‘It’s Redneck Envy’: Dave Ramsey Defends Billionaires’ Yachts With Ratio Logic
Key takeaways
- SmartAsset s free tool can match you with a financial advisor in minutes to help you answer that today.
- On a recent episode of Ramsey Everyday Millionaires, a caller asked whether a boat costing more than his annual income was too expensive.
- If you judge purchases by the price tag rather than the ratio, you make two predictable mistakes.
The math matters more than morality judgments: use Dave Ramsey’s rule that all motorized vehicles combined should not exceed half your gross annual income, and flag any single depreciating purchase exceeding 5% of your liquid investable net worth as financially risky.
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On a recent episode of Ramsey Everyday Millionaires, a caller asked whether a boat costing more than his annual income was too expensive. The host pivoted to defend Mark Zuckerberg s estimated 300-foot yacht, valued at "a billion, half a billion, something like that" against "hundreds of billions" in wealth, then aimed at his own audience. "No one should ever have a car that nice. There s starving children somewhere. Like your car caused children to starve. Would you shut up?" He labeled the impulse "redneck envy" and mocked "oversaved people that think they re Jesus" who believe "the only car you can drive and still be holy is a 93 Camry."