Bun Konheim, the CEO and co-founder of luxury fashion company Nicole Miller, said that Americans who are not part of the so-called “1 percent” should not complain and should instead consider how lucky they are.
“We’ve got a country that the poverty level is wealth in 99 percent of the rest of the world,” he said on CNBC. “So we’re talking about woe is me, woe is us, woe is this.” He added that “the guy that’s making, oh my God, he’s making $35,000 a year, why don’t we try that out in India or some countries we can’t even name. China, anyplace, the guy is wealthy.”
Nicole Miller makes high-end fashion dresses for celebrities such as Beyonce, which are sold in stores such as Saks Fifth Avenue.
Konheim’s comments are correct, according to Branko Milanovic, a World Bank economist.
He told the Huffington Post that in India, for instance, it takes just more than $87,000 to make the top 1 percent.
With $35,000 a year, you’d be in the upper middle or better.
Then again, $35,000 a year does count a lot more in some parts of the U.S. than others.
