The top 1% by net worth is not the same set of people as the top 1% by household income. You can inherit an apartment building worth $5M all paid up, and your annual income from rents after costs might be quite modest, putting you well outside the top 1% by income. The article talks about “if I had $4M I wouldn’t be in the 1%” but most people can’t get from zero to high net worth overnight, you have to accumulate wealth over a long period, unless you won the lottery or invested in a startup that went stellar. Most people ‘worth’ $5M don’t have a lot of money — they have assets that are generally quite illiquid, so these are not the big spenders in their yachts and private jets.