Question for the wealthiest 10%... how?

Linton

racing_blue wrote: »

Thanks for that insight DS.

I don't know much about the economics of farming, but why would a farmer need to live in poverty if they had net assets of >£1m? Couldn't they borrow against the assets to help cashflow?

If you havent got the long term income or a good hope of it then you cant borrow. Lenders dont want the farm, they want the steady cash stream.

Wyndham

We live in a 'have it now and pay later' society, and we're seeing that come back to bite people. I'm doing OK financially, and my philosophy has always been around only spending money you have (with the exception of a mortgage) not borrowing, not therefore paying interest, and using my money, which I have earned, on what I want so use it on, not on paying fees and interest to a bank.

The loans board on here is interesting for different attitudes to this basic question, and I'm not judging, just saying it wouldn't suit me. I've never taken out a loan, never let my current account balance go below 0, and over the years, I've reaped the rewards of that.

grey_gym_sock

racing_blue wrote: »

The fact that pension wealth makes up nearly 60% of the pie at the 95th centile makes me think that high earners can get into the top 10% too?

i'd guess that at that level - just in the richest 5% - most ppl derived their wealth from high earnings.

when you get to the richest 0.1%, it's unrealistic to get there with earnings. it's usually either inheritance or owning businesses.

gadgetmind

Our private pension pots are currently 50% of our non-property assets, which feels about right.

I'm guessing that 60% is pretty much all down to public sector final salary pensions. If a couple each have a £25k pa index linked pension, then they are effectively pension millionaires.

Glen_Clark

StevieJ wrote: »

I should imagine people like Bill Gates, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar could have something to say about that as opposed to those of the old order who have to show 'common tourists' around their properties to make ends meet

Oh dear, I seem to have ruffled a few feathers.
My intention was to simply answer the question about how most of the wealth in Britain was obtained, which lets Bill Gates out.
If Richard Branson's Barrister Father hadn't re-mortgaged the family home to bail Richard Branson out of Dover prison and pay his fines , he might not have done so well?
Alan Sugar, yes - he seems to have done it all on his own.
Not saying all wealth is inherited. Just most of it.

gadgetmind

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Not saying all wealth is inherited. Just most of it.

Again, I'd love to see some figures on this.

To date, I have inherited £350 (in 1984) and don't expect much else. I know a fair few wealthy people, but they are also from common stock and have done it all via hard graft. Of course, this could just be the circles in which I move!

So, I'm not saying you're wrong, just wanting to know of what evidence your statements are based.

Glen_Clark

gadgetmind wrote: »

1) Reference please.

Richest people in Britain - look where their wealth came from

gadgetmind wrote: »

!!!!!! shouldn't people pass money onto future generations rather than having HMG confiscate it to fund their latest vote-winning projects?

Who said they shouldn't?

gadgetmind wrote: »

I'd rather donate my money to a charity than give it to HMRC to fritter away.

Depending on the 'Charity' so would I

gadgetmind wrote: »

In fact, I'd rather make a big heap of cash and burn it!

Same thing isn't it?
(Burning pound notes would be like burning a cheque someone had given you. You would effectively be giving them the money.)

kidmugsy

racing_blue wrote: »

I was reading the Office for National Statistics report about household wealth in England and Wales.

The median value for household total wealth (which includes pensions) was £232,000

I wonder why they used "household" rather than personal? presumably because it makes it easier to get exciting headlines about £1 million.

What will they have omitted? The value of State Pensions, I'd guess. The value of our rights to use the NHS, and to send our children to State Schools, almost certainly. And a whole bunch of other things that ought really to be counted as part of your wealth. (If you don't think they're wealth, you'd have trouble explaining the howls of complaint the moment someone suggests withdrawing them. Hands off my bus pass! Hands off my free prescriptions!)

Glen_Clark

gadgetmind wrote: »

I know a fair few wealthy people, but they are also from common stock and have done it all via hard graft.

I used to work for someone like that, had a lot of respect for him, and enjoyed working for him.
Then he died, left it all to his son who was like a spoiled child. There is nothing more demotivating than working for an arrogant little !!!!! who knows less about the job than you do. Fortunately it was easy to get another job in those days, so I did.

But I was thinking about the wealthiest people.
1) The Queen. - Ancestor stole it in the 14th Century http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/9373273/Rightful-king-of-England-dies-in-Australia.html
2) Duke of Westminster - Again you have to go back to the 14th Century. His Ancestor married a 14 year old girl (would have been locked up as a pedophile now, but things were different then) and she came with a dowry including Mayfair - which was not much more than a swamp in those days, but handed down over the generations and worth somewhat more now!

The ones who have made it all themselves tend to shout about it more than the majority who have inherited it.

Again, not intending to get political, just answering the question about where most of the wealth has come from.

gadgetmind

Glen_Clark wrote: »

Richest people in Britain - look where their wealth came from

I think that's a different thing.

You said that most wealth was inherited and didn't restrict that to any specified part of the population. I suspect that most wealth is earned but don't have the facts to back that up so am prepared to accept that I might be wrong.

A lot of people inherit a fair few bob, and maybe some a few million, but I'd be interested to see how many HNWIs have hauled themselves up with their bootstraps versus being handed it on a plate.

As I say, most times I meet up with a few folk with a few bob, it ends up being like ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Yorkshiremen_sketch

and even though we're painfully aware that we're falling into that rut (or completely oblivious if we've supped enough!) it still seems to run the course.