Rich People

The Other Half

By

Ed. note: This post is by Will Meyerhofer, a former Sullivan & Cromwell attorney turned psychotherapist. He holds degrees from Harvard, NYU Law, and The Hunter College School of Social Work, and he blogs at The People’s Therapist. His new book, Way Worse Than Being A Dentist, is available on Amazon, as is his previous book, Life is a Brief Opportunity for Joy (affiliate links).

As The People’s Therapist, my door is always open. I don’t turn away poor clients.

“Pay whatever you can afford,” I tell them.

Naturally, they get what they pay for. If I’m a little sleepy, or staring at the clock – who are they to complain? Come to think of it, why do we have to talk about them all the time anyway….

Just kidding.

But let’s be real — are things any different with the the high-fidelity first-class traveling set than they are with folks flying “comfort class”? I ask myself that question a lot. I do it to stay honest….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “The Other Half”

29 Comments

Super-Rich Law School Graduates: Lawyers on the Forbes 400

By

Some J.D. holders are swimming in money.

For some holders of the Juris Doctor degree, “J.D.” has depressing meanings: Just Debt, Job Disabled, Justifiably Depressed.

But for others, “J.D.” stands for something happier: Just Dollars. Lots and lots and lots of them.

Partners at large law firms do quite well for themselves. So do general counsel at major corporations.

But they are pikers compared to members of the Forbes 400, the annual list of the 400 richest Americans prepared by Forbes magazine. The 2011 list has been issued — and it contains a number of lawyers and law school graduates….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Super-Rich Law School Graduates: Lawyers on the Forbes 400″

46 Comments

How Much Money Do You Need To Feel Rich? Let’s Start With $7.5 Million.

By

And now is the time on Above the Law where Elie gets to say “I told you so.”

About five months ago, I mentioned on this site that making $250,000 a year does not make you rich. People got angry with me for saying that. In the comments and around the internet. Apparently stating an obvious fact in a society that is dealing with a widening gulf between the haves and have-nots is controversial.

But at least I confined my financial musings to people in the six-figure range. A new report from Fidelity Investments says that people who are sitting on seven figures of wealth don’t feel rich until they have about $7.5 million.

[Throat-clearing noise.]

I TOLD YOU SO….

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “How Much Money Do You Need To Feel Rich? Let’s Start With $7.5 Million.”

94 Comments

Estate Tax Compromise Could Save Thousands of Lives (of Millionaires)

By

Late last night, Congress passed a compromise tax bill that will, among other things, cap the estate tax at 35% (with a $5 million exemption). If not for this compromise, the estate tax would have returned in 2011, at rates as high as 55 percent (with a $1 million exemption).

Hallelujah. Anytime you can save wealthy dead people millions of dollars during a time of crushing federal deficits, that’s something you just have to do. Way to go, Obama. When I voted for you in 2008, really I was just trying to vote for four more years of Bush’s ruinous fiscal policies.

Obama isn’t just saving money for all the dauphins eager to get their hands on their inheritances; he could be saving lives. Duke Law professor Richard Schmalbeck apparently thinks that rich old people might have killed themselves in droves over the next two weeks. Schmalbeck suggests that after spending a lifetime working hard and earning money, hundreds “or even a few thousand” of the aging rich might have committed suicide in the waning days of 2010, in order to pass on as much of their money to their children as they can before the estate tax returns in 2011.

I shudder to think that somebody would commodify their own life in such a way. But then again, I’m not rich. Maybe you only get rich in this country by being the kind of person who would gladly kill yourself if the price is right…

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Estate Tax Compromise Could Save Thousands of Lives (of Millionaires)”

230 Comments

Opulence: New York City Has It.
(And what about other cities?)

By

If you’re going to generate million-dollar fees, you’re going to need million-dollar clients. And in New York, the self-proclaimed center of the universe, America’s millionaires come to live and mingle. So says the Metro Wealth Index, which has completed its annual report on high-net worth individuals:

New York City continued to top the Index and had more [high-net worth individuals] than the next top three [metropolitan statistical areas] – Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. – combined.

The power might have shifted to Washington, the glitz might be in L.A., and the coronary disorders might be in Chicago — but New York still has the money. Lots of it.

And with money comes jobs and clients. Right?

What other cities around the country are faring well in terms of the millionaire count?

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Opulence: New York City Has It.
(And what about other cities?)“

47 Comments
Page 2 of 212