I have been asked what is considered seriously wealthy by a number of people and the magical number bandied around is seven and a half million dollars. But where did this number actually come from?

A millionaire was once considered wealthy but with the effects of inflation, being a millionaire in Australia isn’t such a big deal anymore – still a nice figure though. The term millionaire has a certain ring to it, that’s for sure but is it really that affluent? The average homeowner in Australia is pretty much halfway there, add superannuation entitlements and if dual income households are involved then both incomes feed into the assets.

But this is working families, rarely do they get to handle such large transactions. The real money is small business owners, business executives and the CEOs that rake in unbelievable sums relative to their output. Research indicates many small business owners have all their capital invested in their business and hold insufficient funds in the personal superannuation funds for a comfortable retirement.

So where did the figure $7.5 million come from? I’m not sure, during some research I found a definition of sorts where men and women were surveyed with men nominating $5.3 million whilst women nominate $4.8 million. At time of research, the average Australian salary is $81,947 giving roughly 64 times average annual earnings to reach that figure; that’s out of reach for most people.

Whilst not an Australian definition, the US based Fidelity Investments surveyed more than 1000 millionaires in the United States to determine their definition of wealthy. Their definition of a millionaire differs to the conventional definition as they only consider $1 million in investable assets that don’t include the primary residence or retirement accounts.

I find this definition extraordinary as why wouldn’t you include a retirement account? After all, it is your money. I believe their definition may come from seeking funds to invest but even then, a mortgage may be taken out against a primary residence to invest. In Australia, the option of a self managed superannuation fund is an excellent vehicle (even with the recent government meddling) to build a decent retirement income.

If you control the assets in the SMSF then you are the investment manager and if you are one paying in the contributions then the beneficiary is you. I believe they want you to spend like a millionaire so they are able to generate earnings from your savings. They want you to go all Hollywood and spend like a movie star instead of acting like the conservative millionaire next door who is relatively anonymous.

Fairfax Limited is bleeding cash, their masthead newspapers of The Sydney Morning Herald and Melbourne’s counterpart The Age are mere shells of what used to be journalistic integrity – not any more. Fortunately The Australian Financial Review has not suffered the same indignity as the SMH and Age newspapers as investigative reporting is still practiced the AFR.

Whilst The Australian Financial Review is not The Wall Street Journal, the AFR is an excellent round-up of the business news of not only Australia, but Asia-Pacific in general. Naturally global business news is covered but the emphasis is on Australian business news; whilst the major Australian newspapers cover business news – the AFR knows business. Whilst I wouldn’t make any major financial decisions made on the advice on any articles, the AFR offers the reader an extensive but broad overview of the contemporary Australian business environment. It’s a pretty decent financial newspaper and I’m happy to support this newspaper.

John Glenn, American astronaut and senator was credited as the fifth person to orbit the Earth and third American in space. Glenn, a former World War II fighter pilot and jet pilot in the Korean War wore a Heuer 2915A stopwatch as mission back-up timer during his Mercury Friendship 7 spacecraft flight in February 1962.

Credited as the first Swiss timer in space, the stopwatch was worn in a specially designed strap as this stopwatch is primarily a hand held device. I was under the the impression Heuer 2915A stopwatch was on display at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington as a tribute to Glenn’s feat. However, I believe the Heuer 2915A worn by John Glenn is on display at San Diego’s Air and Space museum. This really annoyed me as I missed the opportunity to view this when I was in San Diego in 2014 although I can’t complain because I never visited the Smithsonian Institute when I was in Washington either – I will visit both on my next trip to the US.

The Mercury Friendship 7 spacecraft orbited the earth 3 times during his 4 hour and 56 minute mission with the city of Perth turning on their lights for Glenn’s overpass. Dubbed by John as the city of lights, this remote capital city certainly got into the spirit of Glenn’s achievement. I certainly have a high degree of respect for the pioneers of space, the danger these astronauts faces was real while they pushed the limits of endurance and technology.

Whilst the 2915A stopwatch was considered a back-up timer for the purposes of redundancy, one now views the then cutting edge technology with more than a little suspicion. How were they able to fly humans into space with the systems and vehicles they had? We now look back at Glenn’s back-up mission timer with a little humour, this is how they went to space back then in the Mercury program – unbelievable.

I have been told the rich were once discrete with their money, this is clearly not the case anymore. People have always held wealth and power and this will continue into the future so any thoughts of envy are wasted. The proliferation of social media fame is now projecting rich kids with no real skills into online currency.

The social media platforms of Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat and Tumblr are the tools of the socialite with obligatory selfies that are now the currency of the nouveau rich. They already have the money, now they are seeking online fame driven no doubt by the success of Paris Hilton and the Kardashians.

The disdain of people making their fortune within a generation is elitist and unfounded, the nouveau rich are no longer unrefined and uneducated – described as the great unwashed. I do have issues with the term nouveau rich as generational wealth is generally one of privilege and not hard work. My personal interaction with rich kids is somewhat limited due to my working class background.

I respect effort, ingenuity and application so I respect self-made people. With tertiary education now available for all socio-economic classes. The knowledge gap between generational wealth and nouveau rich has narrowed, in modern times, we are all educated. We can go to an art gallery to view a Renoir, Picasso, Dali or a Monet but we are unable to afford to buy one at auction. We have the ability to pay the gallery entrance fee and stand in front of this great artwork, we can take art classes at either college or university just like the rich kids.

I have to admit, I have an Instagram account with no pictures posted but I can’t say I use it that much, more to check what is going on – I’m a follower. I like to read so I am seeing articles coming up with titles such as The Rich Kids of Tehran, The Rich Kids of Instagram and The Rich Kids of Dubai; this phenomenon is increasing.

Social media is the new currency of the showy and unsophisticated; what was once seen as vulgar is now viewed de rigueur. I must admit I find it a little crass, this outward display of wealth is more than a little self-centred, it acts to cover up their personal short-comings and self worth. As I’m interested in luxury goods from a business perspective, my interest is more than passing.

The fashion and luxury goods market is based on discretionary spending and generally cyclical in nature, yet most of these people are not self made instead spending their parents money in an indiscriminate manner – pathetic really. Instead, use your time, effort and parent\’s money to assist those less fortunate than yourselves.

The decor of the cafe was magnificent, the extensive use of wood throughout set the ambiance with the local crafts strategically located. The staff are well trained and attentive, Biku is well worth the visit and while not cheap by Bali standards, I believe excellent value for money.

They are famous for their high tea, so the first thing I used to do was go and do is exchange my tea for a long black coffee. That then changed after I tried their South African red berry tea, I have been won over, I couldn’t get enough of this wonderful tea. That being said, the sandwiches, savories and scones were top notch – totally filling the two of us up. This was a totally unexpected experience in Bali, the island is slowly moving upmarket and Biku is a stylish cafe of note I always return to when in Bali.

Is the Aqua Terra the entry-level Omega? On my first inspection, I would have said yes. Whilst I came to this assumption based on the features, finish and depth rating of this particular timepiece, I was found to be totally incorrect in this assumption after checking actual pricing.

My father had an Omega Chronostop reference 145.009 in the 1970s and 1980s with a NATO strap, back then I thought he was a little uncool. Fast forward to 2017 with the release of the Aqua Terra Golf Edition; the Aqua Terra is now issued with a NATO strap – it appears my old man was ahead of his time.

The 41 mm stainless steel case is water resistant to 150 metres and although the Aqua Terra falls within the Seamaster range, I don’t personally identify this timepiece as a marine style watch. I understand my logic is flawed as the Aqua Terra looks closer to the 1948 Seamaster designs than the contemporary Seamaster 300, Planet Ocean and Diver 300 timepieces.

The 8900 automatic movement, resistant to 15,000 gauss is equipped with Omega’s co-axial escapement and has a 60 hours power reserve. The case finish is finely polished supporting a scratch resistance sapphire crystal and a screw-in display case back. The screw-in crown ensures the integrity of the case and along with the fore mentioned NATO strap, the Aqua Terra Golf Edition is cool again.

I was looking in my favourite chain of Perth jewellers and looking at different timepieces that I normally seek. The retail assistant, her name is Susan and she was born in Kuala Lumpur and she had some ideas for me to look at that would suit a young male with an interest in motor sports.

I was looking at a timepiece for my nephew while he still had a year until his eighteenth birthday. His grandparents purchased a watch for him when be began high school and it hasn’t been a real success. He really doesn’t respect the effort required to earn the money to purchase any goods or services and has a history of losing, dropping, stepping on, submersing in water or breaking any item of value although he would deny this.

His watch, purchased for high school by his grandparents has been broken on multiple occasions, lost a couple of times although his grandfather did go back and successfully searched at its last known whereabouts. His late father was an avid motorsport enthusiast and although I don’t want to replace his grandparents wristwatch for daily activities, this timepiece meets a number of criteria that hopefully connects with him.

I wanted to give him a timepiece so every time he looks at his wrist he can remember his late father. He can hopefully learn to manage time by arriving and departing on time respecting the work and effort required to purchase such items. His father had an amazing work ethic, a strong sense of values and was pretty handy with most things, he was respectful and knew how to look after items of value.

I don’t want to be disrespectful to my nephew as I am well aware that he thinks about his father constantly. Want I am seeking is a positive connection to what his father enjoyed and that is cars, motorsport and golf. The next connection he and his father followed together was Australian Rules Football and Tissot is the official timekeeper of the AFL so hopefully he feels a connection with the brand.

The PRS 516 chronograph has the option of an automatic or quartz movement, I was looking at the quartz movement for him as he wouldn’t appreciate the complexities of an automatic movement and doesn’t want to be setting the time constantly. According to Tissot, the PRS 516 reflects on the 1960s motorsport inspired origins immediately drawing comparisons in my mind with the TAG Heuer Carrera, Omega Speedmaster and Rolex Daytona, albeit in a slightly different price range.

The ETAG10.212 quartz movement has 4 jewels and expected 2 year battery life. The 42 mm 316L stainless steel case is water resistant to 100 metres and comes with a ceramic bezel and scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Hopefully, he can now he not scratch the face as he tends to be a little rough on hardware.

The dial I preferred is black although a white option exists, but that wouldn’t suit him. There are three colour schemes of yellow, red and blue with colouring on the second hand, chronograph hands, pushers and model number on the yellow and red models but not the blue model. Maybe I should be looking for a matching model for myself with an automatic movement that has two sub-dials instead of the three sub-dial quartz movement.

Ironically after so much thought, I didn’t end up getting him this timepiece. I ended up looking at something a little less cluttered on the dial; I thought better represented his new life just beginning now he is eighteen. Maybe me making him think of his father every time he looked at his wrist was a bit presumptuous; so instead I made another choice that hopefully had just as much thought put into it as this choice.

When departing Dean of the Graduate School of Business, Garth Saloner advised students to curb their start-up ambitions to at least until they graduate – I couldn’t believe it. While he is not saying don’t go out and build a start-up, he is saying wait until you complete the program before starting – surprising, but not necessarily bad advice from Stanford University.

The top level business schools have invested in faculty and innovation labs pushing innovation and entrepreneurship courses on their student ensuring their business school is viewed as the leader of cutting edge technology to recruit the top talent. Saloner’s attitude appears to be at odds with current trends top flight business schools especially considering Stanford’s clear lead in the prevalence of MBA led start-ups. I am interested to see how this one pans out.

Cold Chisel is not the most famous Australian band, actually, Cold Chisel isn’t really known beyond the shores of Australia yet this remains the quintessential Australian band. Their third studio album East was released in mid 1980 and was the biggest selling album of the year.

Known as pub rock, Cold Chisel gained their reputation playing live at pubs and clubs with East breaking through to a wider audience without selling out their roots. Is this my favourite Cold Chisel album? It probably isn’t, this is really a big discussion among friends as while we feel Circus Animals is a little more polished, East is raw and energetic.

Choir Girl was the first song released late 1979 with Cheap Wine released mid 1980 just before the album came out with My Baby released as the third single later in the year. My feeling is that Choir Girl was the most polished song on the album, the rest of the album was fast and furious based on the strength of their live performances.

The songs from the album:

1. Standing on the Outside
2. Never Before
3. Choir Girl
4. Rising Sun
5. My Baby
6. Tomorrow
7. Cheap Wine
8. Best Kept Lies
9. Ita
10. Star Hotel
11. Four Walls
12. My Turn to Cry

I still love listening to East, my nephew has an unusually strong interest in older music thinks this is a great album too. For me, this is great because it is not just the nostalgia of one of Australia’s best live acts, East stands up.

The last time I was at Alona Beach on Panglao Island in 2017, a Chinese woman, Ms Qin Lin aged 29 lost her life at nearby Balicasag Island in an incident that should never have happened. I returned again in July 2018 to another death, this time a Malaysian scuba diver aged 70 at an unregistered dive centre and I have to ask, what is going on here?

In what was a clearly preventable tragedy at Balicasag Island, the young life of a Chinese snorkeler was prematurely cut short in what can only be described as a preventable occurrence. I was staying with a friend who is a dive instructor at Alona Beach when a message was released on social media.

The woman apparently who was not a strong swimmer was unguided when she was found unresponsive and face down in a life preserver by locals. As was explained to me, she had purchased a ticket on a dive charter vessel as a snorkeler and was not a scuba diver. She had gone out snorkeling alone and clearly was not being monitored.

What is known is she was sent out snorkeling unguided and left unattended; at some stage she got into difficulty and the rest is unknown. As no one was looking after her, by the time her lifeless body was discovered by another boat there was little chance of resuscitation. This is the Philippines and one doesn’t expect much to happen here, a young life was tragically and needlessly lost in circumstances that should be considered negligent.

When a boat finally arrived there was no resuscitation equipment aboard, no oxygen and certainly no trained personnel. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask questions of why she was snorkeling solo, why she was left unchecked for so long and why nobody knew she was missing. I understand the commercial requirements of running a dive business and the need to generate revenue.

I also know business operations have an obligation to their customers in regards to their safety, this can’t be relegated behind safety aspects. This rings just as true in developing nations where laws and/or legal systems would be considered lax by developed nations standards. Just because it is unlikely any legal action would be successful doesn’t mean dive operators should take such an attitude.