The figure you need to reach to be considered rich

According to bankers, you're not rich until you have made at least US$25 million ($36.1m). Photo / Getty Images

Until you've made at least US$25 million ($36.1m), you're not rich.

At least not as far as bankers are concerned, Bloomberg reports.

And bankers define that as US$25m dollars in investable wealth – enough money that you can ride out the stock market's ups and downs without losing sleep, according to the Daily Mail.

While most Americans would be thrilled to live off a fraction of US$25m, even that sum is "economy-class rich", according to Bloomberg. To reach the echelon of "first-class rich" you would need to be investing US$200m with ease. The wealth equivalent of traveling by private jet? US$1 billion.

The definitions have changed over time.

In 1994, US$3m was enough to be considered "ultra-high net worth", said Peter Charrington, global head of Citi Private Bank.

"Fast-forward almost 25 years, and US$25m is how we define ultra-high net worth," he said.

And sometimes that isn't even enough: Abbot Downing, Wells Fargo's private wealth firm for ultra-high-net-worth families, only accepts clients with at least US$50m in investable assets or a net worth of US$100m or more.

How do you really know if someone is "seriously wealthy?" They can afford direct investment in companies and real estate, said John Duffy, global head of Institutional Wealth Management for J.P. Morgan Private Bank.

"This is a threshold differentiator among the world's wealthiest, compared to the merely very wealthy, let alone the 401(k) investor," he told Bloomberg. "These very large families are investing in private companies, owning a per cent of the company versus a share of a public entity."

Bankers compete to win the big clients with the highest levels of personal wealth.

Philanthropist Bill Gates was the wealthiest person in America in 2017, the most recent year data was available. The Microsoft founder is worth US$89b, according to Forbes.

Next on the list is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who's net worth totalled US$81.5b, followed by business magnate Warren Buffett, with a worth of US$78b.