The Wealth Escape Velocity Framework: A Mathematical Framework for Dynamic Wealth Thresholds

This paper introduces a mathematical framework for finding the point at which individual wealth becomes self-perpetuating — no longer tied to productive work, and growing faster than democratic institutions can regulate. The framework rests on three distinct concepts, each doing a different job. The Social Gravity Constant (SGC) is a ratio derived from the democratic field strength (D) and the long-run passive return rate (R): SGC = D/R. The Live Currency Threshold (LCT) is the dollar threshold derived from SGC and median global wealth (M): LCT = M × SGC = M × D/R. It rises automatically as M rises and as D improves — anchored to actual collective prosperity, not to a fixed political number. Orbital Detachment (OD) is the escape condition: the state in which individual wealth W exceeds LCT — the point where wealth operates beyond the reach of the system that produced it. The framework further proposes a conditional unlock mechanism in which LCT rises automatically as the percentage of the world’s adults holding more than LCT crosses defined thresholds.