Why don't rich people realize they're rich?

For starters, the costs of their lifestyles are often so high that they don't have much cash on hand

Feeling cash poor.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Gary Waters/Ikon Images/Corbis)

How can people earning $250,000 a year think of themselves as middle class? Half of all American households make $53,657 a year or less. Those that make $157,479 or more are in the top 10 percent, and those making $206,568 or more are in the top 5 percent.

Yet people making $50,000 to $100,000 say they'd need to make $260,000 to feel rich. People making over $100,000 say it's half a million. Only 28 percent of investors with $1 million to $5 million in assets consider themselves "wealthy." People in the top 10 percent, top 5 percent, or higher regularly say they're stressed about money. Major Democrats, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, define "middle class" as anyone making $250,000, complete with a promise to not raise taxes on anyone below that threshold.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.