During the presidential campaign in 2008, the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, set off a fury when he was asked the dividing line between middle class and rich and replied that it was $5 million, a statement he said was intended as a joke.
"We're used to dealing with rich people," he replied.
When I asked if we should tax the rich more, he replied with an emphatic "No!" He saw himself as a small-businessman who happened to be in the taxi business, and he identified strongly with the rich.
When asked to complete the phrase "the Premier League is the _____ league in the world," Lineker replied: "Richest".
"The single career person, couples, empty nesters, rich older people," he replied.
When she became rich and famous, she replied to every letter asking for help, advice or money.
Asked later by a reporter if he'd written a check to the league, Moss replied that rich people don't write checks.
He spent Sundays at an equestrian club, and when someone accused him of "only designing homes for rich people," he allegedly replied, "And horses".
Mr Beattie contrasts how much more cannily Botswana has managed its diamond wealth compared with Sierra Leone's wretched squanderings.Turning to religion, Mr Beattie asks: "Why don't Islamic countries get rich?" Ah, he replies, some of them do.
