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For the business meaning, see Wealth (economics).
"Prosperity" redirects here. For the Irish television drama series, see Prosperity (TV series).
Wealth from the old English word "weal", which means "well-being". The term was originally an adjective to describe the possession of great qualities.
"Wealth" can be described as an abundance of items of economic value, or the state of controlling or possessing such items, usually in the form of money, real estate and personal property. In many countries wealth is also measured by reference to access to essential services such as health care, or the possession of crops and livestock. An individual who is wealthy, affluent, or rich is someone who has accumulated substantial wealth relative to others in their society or reference group. In economics, wealth refers to the value of assets owned minus the value of liabilities owed at a point in time. Wealth can be categorized into three principal categories: personal property, including homes or automobiles; monetary savings, such as the accumulation of past income; and business assets, including, real estate, stocks, and bonds. In some forms, stocks and bonds for example, wealth becomes capital and ultimately a new source of income. All these intricacies make wealth an especially important part of social stratification. Wealth provides a type of safety net of protection against an unforeseen decline in one’s living standard in the event of job loss or other emergency and can be transformed into home ownership, business ownership, or even a college education. [1]
'Wealth' refers to some accumulation of resources, whether abundant or not. 'Richness' refers to an abundance of such resources. A wealthy (or rich) individual, community, or nation thus has more resources than a poor one. Richness can also refer at least basic needs being met with abundance widely shared. The opposite of wealth is destitution. The opposite of richness is poverty.
The term implies a social contract on establishing and maintaining ownership in relation to such items which can be invoked with little or no effort and expense on the part of the owner (see means of protection).
The concept of wealth is relative and not only varies between societies, but will often vary between different sections or regions in the same society. A personal net worth of US $1 000 000 in most parts of the United States would certainly place a person among the wealthiest citizens. However, such amounts would constitute an extraordinary amount of wealth in impoverished developing countries.
The wealth of a country can be measured by its GDP per capita. See List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita.
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