OPINION: How rich is “rich”?

Billionaires living in luxurious penthouses, driving supercars, carrying designer bags, sipping cocktails on a yacht and people throwing dollar bills up in the air, these are some of the common perceptions of “rich people”.

The definition of “rich” is, however, getting more challenging for Thais, especially if they earn 25,000 baht a month (circa US$690) or more.

Who do you mean by “rich people”?

The definition of rich is being hotly debated on Thai social media recently, after a government sub-committee, overseeing the digital wallet scheme, began its consideration of how to exclude “rich” people from receiving the 10,000 baht from the government under the digital wallet scheme.

An option is to exclude those who earn a minimum monthly salary of 25,000 baht or who have a combined 100,000 baht or more in savings. Another choice is to exclude those who receive a…