Who actually counts as "rich"? A social observer notes a curious pattern: wealthy individuals from affluent backgrounds routinely describe themselves as "middle class," leaving those with genuinely median incomes confused about their own economic identity.

The phenomenon reveals how relative wealth perception works. People consistently aspire to higher status regardless of their current position, while claiming middle-class status offers social protection from scrutiny and criticism typically directed at the visibly wealthy.

To lower-income groups, these self-described "middle class" individuals appear unmistakably rich—highlighting how economic class remains largely in the eye of the beholder.