At the end of the day, they can still sell their house and have 1M. I can sell my house and have 150K. There is definitely more to it than just being wealthier on paper.
I live in Singapore. If I have a 1M house, I can sell it, have 1M. Now I have two choices. I can either choose to be homeless, or I can buy another house for another 1M and be stuck in the same position as I was in in the first place. That 1M is really just "on paper" if you live in a country where housing is equally expensive everywhere.
In summary, some of these wealthier on paper people you mentioned way back may in fact just be wealthier. They can also live a wealthier lifestyle if they so choose.