O to be rich!

To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.

- Muhammad Ali

To be rich is glorious. ‘I want to be rich’ is the desire of most people. Rich connotes power; privilege; fame. In fact, the irony of being rich is such that even the foolish sayings of a rich man passes for wise ones. It is a curious phenomenon, for I have observed that in most cases, the hearts of the poor is rich and those of the rich, poor. I do not know why this is so, but it seems to be so. Perhaps being rich makes people greedier than when one is not rich. Yet, the funny part of it is that the poor man wishes to conceal his poverty and the rich man his wealth: the former fears lest he be despised; the latter, lest he be plundered.

On the other hand, Oscar Wilde has a different view of the rich and the not so rich. He said, ‘unless one is wealthy, there is no use in being a charming fellow. Romance is the privilege of the rich, not the profession of the unemployed. The poor should be practical and prosaic. It is better to have a permanent income than to be fascinating.’

I would have said – ‘fascinatingly poor’. Yes, even the privilege of being fascinating is affordable only by the rich.

What makes a man or woman rich? For me, a man or woman is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone because not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much. In fact, I believe that a rich man without charity is a rogue. Experience demands us to accept that man is the only animal that devours his own kind, for there cannot be, and I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor.

Therefore, be careful to make your sons well instructed rather than rich, for the hopes of the instructed are better than the wealth of the ignorant. I have always been confounded and confused by the fact that I have often found it pitiful that though the income of the rich grows, the rich do not – their brain remains calcified.

In the final analysis, one can be quite certain that, he who is contented with his lot is the truly rich; because being rich is also, like everything else, a state of mind.

Teach

I have been making a list of the things that they don't teach you at school. They don't teach you how to love somebody.

They don't teach you how to be famous. They don't teach you how to be rich or how to be poor. They don't teach you how to walk away from someone you don't love any longer. They don't teach you how to know what's going on in someone else's mind. They don't teach you what to say to someone who's dying.

They don't teach you anything worth knowing. In spite of this, with each passing year the number of billionaires in the world keeps increasing.

But it has not made the world a better place to live in. Instead, the world is in turmoil. I am not saying that the cause of all this are the rich. But, if the rich were large-hearted, more charitable, and less avaricious; at least it could have been said that they have contributed, within their means, to make the world a happier place to live in. Indeed, there are many a rich persons, who believe in benevolence, and are socially responsible; but they are the exception rather than the rule.

Almost everyone has a different definition of being rich. Some people think that earning a lot of money is rich.

Some people think that saving a lot of money is for the rich. Some people think that being able to spend a lot of money, whether on credit or not, is something that only the rich do. Most people think that having a lot of money is rich. Why, even the concept of “a lot of money” is very subjective to each person too. However, I disagree with all of these definitions of being rich.

My personal definition of being rich is: to reach the stage of not having to work for a living.

Earning, saving, spending, or just having a lot of money does not satisfy my personal definition of being wealthy.

Instead, to have sufficient money to say I am not in want, and live to uplift the living conditions of others is what being rich means to me. I, like almost all of my brethren in Sri Lanka, have a long way to go to be rich.

Let us look at the countries where the most number of rich people live.

In doing so, I am applying the yardstick that one needs to be a billionaire in terms of the US dollar to qualify being rich moneywise.

It appears that no longer do the first world countries dominate the scenario. Third world countries are very much in the picture.

According to the Wealth Report, published by Knight Frank and Citi Private Bank, United States of America currently stands in first place for the country with the most billionaires. There are new billionaires as well that come from emerging economies such as India and Russia.

Billionaires

At number one position, with 396 billionaires, is the United States of America. With an approximate population of just over 300 million, the US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world. Although it is in a state of economic slump, it is still the largest importer of goods in the world. The notable high-net-worth individuals of the country are Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft, Warren Buffett, Chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle Corporation, Christy Walton, inheritor of Wal-Mart and many more.

At number two, is China with 72 billionaires. The country has a population of approximately 1.3 billion people, which far exceeds that of the U.S. It is the fastest growing major economy in the world, and the world's largest exporter and second largest importer of goods.

Russia takes the third position with a boastful 58 high-net-worth individuals in the country.

It is geographically the largest country in the world with a population of 142 million. It has the tenth largest economy in the world and is the sixth largest when it comes to purchasing power parity.

India ranks fourth on the list with 47 billionaires in the country. It joins the ranks of the world's fastest growing economies with a population of 1.2 billion. India has the world's ninth largest economy and is the fourth largest when it comes to purchasing power parity. The notable billionaires of the country are Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries, Kumar Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Lakshmi Mittal, Chairman and CEO of ArcelorMittal, and Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro.

Economy

Germany takes fifth place with 43 billionaires. Germany has the world's fourth largest economy and it is the fifth largest when it comes to purchasing power parity.

The country is known to have a high standard of living and it makes for the second largest exporter and third largest importer of goods.

The UK takes sixth position with 42 billionaires; just one billionaire short of Germany. United Kingdom is the sixth largest economy in the world and the seventh largest in terms of purchasing power parity.

The notable billionaires of the country are Bernard Ecclestone, CEO of Formula 1, Richard Branson, Chairman of the Virgin Group and Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, owner of property company Grosvenor Group.

Though Hong Kong is a part of China, it has a free market economy and is highly dependent on international trade and finance. It is on the seventh position, and is home to 29 high-net-worth individuals and has a population of 7 million.

Switzerland is considered to be the third most innovative nation, and has one of the highest GDPs in the world. The country takes position eight with 27 billionaires.

Japan takes ninth position with 23 billionaires. The country has a population of approximately 130 million. This country is technologically advanced, and ranks second on the list of most technologically powerful economies in the world.

Japan is the third largest economy in the world after the US and China in terms of purchasing power parity.

Canada takes tenth position on the list.

The country has 22 billionaires and it has a population of 33,739,900. The country is one of the world's wealthiest as well as one of the world's top trading nations.

Canada has a mixed economy and it plays a big role in foreign exports.

See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking; keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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