I Ranked Every Wealth Level (And Where You Probably Land)

$2. 15. That's the difference between surviving and not surviving on planet Earth. At the same time, there's someone out there worth over $200 billion. We all live on the same planet and play by the same rules, but our experiences are completely different. In this video, I'm going to explain every wealth level going up this ladder from extreme poverty to billionaire status. I'll show you what each level looks like, what sets them apart, and most importantly, where you fit in. Let's get into it. Okay, let's start at the bottom because most people in the United States have never experienced this and don't really know what it means. Extreme poverty means living on less than $2. 15 a day. That's not what's left after bills. It's your total for everything. Food, water, shelter, medicine. For comparison, a coffee at Starbucks can cost five or $6. So, it's a completely different reality that these people are living in. People in extreme poverty aren't just low on cash. They don't have access to things we take for granted like clean water or even a fridge or even a doctor. At that level, these aren't just luxuries. They're almost like myths. Okay? They're like these mythological things. So, what makes it even harder is that you can't just work your way out of it. If you're malnourished, you can't think clearly. If you're sick, you can't work. If you can't work, you stay poor. It's like being stuck in a well with no way out.

So, move up one rung and you reach what most people think of as poverty. This is just regular poverty. You're above the extreme line, but you're still uh making tough choices every day. Uh here, I know it's kind of small, but I have dinner or electricity. So, these extreme choices that most Americans never have to face, it's not like should I get the premium streaming service or the basic one? It's more like again, do I pay for dinner tonight or keep the lights on? So, there's also something called relative poverty. You might have enough for the basics, but you can't join in with normal social life because your income is much lower than everyone else's. You can go to school, eat, pay your bills, but you can't afford a smartphone. So, while all your friends are sharing memes, you're playing Snake on an old Nokia. Hey, that's how I grew up, and I like that old Nokia. So, you can also use it as a self-defense weapon. Who remembers the old Nokia? Comment down below. So, that's what we call relative poverty. You're surviving, but you're not really living. Here's where most of America lives. Okay? Most

Americans don't even realize that the lower middle class. So, this band right here is lower middle class and middle class. And then I'll get to all these uh things down here. So, the lower middle class sits comfortably above the poverty line. You have a job, a stable one. Maybe you're administration, a trade, or teaching. Uh, you're bringing home enough to cover the basics, housing, utilities, food, and you're not panicking every time your phone buzzes with a notification, thinking it's like collections or something, but you're not splurging either. You've got a reliable Toyota, not because you don't want something nicer, but because you watch my how much car can you afford video and know you made the right choice. You're welcome. I accept Longhorn gift cards as payment, please. So, the lower middle class is actually pretty good at optimization. You save for emergencies when you can. You might have a college fund started. Maybe you're not buying a new iPhone every year, but you're waiting for the deal or the handme-down. Think of it as financial minmaxing, if you will. So, you're squeezing the most out of every dollar because you have to. Then you step into middle class, which is basically the Goldilock zone of American finance. Not too much, not too little, just enough to feel okay. So middle class in America generally means you're earning enough to cover your needs with a little room for wants. Uh what are those wants? Vacations. Uh you can upgrade your phone every couple of years uh without a guilt spiral. Uh your job is stable. Uh these are your teachers, nurses, office workers, and you're basically not laying awake at night, you know, terrified about tomorrow's bills. Okay? It's kind of like that freedom gap that we talked about in my other videos. But here's what middle class actually means in practice. you're one bad event away from tightening up significantly. A job loss, a medical emergency, a major car repair. Uh these things definitely sting and they hurt. So, you're not in survival mode. You know, maybe like the lower middle class. Um but you also don't have a margin of error that lets you take big risks either. So, there's no funding a wild business venture. Uh there's no early retirement on the horizon. You're comfortable. And that comfort is both the reward and the trap which I talked about in these videos here. Ho ho. This is where things start to shift. And the shift is more mental than financial. We have upper middle class and affluent, affluent, however you want to pronounce it, whatever. So upper middle

class means you've crossed into genuinely comfortable territory. You're a senior manager, a specialized professional, uh maybe a successful small business owner. Uh, your Yeah, right, dude. My income off this channel is like it's like a roller coaster, dude. Shout out to Cedar Point. So, your salary is well above average and you can feel the difference. Nice neighborhood, uh, good schools for the kids, real vacations, not just driving four hours to stay at your cousin's place. Uh, you might have a premium gym membership or play golf at a club that requires an actual membership fee. But you're not in first class, you peasant. You're just in business class. uh you've got leg room and a warm towel and that's about it. But you're not getting the free flowing champagne. And this distinction does matter. Okay, it matters because upper middle class people, they often feel wealthy compared to their peers but still feel the ceiling above them. Okay, you're scratching the surface of financial freedom without quite reaching it. Ask me how I know. No, I'm just kidding. A lot of the time these people are called Henry's. Okay, high earners, not rich yet. Then you get to affluent, okay, affluent, however you want to pronounce it. And this is where things actually feel different. Picture a sunlit room, comfortable furniture, fine art on the walls, maybe even a grand piano in the corner. Affluent isn't just about income. It's about financial security. You can meet all of your needs. You can afford genuine luxuries, and you have enough cushion that a rough quarter doesn't change your life. You might have an investment property, a financial advisor. You're dining out weekly at places where the staff knows your name and might even know your order before you say it. This happens to me at Longhorn because I'm a baller like that, baby. Outlaw ribeye. But hey, I don't get the outlaw ribeye anymore. Your boy's trying to get a six-pack. That's why your boy gets the lemon chicken, the grilled lemon chicken. Check it out, guys. You don't want to be fat when you go to Longhorn. Check out lemon chicken and then get a little bit of broccoli on the side and you're good, dog. So, but here's what actually defines affluent choices. You're not making decisions based purely on necessity anymore. You're asking yourself what you want, not just what you can afford. That shift in thinking is massive. Most people never experience it. And it's not just about dollars in the bank. It's about having built enough of a foundation that your money is doing some of the work for you. You're drinking the finest bottle of wine, but you still have one eye open on the next grocery store and the aisle over, you know, that has the sale. Okay, so that's the honest version of the affluent, affluent, whatever. The next section is where things start to get relatable to some of my viewers. And this is why the sponsor of today's video is even more important here. Today's sponsor is Policy Genius. I have two daughters and the older they get, the more I think about what happens to them if something happens to me. That's not a fun thought, but it's a responsible one. Life insurance is one of those things that's easy to put off until it suddenly isn't. The problem most people run into is that they don't know where to start. That's where Policy Genius comes in. It's a marketplace that lets you compare quotes from America's top insurers in just a few clicks. There aren't any salespeople hounding you. There's no confusing jargon, just your options laid out clearly, coverage amounts, prices, and terms so that you can make an informed decision. And if you have questions, their team of licensed agents will walk you through the process step by step, answering questions, handling paperwork, and helping you with every step of the way. With Policy Genius, you can see if you can find 20-year life insurance policies starting at just $276 a year for $1 million in coverage. They have thousands of five-star reviews on Google and Trustpilot from real people who found the right fit. Protect the life you've built. Head to policygenius. com/whiteboard finance or click on the link in the description to compare free life insurance quotes from top companies and see how much you could save. That's

policygenius. com/whiteboard finance. Let's talk about upper aluent first because this is the category most high earners are actually in and they don't always realize how close they are to the next level. This is your multi-millionaires. So upper affluent means your income is significantly above average and your lifestyle reflects it. We're talking about upscale vacations, high performance cars, and possibly a second or third property. You have a financial adviser managing your portfolio because at this point you can afford to hire someone to do the math for you. And the last part is actually the key insight. You've moved from doing everything yourself out of necessity to delegating strategically. You're playing chess, not checkers. Your social circle has shifted, too. Conversations that used to be about which streaming service to cut are now about investment strategies, portfolio allocations, and maybe even philanthropy. The real marker of upper affluent is this. You're making decisions based on passion and interest rather than pure necessity. That's a privilege that most people will never unlock or know. Then you hit the millionaire/multi-millionaire milestone. A million dollars in net worth doesn't mean you have a million dollars in cash sitting in a checking account. Net worth is assets minus liabilities. Your house, your brokerage, your retirement accounts, your business equity if you own one. All of it added together minus what you owe again is your net worth. So, for a lot of people, that million is tied up in paid off homes, uh, a 401k, uh, you're not flying private, you're not really buying, you know, yachts, but you're living comfortably, uh, with genuine, you know, financial security. Okay? And that's not nothing. That's actually ahead of most people. So, according to the Federal Reserve's data, uh, this is survey of consumer finances, just under 9% of American households have a net worth above $1 million. That's roughly one in 11 or 10 families. So if you're at that level, you've cleared a bar that most people never will. Yes, that's that data, that consumer study was from 2022. So I'm sure I'm probably I'm sure it's probably one out of eight, one out of nine now. Uh but again, that's still, you know, a very small minority. So don't let the movies convince you. It should feel like Scarface. You know, it usually feels just like a nice Tuesday where you have options to go out and not have to look at what things on the menu cost, if that makes sense. So again, this is a piggy bank. I know. I know it doesn't really look like one. Uh but you have your brokerage accounts, your home equity, your retirement accounts, you have your business equity or business cash flow. And this is basically what makes up that noncash net worth, if that makes sense. Okay, here's where the numbers stop making intuitive sense that our lizard brains can't even comprehend.

And you just have to accept that this is an entirely different world. Okay, multi-millionaire. So what we have here is multi-millionaire and billionaire. Multi-millionaire means your net worth has multiple commas in it. You go from millionaire to multi-millionaire. So, you're the same person, but you have much more power and huge purchasing power. Huge PP, incredibly large PP. But let's be honest, most people never get there. We're talking eight figures, nine figures, anywhere from basically a few million up to hundreds of millions. Actually, not a few million. For me, this probably starting here. this deca millionaire uh status. So, and the thing that separates multi-millionaires from regular millionaires isn't just the number of zeros, it's the quality of the floor beneath you. A regular millionaire can still feel financial pressure. A multi multi-millionaire generally cannot. At this level, your wealth is diversified across luxury real estate, stock portfolios, art, business ownership, equity stakes, things like that. And the decisions you make are driven almost entirely by preference, not necessity. Want to buy a car just because someone dared you to? Sure. That's a real thing that happens at this level. Okay. And here's something funny at this level. Your net worth is mostly in assets and not in cash. Someone could rob you on the street and not get anything because everything you own is in a brokerage account or a property or a business or on paper. Okay. Then we have the billionaire. Okay. That's billion with a B. That's a thousand

millions. So, I'm not even going to pretend that this is relatable because it isn't. A billion dollars is 1,000 millions. If you spent $1,000 a day, every single day, way more than most people actually spend, it would take you $2,740 years to spend $1 billion. The Roman Empire rose and fell in less time. Okay. There's a version of this conversation in which you point out that, you know, one billionaire could feed an entire continent, you know, yada yada, but I'm not going to get into those talking points because it's stupid. Yeah, the billionaires usually created jobs and added value. Oh, there shouldn't kill all the billionaire. Okay, relax. That's a different video. Probably not even. Okay, it's not worth it. Billionaires don't just have money. They have economic leverage. They fund technologies, influence policy, and move markets. They buy newspapers. Okay? Uh they buy Twitter. So that iPhone in your pocket exists partly because of billionaire capital flowing into early stage tech companies. So I think this is pretty interesting. This is a fair timeline. Um you know with COVID and inflation everything anyone can relate to a million dollars. Okay not everyone. Sorry I don't want to sound oh everyone's got a million in the bank. We know that this is 9% at least according to the 2022 data. I couldn't find anything more recent. Um, it's probably a little bit higher now after inflation, but like 10 million and up, your lifestyle is going to be the same from this point on to the billionaire. What do I mean by that? As if you have if you're healthy and you have time, okay, and your family loves you, you don't need anything more than this in my opinion. Okay, but again, I'm just a peasant in my own mind. I mean, yes, you can get nicer stuff, nicer travel, things like that, but once you have like eight figures, dude, all of this stuff is irrelevant as long as, again, you have time and health and a family that loves you. Okay, now the honest thoughts

at the end of the video, as always, like you're getting a beer with your boy, but your boy doesn't drink beer cuz he's trying to get a six-pack for the summer. Okay, for all the soccer moms, I'm just kidding. Happily married, you guys get it. It's just a joke. Relax. So most of you watching this are somewhere between the lower middle class and the upper affluent. That is not an insult. That's actually a compliment because that range represents people who are working, earning, saving, and trying to build something real. It's basically everybody that's been watching this channel since 2017 cuz you're a real OG. Real triple OG. And if you just learned about my channel, where were you, bro? Where were you? It's the best finance channel on YouTube. Uh, no, I'm just kidding. But please uh share my video. Uh click like and subscribe if you're new here. I really appreciate it. These videos take a lot of time and effort to make. So here's what I've noticed after years of making content about this. The gap between the middle class and the genuinely affluent is almost never about income alone. It's about what you do with the income. I've seen people making $200,000 a year living paycheck to paycheck. I've seen teachers retire with $2 million in the bank because they invested consistently for 30 years and never inflated their lifestyle. The ladder that we talked about in the first slide in the intro here is real. The rungs of that ladder are real. But what moves you up isn't luck. It's the gap between what you earn and what you spend multiplied by time and investing wisely. Okay? I live in Northeast Ohio. My parents are immigrants, dude. Okay? They didn't speak English when they got here. Okay, we've just somehow managed to, you know, work hard, show up consistently. My dad's super smart, my mom's a really hard worker. Thank God. I grew up in a normal middle class um suburb. But here's the thing, times are getting tougher with inflation, and I understand. School is more expensive, college is more expensive, licenses are more expensive. I understand that. Sometimes I like to joke around on this channel about, you know, um, you know, America. Sometimes our society, our culture, it's very me me, very, you know, self-centered as opposed to being more uh loved thy neighbor kind of a society. But here's the thing, in this country, it's still the best country in the world of becoming whatever you want to be. And I know I have viewers across the pond and, you know, down in South America, Latin America, but I'm telling you guys, every country has its strengths and weaknesses, okay? And in this country, you can still be whatever you want to be, okay? except an NBA player. Well, actually, no. Um, white people are dominating the NBA now, so take that, bro. Uh, but anyway, Whiteboard Finance University, guys, if you want to learn more, take it deeper, I have a private community, okay? Uh, we have live streams every Thursday at 5:00 p. p. m. Eastern Standard Time. I show you all my trades. Look at these trades for April so far. Are you nuts? Are you kidding me? I'm giving this stuff away. It's crazy. And with that being said, since I'm underelling myself significantly, uh, by the time this video comes out, it may be $10 a month, it may be $20 a month, and that shouldn't matter, okay? Because this is building your financial foundation. It's the best value on the internet, period, for financial education. Uh, I put in a ton of work. There's courses, there's uh, live chats, there's everything in there, okay? It's all you need. So, anyway, with this being said, it may be 10, it may be 20, it doesn't matter. Most of you spend $20 a day on fast food. Okay? Do the reverse curl of the burger away from your mouth, please. And sign up for Whiteboard Finance University, and you'll look better and have a 100 years of prosperity by doing so. All right, guys. Thank you so much. Please share the video. Please like and subscribe if you haven't already. And as always, have a prosperous day. Oh my god. $10 a month, $20 a month. I pay for my HBO Max and then I like to go to Culver's and I get the extra cheese curds and then I'm 800,000 lb. But 20 bucks a month to change my family tree. Oh my god, I can't do it.