The Silicon Valley is a different place that other parts of America. You be worth millions, but feel “modest” according to article in NY Times: In Silicon Valley, Millionaires Who Don’t Feel Rich
One reason is that it costs a lot more in Silicon Valley to live modestly than in the rest of the world. Small houses in the rest of the country can easily top a half million in San Jose.
Part of their angst is the comparison to their neighbors:
“People around here, if they have 2 or 3 million dollars, they don’t feel secure,” said David W. Hettig, an estate planner based in Menlo Park who has advised Silicon Valley’s wealthy for two decades.
Another factor could be the memories of what they were worth before the dot-com bubble and now. It could have been so much bigger:
Yet like other working-class millionaires of Silicon Valley, she harbors anxieties about her financial future. Ms. Baranski — who was briefly worth as much as $200 million in 2000 but cashed out only $1 million before the collapse of the tech bubble — returned to work in March.
Feeling wealthy may be more about you life style and your surroundings rather than money.