You might think joining the top 1% richest people in the world means having at least $1 million dollars in savings or assets.
Believe it or not — you don’t need that much.
The amount of wealth you need to be classified as the top wealthiest person varies country by country.
How much net wealth do you need to be in the top 1%?
First, let’s define net wealth. This is the total value of all the assets you own. Such as your property, investments, and money in the back. We must also deduct any liabilities, such as debts, mortgages, credit card loans, and so on.
Now let’s can examine exactly how much wealth is needed to be in the top 1% of people. Check out this study by The Intelligence Lab at Knight Frank, they’re captured exactly how much wealth is needed.
Obviously, looking at that image for too long is going to give you a headache (it did for me). So let me rewrite it into a chart so you can compare the numbers vertically.
The Easy-to-See Chart of How Much Wealth You Need to Be the Top 1%
| Country | Wealth needed to be in top 1% ($US) |
|---|---|
| Monaco | $12.4 million |
| Switzerland | $6.6 million |
| Australia | $5.5 million |
| New Zealand | $5.2 million |
| US | $5.1 million |
| Ireland | $4.3 million |
| Singapore | $3.5 million |
| France | $3.5 million |
| Hong Kong SAR | $3.4 million |
| UK | $3.3 million |
| Italy | $2.6 million |
| Spain | $2.5 million |
| Japan | $1.7 million |
| UAE | $1.6 million |
| Chinese Mainland | $960,000 |
| Czech Republic | $880,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | $740,000 |
| Romania | $597,000 |
| Malaysia | $485,000 |
| Brazil | $333,000 |
| Mexico | $383,000 |
| India | $175,000 |
| Philippines | $57,000 |
| Kenya | $20,000 |
| Planet Mars | $0.01 😂 |
In theory, if you have $100,000 in the bank, all you have to do is move to the Philippines or Kenya to be in their 1% club.
You’d instantly be living like a king — or queen — and enjoy a rich and luxurious lifestyle.
The problem is, the majority of people are working salary jobs that barely pay more than minimum wage. In fact, it would take almost 35+ years to earn $1 million dollars — and that’s not including living costs and other expenses.
So just how much do you need to make to become a top earner in the world?
Top 1% Richest by Yearly Earnings
Here’s how much money you need to be making every year, pretax, to be considered in the top 1% club:
| Rank | Country | Annual pretax income (top 1%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United Arab Emirates | $922,000 |
| 2 | Singapore | $722,000 |
| 3 | United States | $488,000 |
| 4 | Bahrain | $485,000 |
| 5 | Germany | $277,000 |
| 6 | United Kingdom | $248,000 |
| 7 | Australia | $246,000 |
| 8 | France | $221,000 |
| 9 | Canada | $201,000 |
| 10 | South Africa | $188,000 |
| 11 | Brazil | $176,000 |
| 12 | Italy | $169,000 |
| 13 | China | $107,000 |
| 14 | India | $77,000 |
When you compare a minimum wage job that nets about $15,000 USD a year — these numbers seem impossible to achieve.
In fact, there’s a lot of inequality when it comes to people’s wages around the world.
Check this out:
So who are these top earners?
Top 1% Richest People in the World
I bet there will be a few familiar names on this list:
| Rank | Name | Net Worth (in $US) | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bernard Arnault | $231.9 B | France |
| 2 | Elon Musk | $180.3 | United States |
| 3 | Jeff Bezos | $125.0 B | United States |
| 4 | Larry Ellison | $125.0 B | United States |
| 5 | Warren Buffet | $114.8 B | United States |
| 6 | Bill Gates | $113.9 B | United States |
| 7 | Larry Page | $102.9 B | United States |
| 8 | Carlos Slim Helu | $99.7 B | Mexico |
| 9 | Sergey Brin | $97.8 B | United States |
| 10 | Steve Ballmer | $97.7 B | United States |
Can I be honest with you?
These stats on wealth and money and how much is needed to be a top earner is overwhelming and depressing me.
So, I’ll stop here.
Final Thoughts
Not to get all preachy on you, but there’s so much more to life than making money. As much as MyProfitProject.com is all about ways to make money online, you need to find your balance between earning money and enjoying life.
Yes, having money is nice. And having enough money is essential to take care of your daily needs and living expenses. That’s what we all need for an easier and stress-free life, right?
If there’s anything to takeaway here it’s this:
Success is what you want it to be.
So ask yourself this:
What do you actually want to achieve with this one life you’re given?
(Let me know in the comments below!)
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