What does wealth mean to Brits?: Interview with podcaster Toni Tone

Local TV

Is being wealthy in life directly correlated to the amount of money you earn? Well, according to research by HSBC UK, half of people surveyed across the UK believe that having investments is actually a key measure of wealth.

Transcript

00:00Personally, being wealthy means having enough to pay for my essentials while also maintaining

00:10a good work-life balance. So freedom to travel, freedom to work when I want to work, I think

00:16freedom essentially is what wealth means to me. A lot of people see wealth as more than

00:22just having a kitchen island, having a cleaner, having a gym membership, although those things

00:27still exist, those material markers still exist. People are looking at things like being

00:31able to travel, being able to go on lots of holidays, being able to have time with the

00:35family, that work-life balance, that well-being element of wealth. And all my guests kind

00:41of alluded to that, that having time for themselves and not burning out and not being focused

00:47on hustle culture was a major indicator that someone was truly wealthy.

00:54So obviously you've picked up on hustle culture there, which I feel like is definitely a signifier

00:59of the recent digital age and social media and stuff like that. So in the age of social

01:04media, do you think that this kind of wealth has been distorted?

01:08We see a lot of displays of wealth on social media. Almost about half of Gen Z consider

01:13wealth in a non-material way. And they're talking about wealth, they're considering

01:18things like work-life balance, they're considering things like early retirement. And as much

01:24as social media can be problematic, and it can be helpful but also problematic in some

01:30ways, the younger generation are actually defining wealth on their terms. So that was

01:35really refreshing to read.

01:37In their research, HSBC UK found that younger age groups up to 35 years old are more likely

01:42than older generations to define wealth through a more well-being-focused lens. Still, the

01:47report went on to find that Brits find gym memberships and hobbies are essential, with

01:5232% of people perceiving streaming services as an everyday necessity.

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