Very few people self-identify as upper middle class or wealthy — even if, by the numbers, their income or net worth puts them in that category.>'No matter what, we're going to be OK'
Whether or not you qualify as, or feel, rich can depend>Wealthy people often embrace 'the American Dream'
Wealthy people are more likely to have the mindset that hard work pays off and that their wealth is a result of their effort, says Benjamin Newman, an associate professor of public policy and political science at University of California, Riverside.
"The wealthy are more likely to rationalize their wealth in a way that embraces the American Dream," he says. "It helps assuage guilt."
'Rich' is having a lot more than everybody else around you.Susan BradleyCFP, founder of Sudden Money Institute
This is especially true of wealthy people who exist alongside people who have a lot less than they do, according to Newman's research. In a county with extreme income inequality, low-income Americans are less likely to believe in a meritocracy and high-income Americans are more likely to believe in it.
"It's uncomfortable to see affluence side by side with poverty," Newman says. Therefore, the wealthy justify their class status by saying that any>'Wealth affords you the capacity to separate yourself from other people'
Oftentimes, wealthy people are able to keep their worldview because they are more able to design the environment around them, says social psychologist Michael Kraus, an associate professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management, who specializes in the study of inequality.
As Kraus tells it, a wealthy person might think, "I don't have to be in a situation where I see people suffering. I can separate myself from people by going data-test=”Pullquote”>You can create a world around yourself where the only things that matter are you, and it's easier to do when you're wealthy.Michael Krausassociate professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management
The separation can cause a lack of empathy, according to Kraus' research. For example, he says, tech titans like Mark Zuckerberg or Jeff Bezos can demonstrate a "profound lack of empathy" because both are able to isolate themselves from anyone who is negatively affected by their products.
"To amass that level of wealth, you have to have some disconnect from the conditions other human beings are facing," Kraus says.
