How This Calculator Works

This calculator helps you determine your wealth level using two key measurements established by Felix Dennis, the late multi-millionaire founder of Dennis Publishing, co-founder of Maxim magazine, and author of the book How to Get Rich.

• Total Net Worth: Your total assets minus liabilities.
• Liquid Wealth: Readily available cash and easily convertible assets. Note: This is the cash you’ve already paid taxes on.

This dual approach provides a more nuanced understanding of one’s true financial position, as high net worth doesn’t always correlate with high liquidity.

What to Include in Your Calculations

Liquid Assets

These are assets that can be quickly and easily converted into cash without losing much value:

• Cash in bank accounts
• Stocks and ETFs
• Retirement accounts
• Cryptocurrency
• Gold, silver, and precious metals
• Jewelry
• Paid-off vehicles

Illiquid Assets

These are assets that are valuable but can’t be quickly converted to cash. Selling them often takes time and may require finding the right buyer:

• Real estate
• Raw land
• Farm land
• Fine art
• Privately held business value
• Royalties
• Pensions
• Family trusts
• Structured notes

Liabilities

Liabilities are the debts and financial obligations you owe. This includes mortgages, student loans, credit card debt, and any other outstanding loans. Subtracting liabilities from your total assets gives a clearer picture of your net worth.

Wealth Categories and Their Meanings

Felix Dennis’s wealth categories, originally published in 2006, provide a snapshot of financial standing, adjusted here for inflation. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the categories have been updated to reflect a 70% increase in value due to inflation over the past two decades.

          
The comfortable poor: $2M-$4M | $3.4M-$6.8M
The comfortably off: $4M-$10M | $6.8M-$17M
The comfortably wealthy: $10M-$30M | $17M-$51M
The lesser rich: $30M-$80M | $51M-$136M
The comfortably rich: $80M-$150M | $136M-$255M
The rich: $150M-$200M | $255M-$340M
The seriously rich: $200M-$400M | $340M-$681M
The truly rich: $400M-$800M | $681M-$1.36B
The filthy rich: $800M-$1.998B | $1.36B-$3.4B
The super rich: Over $1.998B | Over $3.4B
          
        

About Felix Dennis

Felix Dennis was a one-of-a-kind British entrepreneur, poet, and co-founder of Maxim magazine, who rose from humble beginnings to become a self-made multimillionaire. Felix launched a variety of magazine titles from the 1980s to 2000s, including Computer Shopper, The Week, and MacUser among others.

Known for his eccentric personality and hedonistic lifestyle, Dennis built a publishing empire but later devoted the majority of his time to poetry, philanthropy, and planting millions of trees through his Heart of England Forest project.

If you take the time to read How to Get Rich or listen to the interview with Felix Dennis at the London Business Forum, you’ll quickly realize that he was no ordinary entrepreneur. Dennis didn’t rely on the usual clichés about having a brilliant idea or following a passion.

Instead, he spoke candidly about the realities of building wealth: the sacrifices, the relentless drive, and the uncomfortable truths most successful people avoid discussing. His approach was raw, unfiltered, and refreshingly honest… he was as willing to share his missteps and excesses as he was his victories.

Whether you agree with his philosophies or not, Dennis offers a rare and invaluable look behind the curtain of what it really takes to accumulate significant wealth, and his insights continue to resonate with those who are serious about the journey to financial success.

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