Synonyms
Definition
Rich people are those who have large amounts of money and material goods relative to other people. Within a country or region, the income needed for people to be considered rich varies with the average level of wealth in that country or region.
See also Affluence.
Description
When asked what would improve their quality of life, most people answer “more money” (e.g., Campbell, 1981). Based on the assumption that increased affluence leads to increased happiness, people believe that “pleasure and material comforts should be grasped wherever they can, and that these alone will improve the quality of one’s life” (Csikszentmihalyi, 1999, p. 822). If people had rational expectations, we would therefore expect that richer people have a higher quality of life and that, as people become wealthier, their quality of life improves. Is that really the case?
Richer people clearly have access to a wider variety and larger quantities of goods and services. They also...
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Angelescu, L. (2014). Rich People, an Overview. In: Michalos, A.C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_2521
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