How the Other Half Percent Live

It was reported in the Wall Street Journal today that the wealth held by millionaires is $28.8 trillion, more than the annual gross domestic products (GDP) of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom combined. For those not up on your economic terminology, if you were to take all the products and services these five countries produced last year, all of it would have been gobbled up by a relative handful of millionaires. It's yet another jaw dropping statistic of how extremely skewed the distribution of wealth has become.
But apparently life isn't so easy when you're super rich. The article reports a great deal on the rough time the rich are having keeping up with the Gates'. If you've got a one hundred foot yacht, you might as well be seen driving a Yugo. For yacht owners to "feel special," as the article puts it, you need at least a two hundred foot yacht.
I'm very glad I came across this article. I now have a good understanding of the immense social pressure the rich feel as they compete for material possessions. I can feel good that our tax breaks will help alleviate the painful psychological burden of mass acquisition they must all experience.

Full story: New Luxury Goods Set Super-Wealthy Apart From PackSource: Wall Street Jounal
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