Pre-rich (euphemism for someone who is not rich)

“I’m not broke/poor. I’m pre-rich” is a saying that has been printed on many images. The term “pre-rich” was entered in the Urban Dictionary on September 19, 2015.
 
“I read that the poor are now being called the ‘pre-rich’” was published in a 1988 book. “None of us is really poor; we’re just pre-rich” was published in a David Brooks column in the New York (NY) Times in 2003. “I’m not poor. I’m ‘pre-rich’” was posted on Twitter by Ahmad Saifuddin on October 23, 2010. “I’m not broke, I’m pre-rich” was posted on Twitter by many people on January 28, 2012.
 
“Pre-law” and “pre-med” are sometimes called “pre-rich” college majors. “Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward a specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, ‘pre-rich’” was printed in a 1991 book. “Great quip fr J. Martin Favor (Dartmouth) re: students who are in college to major in “pre-rich” ... got a huge, rueful laugh from aud.” was posted on Twitter on December 10, 2009. “I just asked this kid what his major was and he said ‘pre-rich’” was posted on Twitter by Abby Mauger on September 1, 2015.
       
     
Google Books
A Call to Holy Living:
Walking with God in Joy, Praise, and Gratitude
By Bruce Larson
Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House
1988  
Pg. 38:
I read that the poor are now being called the “pre-rich.”
   
Google Books
Variations:
A Rhetoric and Reader for College Writing
Edited by Judy R. Rogers and Glenn C. Rogers
Belmont, MA: Wadsworth Publishing Company
1991
Pg. 176:
Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward a specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”
 
Google Books
Searching for Stardust
By Lorena McCourtney
Sisters, OR: Palisades
1999
Pg. 110:
“I remember how we used to joke about it, that we weren’t poor, just ‘pre-rich.’”
     
Google Groups: soc.college.admissions
Wrong BS major, MS in CS
Charlie Wade
5/19/02
It’s really kind of sad how so many students do try to major with future paychecks as a major factor (if not the major factor) in mind.  What is it, half of all college freshmen declare pre-law or pre-med as their initial major?  The ‘pre-rich’ majors?  That’s sad.
 
Google Groups: misc.taxes
NYTimes: Why don’t people vote their own self-interest?
Lawfun1
1/14/03
The Triumph of Hope Over Self-Interest
By DAVID BROOKS
New York Times, January 12, 2003
NASHVILLE — Why don’t people vote their own self-interest?
(...)
Nineteen percent of Americans say they are in the richest 1 percent and a further 20 percent expect to be someday.
...
It’s not hard to see why they think this way. Americans live in a culture of abundance. They have always had a sense that great opportunities lie just over the horizon, in the next valley, with the next job or the next big thing. None of us is really poor; we’re just pre-rich.
     
Twitter 
Nichelle Stephens, Human Being
@niche
jk on the Lou Dobbs thing, but seriously class is an issue here.  People who once thought that they were “pre-rich” are now “pre-poverty”.
1:42 AM - 5 Mar 2008
         
Twitter
Shelley Krause (Call your reps! 202-224-3121)
@butwait
Great quip fr J. Martin Favor (Dartmouth) re: students who are in college to major in “pre-rich” ... got a huge, rueful laugh from aud.
8:29 PM - 10 Dec 2009
 
Twitter
Ahmad Saifuddin
@safedein
I’m not poor. I’m ‘pre-rich’
12:21 AM - 23 Oct 2010
 
Twitter
Bee
@OBehave1
“My major?...Pre-Rich” -@iLoveMyAKA_Ada
9:57 PM - 10 Mar 2011
 
Twitter
Bethany Lane
@_tuneout
“I’m not broke; I’m pre-rich!” #duh 👍
11:15 AM - 28 Jan 2012
   
Twitter
talldrinkowater
@talldrinkowater
I’m not poor, I’m pre-rich. #waitwaitdonttellme @npr
11:15 AM - 28 Jan 2012
     
Twitter
JanusLee
@LSDowling
“I’m not broke, I’m pre-rich”: GOP definition of me, an average American. #waitwaitdonttellme @petersagal
11:15 AM - 28 Jan 2012
     
Twitter
Yung Buck
@NuckifuBukwheat
Replying to @hersratjesty
“@nicoleratchie: I only date guys who’s major starts with “pre””
I’m pre-rich so…
5:14 PM - 3 Dec 2013
   
Twitter
Abby Mauger
@AbbyMauger
I just asked this kid what his major was and he said “pre-rich” 😂😂😂
7:52 PM - 1 Sep 2015
 
Urban Dictionary
Pre-rich
Someone who is broke but really thinks they are on their way to getting rich because they are dilusional
That guy is pre-rich
#wannabe#cray#broke#unclear#wishful
by Lucky star September 19, 2015
   
Twitter
gp
@gpdigs49
What’s ur major?
->Pre-Rich
11:52 PM - 8 Dec 2017
 
Twitter
King Majik
@king_majik
Never broke. Just pre-rich
6:08 PM - 6 Jul 2018
 
Twitter
The Daily Show
@TheDailyShow
TONIGHT: Senior Pre-Rich Correspondent @michaelkosta drops by to discuss Trump’s proposed tax cuts for the wealthy.
9:58 PM - 31 Jul 2018
 
Comedy Central
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
July 31, 2018
13:20
MICHAEL KOSTA: Don’t call me poor, Trevor. Call me “pre-rich.”
 
Twitter
Krystal Marquis
@KrystalMarquis
@TheDailyShow “pre-rich” 😂🤣💀
11:16 PM - 31 Jul 2018