At what point are you really rich – and how do you get to this point? Wealth researcher Wolfgang Lauterbach knows what to do and thinks that personal characteristics play a major role.
Even the sociologist and wealth researcher Wolfgang Lauterbach does not know a simple answer to the question "How do you get rich?" Even winning the lottery is no guarantee that you will stay rich and happy. However, Lauterbach knows what is important if you want to get rich – and what things stand in the way of people on their way to financial independence.
Rich or poor: "Anyone who has less than 1,450 euros a month lives in poverty in Germany."
Every four years, the Federal Government prepares a wealth/poverty report that defines which households in Germany are considered poor, rich or middle class. Measured by the median income, the median net income is therefore about 2,900 euros. Those who earn less than half (1,450 euros) live in poverty, those who have just over half at their disposal live on the poverty line.
According to Lauterbach, the people who have twice as much at their disposal as the middle class, i.e. about 5,800 euros (net), are not rich, but wealthy. In an interview with Die Zeit, he says: "Doctors or a couple of teachers, for example, are wealthy if both are civil servants. These people have more than you need for a median standard of living, but they are not rich."
Rich is the one with three times the average income
According to Wolfgang Lauterbach, a person is rich "when you can freely shape your everyday life and devote yourself to the things you want to deal with." The wealth researcher also explains to Die Zeit that one can roughly say "that someone is rich if he earns three times the average income. But there is no upper limit."
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It makes more sense to concentrate on private assets in general. Those who can make a living from it and do not have to work can certainly be called rich. Even if you inherit money and invest it in such a way that you have about 2,000 euros a month at your disposal, you can live on it without worries – "just not like a super-rich person."
Not having to work anymore is a luxury
For Lauterbach himself, it is a luxury when someone no longer needs to work. But that's not something for everyone, says the wealth researcher: "Many people get sick when they can no longer work because they lack meaning in life." According to the current Forbes list, there are about 2.7 million millionaires and 107 billionaires living in Germany. Lauterbach: "Most of the rich people we interviewed for our research are employed. After all, work is very meaningful for many people. [...] That's why most rich people work. Even if they don't have to."
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Enjoying life, spending time with loved ones, laughing – "being rich" is sometimes more than just the presence of money. (Symbolic image) © Joseffson/Imago
How do you get rich? One possibility: heritage
There are a few ways to get rich. For example, there is marriage or becoming an heir. However, Lauterbach noticed in his research project that "50.99 percent of those who have become rich in Germany through their own careers and have assets of more than 5 million euros are entrepreneurs."
When it comes to inheritance, the parental home has a say in whether wealth is possible – or not. Lauterbach: "The majority of people's wealth today was earned and inherited in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Some of these are people who started with horse-drawn carriages after the war and later built up large freight forwarders. And their children and grandchildren still benefit from it today and are usually rich without having to do anything for it."
How do you get rich? Another possibility: with a willingness to take risks
If you want to get rich, it's worth taking risks, says Wolfgang Lauterbach. At least, in his eyes, many rich people have a high willingness to take risks. Even those who are convinced of themselves and extroverted and who can assert themselves (and also say no) have a higher chance of building up a large fortune: "Shy people are much less likely to get rich. Just like people who doubt themselves and the world." Millionaires themselves advise to break with social rules from time to time.
