By Nancy Cook
What does it mean to be wealthy now? Are dual-income families rich? What about doctors, lawyers, and other white-collar professionals? Or are people rich only if they're worth more than $1 million? Let's set aside the average Joes for a second: being rich is relative even among the millionaire and billionaire set. "Most of us gauge our wealthy status relative to our own history and our peers," says Keith Whitaker, president of Wise Counsel Research, a firm that advises clients on handling their money. Following the global financial crisis, most people's assets have declined. Amid the falling stock portfolios and the uneven economic recovery, the ranks of the rich versus the super-rich have shifted. Which millionaire and billionaire superstars, from sports stars to media barons to savvy investors, came out on top as the heaviest hitters in their financial weight class?
