this post was submitted on 08 Jun 2026
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me_irl
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On a global scale, anyone dropping 200k on a pleasure boat, lets assume they have a net wealth of at least 1 million (insane to spend 1/5th of your wealth on a toy but anyway...), is in the top 0.1%. It's not "kind of well off".
Even possessing 200k dollars puts you in the top 5%.
People don't understand numbers and that's ok. You let one lunatic have a trillion and now you're excusing the 0.1% as "kind of well off".
A lot people can earn a million dollars by scrimping and saving for years. This includes many everyday working people who happen to make a decent salary. A billionaire only gets there by exploitation and taking advantage of others, you can't save up a billion dollars by having a good job and being thrifty. If somebody works a job for 30 years, saves, and then wants to buy a boat to retire on then good for him. They are not the enemy.
I've just explained to you that in the unrealistic circumstances that someone with 1,000,000 buys a boat for 200,000, that puts them in the top 0.1% of global wealth. Again, what part of that says "everyday worker" to you?
Someone who owns $1 million is maybe like 5 years away from complete bankruptcy if they drop $200k to purchase a boat.
There is a reason people say that boats are "a hole in the water to throw your money into". They cost a literal fortune to maintain.
Nobody with "just" $1 million can afford to buy and maintain a $200,000 boat.
You can if the boat is also your home. That's what I meant when I said I could buy one if I were really motivated.
But yeah, you're right, anybody with $1 million who buys a $200,000 boat as a toy is bad with money.
And this is ignoring the fact that boats cost an absolute fortune to maintain. That $200k is just the beginning.