Laughable that this is interpreted as a slur against r*ch people. It is a banal observation that power corrupts. Societies with constructs to check power experience better overall and individual prosperity in general.

The point I'm trying (and obviously failing) to make is that "rich people" is a very broad definition to the point of being completely meaningless. About 7 to 8 percent of my Americans have a net worth greater than 1 million dollars. Is that rich? By some standards, yes.

You mention constructs to check power? What do you mean?

1 million means you can stop working for 20 years and get around 4000 dollars per month which should be well enough to feed yourself, go out and get a roof on your head. Of course that's not even counting the revenue you can have this money generate for you while you are sitting on your ass.

So yes, I'd consider them rich. If you can totally stop working for more than 5 years I'd say you are rich.

I agree. And that's what I'm getting at, making statements like the parent post about rich people is a bit ridiculous.

Sure, "rich" means different things in different contexts. In this case it's a shorthand for the much smaller group of people who control large companies and can move major levers impacting employment and trade. Admittedly it's ambiguous, as so many English terms in common use are.