I once saw an image of Lord Vishnu wearing a sacred thread which Brahmin's wear on their body. Does this mean that Lord Vishnu is a Brahmin?
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Yagnopavit or sacred thread is worn by dwijas (Brahmins , Kshatriya, Vaishya) not just Brahmins.
यज्ञोपवितम् परमम् पवित्रम् प्रजापतेर्यत् सहजं पुरस्तात् ।
आयुष्यमग्रं प्रतिमुन्चशुभ्रम् यज्ञोपवितम् बलम्स्तु तेज:॥
yajñopavitam paramam pavitram prajāpateryat sahajaṃ purastāt ।
āyuṣyamagraṃ pratimuncaśubhram yajñopavitam balamstu teja:॥
Put on the sacred thread, the supreme purifier, which was born along with Brahma long ago, which bestows long life, preeminence, and purity may the sacred thread bestow strength and light.
It is compulsory for every dwija to wear it to perform duties to relieve a human from the 3 maharin or debts.
Shri Hari Vishnu is not a brahmin, he is above the caste or whatsoever is in this samsara or worldly things. He is supreme bramhan himself and he wears and does all the things in order to popularize the same things in front of his bhaktas. It is something like a fashion has to be popularized by a icon so Shri Hari does it and he says 'follow me if you want moksha', so he wears all these things so that we are benefited by doing what he does or in other words performing our duties and become nivritaa or free from debts.
Please note that emulating Shri Hari doesn't mean that you should have 3 wives or wear all those ornaments and think Goddess Devi Laxmi is your consort (she was and will be your mother forever) or consider yourself god but it just means do what he does, be humble like him, don't do anything out of excitement (i.e., take his sattva, don't just copy like a copycat but understand the meaning of everything and if you really wanna follow, follow Shri Rama as he is the ideal maryada purushottam avatar).
For more information see Who can wear Yajnopavita/Janeu/Sacred-Thread
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You should cite sources for the claim that Vishnu wears a sacred thread in order to set an example for his devotees. (I think that it's probably correct, but you should try to find a scriptural basis for it.) By the way, Hinduism doesn't say anything against polygamy; Rama's Ekapatni vrata was highly unusual in his time, and it was supererogatory. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 21 '15 at 18:48
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@KeshavSrinivasan Polygamy is allowed in all Varnas or only for Kshatriyas? – The Destroyer Nov 22 '15 at 08:29
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I think polygamy is practised only by Brahmins and Kshatriyas, because if you see all the people of Vrindavana were singly married. – Surya Nov 22 '15 at 14:20
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@AnilKumar Brahmins were certainly allowed to take multiple wives.. By the way, the Manu Smriti says that subsequent wives after your first are allowed to be of progressively lower castes (whereas your first wife is always supposed to be of equal caste). The Anushasana Parva says that if a Brahmin has four wives from the four castes, when he dies his property should be split in the proportion 40% - 30% - 20% -10% from highest caste to lowest: http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m13/m13b012.htm – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 22 '15 at 15:12
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@Surya The Anushasana Parva chapter I linked to says that Vaishyas are only supposed to take one wife, but that some Vaishyas ignore that and take a second wife from the fourth caste, in which case the property is supposed to be split 80% - 20%. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 22 '15 at 15:17
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Which is why the residents of Vrindavana were wise enough to follow that order. But I digress. – Surya Nov 22 '15 at 16:07
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@KeshavSrinivasan is there any reason why Brahmins can take multiple wives? Kshatriyas are allowed for heir and kingdom. What's the reason for Brahmins? – The Destroyer Nov 22 '15 at 16:22
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@Surya By the way, where in Hindu scripture does it say that all the Vaishyas of Vrindavana had only one wife? – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 22 '15 at 16:34
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It doesn't explicitly say so. But in Sri Radhakrsna Ganoddesa Dipika, Sri Rupa Gosvami lists the people of Vrindavana and their families. – Surya Nov 22 '15 at 16:57
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As an aside why is Bhishma so annoyingly discriminatory and casteist, as if Sudras are just substitute people? – Surya Nov 22 '15 at 17:14
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@Surya Well, Rupa Goswami mentions only one wife for the Brahmins as well: http://nitaaiveda.com/All_Scriptures_By_Acharyas/Rupa_Goswami/Radha-Krsna-ganoddesa-dipika/Part_One.htm In any case, do you know what scripture Rupa Goswami got all this information? And I don't think he's claiming that he has listed every single inhabitant of Vrindavana. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 22 '15 at 17:16
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There may be exceptions but I wanted to point out that the vast majority follows the rule. – Surya Nov 22 '15 at 17:17
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@Surya Well, first of all I think it's good to be "casteist", but that's another matter :-) In any case, Bhishma isn't just making this stuff up; he says "Even this is the law of inheritance, O son of Pritha, as declared by the Self-born himself." And indeed, it is what Swayambhuva Manu says in the Manu Smriti. – Keshav Srinivasan Nov 22 '15 at 17:19
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You can add yagnopaveetam paramam pavitram... shloka which means prajapati(lord of the prajas is naturally decorated with a yagnopaveetam). – Sarvabhouma Feb 24 '17 at 07:15
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@SreeCharan do you have a relevant link with good/complete translation of the mantra? – Yogi Feb 24 '17 at 20:08
Yajnopaveethamcan be wore by the people of the first threevarnas.(Brahmins,Kshatriyas,and Vaishyas) Since the lord Brahman himself is originated from the Vishnu, it symbolizes thebrahmajnanamthat is inherited from Vishnu. – Necromancer Jan 05 '16 at 10:13