taken my whole family to the game — and some friends too! – for a penny. Including the refreshments!
- On the other hand, I could have also spent that same penny on a top-of-the-line iMac computer.
- Meanwhile, those of you in the market for a fancy luxury car could buy one of Elon’s top-of-the-line Model X electric vehicles for just five cents, based upon the manufacturer’s list price of $125,000.
- Then again, for those who are more practical, your could buy his and hers 2025 Honda Civic coupes for about two cents, based upon the $25,400 list price. Heck, that deal is so good I’d probably give the salesman three cents and tell him to keep the change.
Photo Credit: stock photo
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