Classic Rant #460 (March 10, 2011): Billionaires ... I'm Not One of Them

Did you know that there are 1,210 people who have enough wealth to be classified as billionaires?

According to Forbes Magazine, not only are there more than 1,200 people with this type of wealth, but the list actually includes 214 new members.

The world's richest person is Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim Helu, worth $74 billion, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, worth $56 billion.

No, I am not on the list, not even close. Unless something dramatic drops in my lap, I'm lucky if I can even rate myself a thousandaire, or even a hundredaire.

I am just a working stiff, just like most people are. The people that achieve this amazing wealth worked hard to get it, were at the right place at the right time, and well, they had a lot of luck doing it.

That isn't sour grapes. You have to have some luck to acquire such a fortune.

Me, I have had absolutely no luck during my career. I wanted to become a teacher, went into a market that was as bad as today's market is, had to switch careers in a millisecond and market myself in a different direction, was hit by divorce, long-time child support payments, loss of my job, taking another job that paid less but kept me employed, etc. I could go on and on.

I haven't had much luck with money matters, but what can I do?

At age 53, I realize that my earning potential is waning by the minute. Although I have a love/hate relationship with my job, I am better off with it than without it.

I haven't had a raise in years--YES, YEARS--although I did ask for one last year, and, of course, got turned down. I plan on asking for another one this year, and hopefully, things will be better for me.

But, like many people, I am constantly watching my wallet.

So congratulations go out to these billionaires.

But me, I'm a working stiff, nothing more, and I know that these guys live in a different world than most of us do.

But they put their pants on the same way I do, so they really aren't that different from me .. are they?