Whither went the idle rich?

The rich don't describe themselves as rich (except for celebrities, who are expected to live lavishly).

Geoff Nunberg addressed the phenomenon in the New York Times on Sunday.

He noted that if you're a millionaire but your neighbors are bajillionaires, you feel less rich.

After all, if you're still flying commercial and your business school classmates have their own Gulfstreams, it's easy to forget that there was a time when your wildest dreams of riches only went as far as a seat in first class.

Also noted:

In his 1994 book, "The Agenda," Bob Woodward reported that Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, himself a wealthy man, urged President Bill Clinton to speak only of "the well-to-do" -- a phrase that suggests a respectably prosperous patent lawyer, not Paris Hilton.