It’s no secret we live in a world fascinated by the mythical 1%, the richest of the rich.
But while many imagine that to earn your way into this exclusive club you must have a fleet of superyachts, it turns out the label changes depending on where you earn your keep.
According to Bloomberg, you’d need to bank the combined incomes of eleven ‘1 percenters’ in India, a developing market, to equal just one in the United Arab Emirates.
Below is a list of annual pretax income you need to be among the top 1% of earners in various countries. All figures are in US dollars from 2017.
- India: $81,000
- China: $105,000
- Canada: $190,000
- France: $215,000
- United Kingdom: $290,000
- United States: $478,000
- Singapore: $694,000
- United Arab Emirates: $891,000
On home turf, if you want to access the 1% group in Australia, you’d need to be banking US$239,000. The report also takes into account the dollar difference in housing, education, and childcare costs globally, which again proves 1% isn’t one for all and all for one.
For instance, the property entry point for a 1 percenter in Monaco is around US$26 million, while in Sydney that figure drops to (just) AU$5.8 million (US$4.2 million).
Basically, the gap between the haves and the have-a-helluva-lots is getting bigger.
The bottom line – if you’re sick of slumming it with the rest of the 99%, your best bet is to move to India.