How an Individual and Country can Become Rich

Well, I have been living in a rich country for the past 27 months. If there is any merit in this vacation, the richness should translate into an opportunity to uplift millions of poor in the home nation. It is not by any chance or fluke that this story of past many months has been written without I being fully eligible for it. Now, the swing dynamics between the nations should come into play and rise the stature of India to a completely poverty-free nation. If I am typical Indian on the rich western soil going through all the exploits, there is no reason why a typical Indian back home cannot grow in stature to lead a life above his circumstances. There is no reason why Indians back home cannot live in the background similar to that of the opulent parliament building, where elected leaders representing them meet occasionally. There is no reason why India cannot bring development back home similar to any western nation on this path. We must have already travelled the distance where the tapestry of rich background and our cultural enrichments have already flown from West to East – from U.S. to India or from Gujarat to Bengal and from South to North. This adjustment, amalgamation and acknowledgement of a rich, developed individuals and societies chiseled within a developed nation is a panacea for all ill-gotten mindsets and deep-rooted underdevelopment across the nation. Look at the hard work done by the individuals in overcoming the friction for the take-off and simply walk along the progressive path laid all the way to reach a favored, great destination. 

There are many yardsticks to measure the opulence of an individual. I will look at the favorite, practical measurement which is the transportation in car, car and car. Right from my childhood, I view the car as a luxury, out-of-the-world object which is confined to rich individuals, who are rare in India back then. There are many cars on the roads as I grew up but I always view from outside through the dark side glasses which distinctively distinguishes between life outside and within a car. From outside, it is always a line signaling a rich world which always amazes, allures me but very much absent in my world for very long. I might have occasionally travelled in a car but never reached the status to own one and transport myself to the other side of boundary. Living in U.S. changed that which is an altogether different plane of living. When you own and travel in a car, it symbolizes a tremendous shift of your stature from a poor little boy in childhood to full-blown rich adulthood, which is a stuff of dreams as a child. This transition is happening, even if slowly, in this country and should happen as a right next step. I travelled extensively on a bicycle and went upstairs or reached a stage where I can ride in a car. This is a natural transition or acceptance to becoming rich, by this yardstick. 

Funnily, everyone who steps in U.S. becomes rich by default or this country treats everyone – insiders, outsiders as rich by default or this country has travelled to this stage of living as rich by default. By default means there is no lesser living or a poorer lifestyle. Go by this yardstick once again which tells American roads are built for cars and cars alone. There is no lesser vehicle to travel on these roads and everyone need to own a car as an entry or living criterion. This is no country for bikes, rickshaws, autos etc. and the only means you can travel is by a car. Welcome to the great, rich, western, developed world where everyone will be made rich. Here, I genuinely stepped-up through the upward steps and reached a stage where travelling by car is all but natural and a progressive development. Here I am fully qualified to travel and owning a car which is a mere outer representation to that inner progress. This country made me rich or I upheld the richness of this country – either way we made through the hard strides of the journey. 

Our work should be two-fold in this regard – to uphold the richness of U.S. and to transfer some of the fortune to the lesser nations. For the first one, look at one metric and it will blow your mind. Since 2017, the year Trump became President, the wealth of U.S. billionaires has doubled. Celebrity billionaires have amassed eye-popping wealth over the last eight years, doubling their collective net worth from $2.9 trillion in 2017 to $6 trillion in 2024, according to the Americans for Tax Fairness analysis. The top 10 U.S. billionaires have all become centi-billionaires or past the 100 billion mark. The wealth of the top most person has increased by over 850% since 2017. The typical billionaire near the top of the list is “not merely somebody who’s well-off. It’s somebody who has the resources of a small nation.” The nation’s roughly 800 billionaires now hold 3.8% of U.S. wealth while the bottom half of American families control only 2.5%. It is a staggering report that the last eight years has seen a sharp upward trend and upheld strongly the richness of the nation through our work. 

Coming to the second reason, this tremendous opportunity should pave the way for improving the inequalities across the world. A country like India should definitely seize the opportunity and climb the ladder to improve its own status quo. The wealth creation in the United States can significantly impact India’s economic growth and prosperity. Even if not through intangible ways like my story, there are several other tangible ways which can directly hit the core of the problem. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Technology Transfer, Trade Relations, Remittances, Educational Opportunities, Philanthropy etc are several strong avenues which bolster the fortunes of the home nation in favorable lines. The Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) measures poverty beyond income, considering factors like health, education, and living standards. According to the National Multidimensional Poverty Index, the poverty headcount ratio in India declined from 29.17% in 2013-14 to 11.28% in 2022-23. This means that approximately 24.82 crore (248 million) people escaped multidimensional poverty during this period which is a great sign of the progressive nation in last 10 years. 

India’s economic growth has also been a significant factor in poverty reduction. The country’s GDP growth has created job opportunities and increased income levels, contributing to the overall decline in poverty. The rapid expansion of the technology and service sectors has particularly benefited urban areas, while agricultural reforms have supported rural development. When you are talking about not a handful of individuals but a country as a whole, we require tremendous performance to improve the state of affairs to hit the voluminous best. The country is fortunate to have a best performing top tier which yields very good results. For example, India aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of halving multidimensional poverty by 2030. Given the current pace of improvement, the country is on track to meet this target well ahead of schedule. The Government's persistent dedication and resolute commitment to enhancing the lives of the most vulnerable and deprived have been instrumental in this accomplishment. Operating one of the world's largest food security programs, the Targeted Public Distribution System under the National Food Security Act covers 81.35 crore beneficiaries, providing food grains to rural and urban populations. Steps like these are extremely encouraged to continue for as long as possible to see definite improvement. While the performance of States varies, some States which were traditionally having high poverty have made remarkable progress in helping people escape poverty, thus reducing inter-state disparities in multidimensional poverty. Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh recorded largest decline in the number of MPI poor between 2013-14 and 2022-23. 

Despite these achievements, challenges remain. India’s efforts over the past decade have significantly reduced poverty, improving the lives of millions. Continued focus on inclusive growth and targeted interventions will be essential to sustain this progress. Even if not all, my own individual story has been a result of this hard work at top level leaders or my story has been instrumental in dictating the greater good and poverty reduction across the nation. Either way, we are transitioning from bikes to cars, flights etc. which is a tremendous yardstick for a progressive rich individual. Other than this measure, my story in U.S. for 27 months should be a multi-dimensional yardstick in living among rich and becoming one. The home nation should be in tremendous position of take advantage of favorable winds blowing in these times by virtue of stories like mine.