In America’s richest town, US$500k (RM2.09mil) a year is now below average

A home stands in Atherton, California, US. For the fourth straight year, Atherton topped Bloomberg's Richest Places annual index. With an average household income of more than US$525,000, it became the first and so far only community to top the half-million dollar mark since Bloomberg started compiling the index in 2017. — Bloomberg

You could easily drive through this leafy Silicon Valley suburb without realising you were in America’s richest neighbourhood. From the road, it’s all high brick walls and opaque gates.

It takes Google Maps to get a glimpse of what lies behind. Satellite images of Atherton, California – where the average household income just blew past half a million dollars – reveal the sprawling homes of tech billionaires and sports stars, studded with tennis courts and pools.