Where Did Society Go Wrong, the meme thread

Skinny, too! Way too skinny!

Interesting, but I think it drastically underestimates how much money is required to wield real influence, how expensive some places are, and how much some luxury really costs. ;D

It is a meme after all.

I live in a fair amount of luxury, and I don’t have a level 9 stash. Luxury carries with it a certain amount of subjectivity.

Sure, but "all luxury’ is much less subjective, even without going too crazy. Someone at level 9 on that chart with $15M with thinking that all luxury’ is easily accesible is gonna be back at level 5 in no time. :wink:

It depends, which is my point. Your idea of all luxury and mine are different. While I don’t have EVERY conceivable luxury, I can’t think of anything I need or desire that I don’t already have.

Perhaps the confusion comes from the meme. It is, as I’ve said, a meme after all. Best not to take it too seriously.

Yeah, I don’t disagree with the chart, but where it’s saying I should be 6, 7, or even 8, depending how things are being measured, I certainly feel more like level 3 or 4! :rofl:

How are you maybe a 6, 7, or 8 based on liquid net worth in that chart? I can see spanning 2 at the boundaries, but 3? :laughing: :laughing:

I definitely “feel” like a 4 based on the description, vs the description (both economic reality and power) attributed to my liquid net. :smiley:

I’m guessing he’s not simply looking at the money part.

Liquidity isn’t always easily defined.

Cold hard cash is liquid, but nobody keeps more than a few months or a year of expenses in cash as it’s literally a losing position over time unless you’re holding it as a war-chest for an expected opportunity, and anything else is a variable depending on the timeframe.

E.g. a 6mo CD is generally considered liquid, while real-estate or tangible goods is not, but how about real-estate that’s being flipped, or goods I am exporting and will see turned in 30 days? How do you value crypto - at buy price, or net present value? How about if it’s being used as defi collateral for 90 days?

Etc :person_shrugging:

And not everyone buys a RR when a Subaru will do.

A regular CD is considered liquid because you can liquidate it whenever you want (being subject to penalties doesn’t change that - this is why 401ks and IRAs are actually liquid despite many not considering them as such). Real estate is not, regardless of whether its meant for flipping, because it’s it’s not up to you whether you’ll find a seller quickly and how quickly they can close, almost regardless of how much of a hit one is willing to take. Crypto is liquid at today’s prices, but not (by definition) if you have it locked up.

Right, but if one applies that guideline to the chart then majority of even the richest folks will be in the 3/4/5 zone. I mean sure, some 0.01% with hundreds of family staff and dozens of multi-$M residences will have more liquidity (by this narrow definition) just for day-to-day expenses - making the flipside of the question whether funds which are allocated to near-term use really liquid?

In short, liquidity is really not the measure here, HNW individuals (and/or family offices) simply don’t handle money this way. Even the real-estate definition is fungible, plenty of folks put extraneous cash into real-estate and then borrow against it for other purposes.

I realize the chart is meant to be a simple tool that anyone at any level of worth can grasp, but it really starts to break down in the middle, (which I suppose is a message in itself?) :sweat_smile:

Yea, no way. :wink: you don’t think the “majority of even the richest folks” have more than $750k in super liquid equities? C’mon now!

And some practically have zone 3 cash in walk around money, nevermind much, much more in cash accounts.

Or much, much, more, but the vast majority maintain a low profile and have a family office managing their money responsibly.

But that does kind of prove my point, the more money one has the broader the range of options, (and eccentricity, lol), and the more susceptible the chart becomes to survivor bias! :joy:

Overstating it a bit, but there’s more than a kernel of truth.

David Foster Wallace Tried to Warn Us About these Eight Things

Hate is relative.

I hate all the hate. Even the stuff I hate, I hate hating it.