‘I’m not loaded, I’m just ordinary,’ protested a wealthy friend of mine, when another chum teased him about his money. ‘Oh yes,’ his tormentor responded wryly, ‘you’re one of those ordinary millionaires, not one of the rich ones.’
It made me smile, and it also made me think. Many of us, like my well-cushioned chum, have a skewed notion of how well off we really are.
Most of us probably think we are normal, typical, ordinary, average – but often have little idea what average actually is.
When we see headlines about FTSE 100 chief executives earning millions, it makes those of us languishing well below that bracket feel a bit worse about our own income (or is that just me?).
Next to a big league CEO, we might feel like a pauper, but if median UK earnings of £22,487 are the yardstick, things suddenly look a whole lot healthier.
Reports on the recent death of the Duke of Westminster suggested there may be some widespread false assumptions about typical levels of wealth.
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