You obviously don't know any bankers, and probably don't have exposure to the industry.
There are tons of middle-class folks who earn $500K/year in banking, most of whom did not attend Ivy League - even if they did - it's not a big deal as most who do attend Ivy League are in fact 'middle class'.
That's a pretty severe bell curve you got going there.
$500K/year is mid-range doctor salary (some earn much more) - it's enough to have a nice house or flat (probably in an expensive area - meaning that its' not even that nice, just has a good location), nice cars, travel, a cleaner, pay for your kids private schools, and have a cottage/second house.
But not that much more than that.
After all the 'added expenses' of a upper-middle-class lifestyle, they can sock away some money, but not that much.
I know several families in this range and you would not consider them 'rich' by any means. They're just 'well off'.
To be 'economic upper class' you'd have to be way past the many millions in net worth. I'd say more than $20 million at least. Probably more.
Also, the discussion was around income, not net worth.
The suggestion that this is a middle class lifestyle is patently absurd.
"In this analysis, Pew defined middle class households as those earning 67%-200% of a state's median income. So ... how much is that?"
... < $150,000 in all states.
[1] http://www.medscape.com/features/slideshow/compensation/2015...
You mean if you earn a lot but then make the decision to spend a lot, there's not much money left over, making you middle class?
You seem to treat it as a given that if your income is high, you necessarily ratchet up your lifestyle expenses to a point where there's "not that much" left over.
What if your income is $4 million per year? After all the 'added expenses' of an upper-class lifestyle, you're certainly left back in the... middle class...?