Why you’re richer than you think: measuring worldwide wealth

You may not feel super-wealthy as you struggle to pay the bills, but there’s a bunch of numbers that paint an interesting picture of the wealth of Australians.

I’m rich. Really rich. So rich that millions of people want to be like me. And so rich that they’re falling over themselves to be near me.

Now before you think I’m a boastful bighead for saying that, consider this.

You are really rich too. Every Australian is rich, but many of us don’t realise it amid the daily grind of life.

In many ways Aussies are among the world’s richest people. We just need to look beyond our own backyards.

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Being rich is not always about money. Things such as healthcare, education and infrastructure also matter. These factors and others are measured in a global liveability index produced by The Economist Intelligence Unit.

In 2018 Australia was home to three of the world’s 10th most liveable cities, according to the index. That, as Darth Vader would say, is impressive.

Australians are much wealthier than they think they are.

Melbourne was number two, Sydney number five and Adelaide number 10. The list was headed by Vienna and also included Tokyo, Osaka and three Canadian cities. Perth is near the top 10 and other Aussie cities aren’t far behind.

Living in a place that’s better than most of the rest of the world is surely a sign of being rich. It’s why we have immigrants lining up to move to Australia.

If you want to measure your wealth traditionally, by money, the numbers also stack up.

Australians’ average household wealth of $415,000 makes each person richer than 95 per cent of the world’s population, according to Globalrichlist.com.

If you’re nearing retirement, own an average home and have an average superannuation balances, you’re probably among the richest 2 per cent of people on the planet.

Measuring our wealth by income is another way to check how rich we are. Australian workers’ average weekly full-time earnings of just under $1600 puts us in the top 0.3 per cent of income earners in the world.

Even our welfare payments are high globally. A single pensioner gets paid $23,824 a year, ranking them in the top 7.3 per cent of global income earners. An unemployed person receiving the Newstart Allowance of $14,305 a year still gets paid more than 83 per cent of the rest of the world.

However, remember than incomes are often relative to expenses, and a dollar earned in Australia will buy you much more in developing countries than it does here.

And there are still pockets of poverty throughout Australia. Many battlers struggle to pay energy bills and faced a dilemma during last week’s heatwave. Avoiding turning on airconditioners because electricity is so expensive is not a sign of being rich, no matter what the numbers say.

Overall, Australians are already winners in the lottery of life. The world’s richest investor, Warren Buffett, has attributed much of his success to being born in the right place (the US) at the right time (1930).

We’re winners in the wealth stakes, whether it’s measured financially or by other means.

Crying poor is easy to do, and many of us do this regularly, but perhaps we should stop and think just how rich we really are.

@keanemoney

Originally published as Why you’re richer than you think: measuring worldwide wealth