The way I see it (and obviously there are a lot of views on these questions), you're describing being "affluent." You are paying for a nice lifestyle from ongoing earned income, whereas the "rich" or "wealthy" have assets that themselves support some nice lifestyle. Having a high income is fortunate, but to call it "being rich," disregards an opportunity to make valid distinctions between different states of being (for whatever uses these terms are really being employed for---which in many cases is probably nothing more than for expressions of jealousy or fostering class warfare).
Context is everything, of course, and when the term "rich" is used within a first-world society, I think it is generally used as a relative demarcation within that type of society---the notion of getting people to consider themselves in the context of the world at large, while a very valid perspective and an important reminder, is just not the same context in which the term is used for what I perceive to be its typical purposes.
More feel good BS.
You can have inner peace and live in a van, are you rich? Hey if it makes you feel better to tell yourself you are go for it.
I came out of college in 2003 making about $12,000 a year. I know what it's like to not have a bunch of money and constantly worry about that next pay check. It's a big motivator for me now. I try to only buy things that make me money not cost me money.
I think both of these posts are generally pessimistic and lack perspective if you think, for instance, that I'm not rich compared to the general population. You've really isolated yourself in some first class suburbs if you think my situation (generally described above) doesn't make me rich.
Again, to use my brother and his wife as an example, their gross income is probably $70k. They have to rent a house because they can't afford to buy one. My brother's wife has massive student loans and spends every weekend doing softball pitching lessons to make ends meet. Their budget is so tight they have to call my mom for money for $250 visits to the vets for their dogs. They've even called me asking for $5 so they could buy pasta at the grocery store. Their budget is on a shoestring, and they are one accident away from everything falling apart.
Meanwhile, next year, my wife and I:
-Will make about $110k
-Will save about $45k for retirement
-Will have decent health insurance coverage (we get to pick between our two professional employers)
-Will have absolutely no problem making our mortgage payments
-Will have absolutely no problem if one of us would lose our jobs
-Will hopefully continue to have good health (side note: it's been found that less financial stress leads to smarter and better diets)
-Will live in an 1,100 square foot home with finished basement
-Will subscribe to Sling, HBOGO, and premium internet service
-Will take a ten-day vacation to Denver and then South Carolina (for a wedding)
-Will probably attend multiple expensive sporting events (Ohio State football, Indians, etc.)
-Will probably do a few home improvement projects (paint entire first floor, put backsplash in kitchen)
-Will drive nice, paid-off cars (2013 Toyota RAV-4, 2014 Honda CR-V)
-Will have no problem spending $500-1,000 on family member's birthday and Christmas gifts
-Will never, under any circumstance, have to call someone for money
-On and on and on and on I could go.
This is top 5% of the world type stuff. I honestly can hardly put into words how nice it is to do all of the above--and have money not even remotely be of any concern to me. Hell, the lack of stress (via living a frugal lifestyle) probably puts me in the top one percent.
It's on you if you think not having yachts means I'm not rich.