28 Millionaire Statistics: What Percentage of Americans Are Millionaires?
Last Updated: September 20, 2022
Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man’s world …
Ah, the American dream.
You come to America, work your butt off, and boom — you’re a millionaire.
What percentage of Americans are millionaires then?
The number of super-rich individuals has gone up for the 10th year in a row! In fact, the latest statistics show that the number of millionaires in the US has beaten the total populations of Greece, Sweden, and Portugal.
That’s not all:
Millionaire Statistics (Editor’s Pick):
- The United States added 2,251,000 new millionaires from 2019 to 2020.
- The total number of millionaires in the US is 20.27 million.
- There are 788 billionaires in the United States.
- There are 323,443 millionaire households in New Jersey.
- 76% of US millionaires are white.
- New York is the city with the biggest concentration of ultra-rich millionaires with 24,660 UHNW.
- The United States’ millennial millionaires own an average of three properties with a real estate portfolio worth $1.4 million.
- About 44% of US-based millennial millionaires live in California.
- 43.4% of the world’s wealth is controlled by the top 1%.
What Percentage of Americans are Millionaires?
Let’s start with the basics. The number of millionaires, their households, and how they got their wealth.
1. How many millionaires are in the US in 2020?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
The Global Wealth Report says that the total number of millionaires in the US is 20.27 million. The United States also added 2,251,000 new millionaires from 2019 to 2020 alone, which puts it at the very top of the list of countries with the most millionaires.
Since the adult US population is around 250 million, that means that just over 8% of Americans are millionaires.
2. How many US millionaire households are there?
(Source: Spectrem)
A new survey has found that there are 13.61 million households that have a net worth of $1 million or more, not including the value of their primary residence. That’s more than 10% of households in the US.
So the US is definitely the country with the most millionaires.
3. What percentage of millionaires inherited their wealth?
(Source: Ramsey Solutions)
Only about 20% of Americans inherit their riches.
The rest of them (80%) are self-made, first-generation millionaires. Most millionaires have to work for the money and don’t get rich once a relative dies, according to “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy” by Thomas J Stanley.
Gatsby would be proud.
Multimillionaires in the United States
Of course, millionaires are only one part of the equation. Many people have more than a single million, and some have much, much more.
4. How many people are worth 10 million?
(Source: DQYDJ)
Have you ever wondered how many decamillionaires are in the US?
Well, we did.
And we found out that there are an estimated 1,456,336 households with a net worth of at least $10 million.
It is important to note that we are talking about a household, not an individual. So there may be more than one person earning in a single household.
5. How many multi-millionaires are in the US?
(Source: DQYDJ)
About 8,046,080 US households have a net worth of $2 million or more, covering about 6.25% of American households. 5,671,005 US households have a net worth of $3 million or more, covering about 4.41% of all US households.
6. How many multi-millionaires in the US have $50 million net assets?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
There are a total of 89,510 people in the United States with net assets of at least $50 million. This number equals 50.9% of the ultra-high net worth (UHNW) individuals over the world.
Obviously, there’s a huge wealth disparity.
7. How many billionaires in the US are there?
(Source: Wealth-X)
According to a census report in 2020, there are 788 billionaires in the United States with a combined net worth of $3.431 trillion. In contrast, the United States had 404 billionaires in 2010.
8. How many millionaires are in Congress?
(Source: Center for Responsive Politics)
There are 229 millionaires in Congress. The exact number is hard to determine since Congress members reveal their finances in ranges. But according to the Center for Responsive Politics, 43% of congress members had a net worth of over $1 million in 2018. That’s 43%, over seven times the national rate of 6%.
US Millionaire Demographics, 2021
Who are these millionaires, though? Let’s check the US millionaire distribution by age and race.
9. What is the average age of US millionaires?
(Source: Spectrem)
According to a report about the US millionaire population by age, the average age of US millionaires is 62 years old. About 38% of US millionaires are over 65 years of age. Only 1% are below 35. Millionaires on the West Coast are slightly older, as well.
So don’t worry. You most probably still have time to become rich.
10. What is the percentage of millionaires in America by race?
(Source: Statista)
According to the most recent data available, 76% of US millionaires were white or Caucasian. Black American and Asian millionaires each accounted for just 8%. Hispanics made up 7% of the total millionaire population.
11. What is the average age of US billionaires?
(Source: Wealth-X)
The average age of billionaires is slightly higher than that of millionaires at 65.9 years old. According to a 2016 report, only 46 people became billionaires before the age of 40. This further reaffirms that billionaires are not made overnight but are built through experience and time.
12. What is the average millennial millionaire’s net worth?
(Source: Coldwell Banker)
There are 618,000 millennial millionaires in the United States, and 93% of them have a net worth ranging from $1 to $2.49 million.
The boomers’ generation was the richest generation in the history of the United States. They are leaving huge piles of wealth to their Gen X and millennial descendants. However, many of these millennials are earning good money all by themselves as well.
Joining the top US Earnings Income and Wealth Percentile
How old were they when they started accumulating serious wealth? And how much of wealth overall do they control? Keep on reading to find out.
13. What percentage of US wealth is managed by millionaires?
(Source: Federal Reserve)
According to the Federal Reserve, the top 10% in the US own 69.6% of the nation’s wealth. If you need a clearer example of financial inequality you just need to know that around a third of the US wealth (31.4%) is owned by the top 1%, which is almost 16 times more than the bottom 50% who own 2% of it.
14. How long did it take Billionaires to Earn Their First Million?
(Source: Visual Capitalist)
Most self-made billionaires earned their first million dollars within five years. Out of the top 100 billionaires in the world, over two-thirds (69%) made their first million in under ten years.
Where Do American Millionaires Live and What Do They Do?
Where’s the highest concentration of US millionaires and other rich people? How did they get rich, and how do they stay rich?
15. Which state has the highest percentage of millionaires?
(Source: Kiplinger)
According to a 2020 report, New Jersey wrested the top spot from Maryland when it comes to millionaire per capita. There are 323,443 millionaire households in New Jersey, thanks to its proximity to the Big Apple. With that concentration of wealth, it’s not surprising that the cost of living in the state is 13.4% higher than the US average.
16. Which state has the highest number of billionaires?
(Source: Forbes)
While California takes the lead here with 189 billionaires, the wealthiest Americans don’t live in these two states, Mark Zuckerberg being the only exception.
Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates both live in Washington, while Warren Buffett resides in Nebraska, and Elon Musk recently moved to Texas.
If you want a more detailed breakdown of US-based billionaires by State, you can check out more of our content.
17. Where do millionaires invest their money?
(Source: The College Investor)
Investing in real estate is still the most popular of all millionaire investment and spending choices. For over 200 years, approximately 90% of the global millionaires have been spending their fortunes on real estate investments. This trend is expected to grow.
For investors, real estate offers the biggest opportunity to develop wealth. A good way to dip your toes in the real estate business is to buy your first primary residence.
18. Which US city has the highest number of UHNW people?
(Source: Wealth-X)
New York is the city with the highest concentration of ultra-rich millionaires, with 24,660 UHNW. The second spot belongs to Los Angeles, with 16,295 millionaires. San Francisco is third, with 6,740 millionaires. Chicago and Miami take the fourth and fifth positions with 6,085 and 5,615 UHNW individuals, respectively.
19. How many properties are owned by the average American millionaire?
(Source: Statista)
The largest fraction (43%) of millionaires in the US owns only one house. Roughly 20% own two, and only 8.5% of them own five or more.
When it comes to millennial millionaires, they own an average of three properties with a real estate portfolio worth $1.4 million.
20. Which industries have the most UHNW individuals?
(Source: Wealth-X)
The finance and investment industry is definitely the industry with the most millionaires and UHNW people. Roughly 14% of all UHNW individuals engage in it as their primary industry. Industrial conglomerates come in second, with 9.1%, and they’re closely followed by the business and customer services industry at 9%.
Growth Rate of Millionaires
Is the number of millionaires increasing? How quickly and what does it mean?
21. How many new millionaires were added in 2020 in the US?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
From 2019 to mid-2020, 2,251,000 new millionaires joined the ranks of millionaires in the United States alone. The trend is expected to continue over the next five years, with the US seeing a growth in both the VHNW and UHNW individuals.
22. What is the wealth growth rate of the youngest millionaires?
(Source: Coldwell Banker)
The youngest millionaires are millennials, and their wealth is steadily growing. By 2030, millennials are expected to control five times as much wealth as they have now.
Additionally, as baby boomers pass on, millennials will inherit an accumulated $68 trillion from their rich parents and relatives.
23. Which states have the most millennial millionaires per capita?
(Source: Coldwell Banker)
Both per capita and in absolute numbers, California takes the lead. About 44% of the millennial millionaires of the US are concentrated in California, which is pretty consistent with the population of older millionaires as well.
About 14% of millennial millionaires live in New York State. However, most millennials prefer Traverse City, Michigan, as their second home since the price of luxury homes there starts from $500,000 — a far cry from $2 million in Silicon Valley.
Global Wealth Statistics
Now that we’ve covered US-specific millionaire statistics, let’s turn our eyes to the rest of the world.
24. Who is the youngest billionaire in the world?
(Source: Forbes)
According to Forbes, the youngest billionaire in the world is Kevin David Lehmann, an 18-year-old German heir. He’s worth $3.3 billion after he inherited his father’s 50% stake in a German drugstore chain.
The youngest American billionaire is Austin Russel. Aged 26, he’s worth $2.4 billion, and he’s the founder of Luminar Technologies, a company that makes sensors and other tech for autonomous vehicles.
25. How many millionaires are there in the world?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
There are approximately 51,882,000 people who own one million USD or more worldwide. They own $173.3 trillion of wealth, according to the Global Wealth Report. The US accounts for 39% of the total number of millionaires, while China is in second place with 11%.
26. What is the percentage of world wealth controlled by millionaires?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
According to the Global Wealth Report, 43.4% of the world’s wealth is controlled by millionaires, or approximately $173.3 trillion.
Moreover, 83.9% of the world’s wealth is owned by the top 10% richest people. In contrast, the bottom half of the wealth pyramid manages 1.4% of global wealth, showing there is an almost insurmountable disparity in the global distribution of wealth.
27. How many global UHNW people are self-made?
(Source: Wealth-X)
According to Wealth-X, about 71.9.% of UHNW millionaires were self-made. 20.3% of them benefited from a combination of inheritance and self-created wealth. Only 7.7% became wealthy solely through inheritance.
28. Which countries have the most millionaires?
(Source: Credit-Suisse)
The United States tops the list of countries with the most millionaires, with 20.27 million people whose net worth matches or exceeds one million USD. China stands at number two with 6.143 million millionaires, followed by Japan with 3.275 million millionaires.
Germany is next with 2.221 million millionaires, and France follows close behind with 2.192 million millionaires. The UK has been knocked out of the top five and is now sixth with 2.116 million millionaires.
Bottom Line
So, while researching what percentage of Americans are millionaires, we found out that the American dream is alive and thriving.
The rule of thumb is that with hard work, you can achieve anything in America. There are a lot of inspiring people — both fictional and real — that have made it big that way.
But if it was that easy, wouldn’t we be all millionaires?
Well, our research shows that the number of millionaires will only grow in the future. So you still have a chance to become a part of our statistics.
Go, now. Make Gatsby proud.
You may also be interested in:
What Percentage of Americans Make Minimum Wage?
How Many Americans Live Paycheck to Paycheck?
Rick Hagmayer
July 6, 2021 at 6:31 pm
Understandably, there may appear to be racial disparities in percentage of American Households that are millionaires, however, 76% of America is white. This article states 76% of millionaires are white. There is an obvious proportional correlation between the percentage of millionaires who are white and the standard population percentage. I’m having difficulty understanding why Asian Americans and Black Americans are lumped into the same category, particularly since African Americans are almost 14% of the population and only 2% are millionaires. It appears there are higher percentages of Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans that are millionaires than there are of Caucasian Americans.
Jack
November 25, 2021 at 4:56 pm
Rick, according to my analysis Hispanics are 8% of the millionaires and are 18% of the general population. Why blacks and Asians are lumped together doesn’t make sense because East Asians have always had higher rates of graduate degrees, personal income, and net worth on average than Caucasians. They also have higher average test scores than Caucasians . Blacks have on average the lowest test scores, I don’t know why those two would be grouped together either.
Gusto Alonzo
April 11, 2022 at 10:34 pm
People dont realized that most black Americans millionaires are in the entertainment industry,athletes and
Politicians which are way more then Asians Americans.Actually there are more then 8% of Black Millionaires.
The education test scores really don’t
Mean nothing anyone can earn money
Depend on your skills and investment.
The education among Hispanic group’s
Mainly Mexican Americans high school diploma and college are the lowest
Among educated population,70%
High school graduates while other groups above 85% .The people who
Look at media or inner city issues think
That all certain people live in the hood
Not the case no more even back then it
Wasn’t the case you had racial segregation which done by law
Responsible for alot of these things and its way more then 2% of black millionaires its really 9% and majority lived in the East Coast down South and some in L.A area
BoomXer
July 16, 2022 at 6:47 am
you didn’t read it right. They are saying that Blacks and Asians have 8% EACH. so to say it more slowly for you, Blacks have 8% and Asians have 8%. they are not lumped together at all. those percents really equal 16% of the total. duhhhh it wasn’t that tricky at all.
S. Sats
August 23, 2021 at 7:20 pm
With the rate that the U.S. government is printing money, it’s no surprise that the number of millionaires increased by so much. I would expect that trend to continue, if not accelerate in the future.
Buy Bitcoin (and ONLY Bitcoin) Hold it, and never let it go. This is going to be a crazy ride.
Dre
July 21, 2022 at 7:45 pm
Bitcoin is currently worth $0 and will never be worth more than that. It produces nothing and is nothing. Completely worthless.
Net Worth
September 9, 2021 at 1:33 pm
I find the one percent question to be interesting, The IRS gives the one percent threshold of AGIs of tax returns, I would call that a proxy for households (531K as last reported) so we can see that but the one percent threshold for net worth is commonly considered from two different sources one saying its 11.1 million while the other saying it 4.4 million. I’m in camp that the 4.4 million seems more reasonable since the earnings on 11.1 million should be enough to make 530K making it so almost no one would ever enter or leave the 1% and we know that’s just not true.
Charles Fulford
September 11, 2021 at 3:22 pm
It would be interesting to see the correlation between cumulative assets of the top 10 percent of earners (including assets) compared to the national debt for the span of 1970 to current.
al smith
September 23, 2021 at 9:20 pm
How many are millionaires on “paper” like stocks etc?
Vicki
September 27, 2021 at 1:19 pm
It would be interesting to see these statistics by gender and highest level of education as well.
Isaac D
October 4, 2021 at 6:56 pm
I will join this list – SOON!
Peter Ward
October 24, 2021 at 7:35 pm
The countries with the most millionaires paragraph is somewhat misleading. If the data is normalized instead of quoting the absolute numbers, in rough numbers, the USA is still #1 with a 18:1 chance of being a millionaire, Japan is #2 at 20:1, the UK is #3 at 27:1, France is #4 at 30:1 Germany is #5 at 37:1, and China, although #2 in absolute numbers has a millionaire ratio of 230:1 I have not done the research but would guess that the national tax rates are an inverse of the millionaire ratios. Absolute numbers can be more sensational but misleading, normalized data has greater value.
Neil
December 22, 2021 at 8:11 pm
If your theory of national tax rates were to hold true, the order would be UAE, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Equatorial Guinea, USA, Paraguay, Switzerland, Madagascar….after being normalized by throwing out war-torn/minimal populations or data older than 2016.
Don Moskowitz
October 26, 2021 at 11:35 pm
The statistics cited may all be fine, but the commentary is less than adequate once the implications are recognized. Some of the remarks in the comment section are, too. The author clearly recognizes the difference between wealth and income. The difference can, and in some instances does, play out like this: in the manner of Warren Buffett, many very wealthy people do not spend an inordinate amount on goods and services, at least not when judged according to the funds they have available to them. Due to their choice of lifestyle, they are not as pressed as they might have been to cash in their investments. They are free to do whatever they can to legally avoid paying taxes, asset management included, and keep watch on their assets while their long term investments grow at a hefty clip on average, in the long run. As cited by the author, much of those assets, whether they belong to the thrifty or not, are in the form of real estate. This is where the part I find disturbing enters the picture: it is one thing to claim that most great financial wealth is in the hands of, not heirs of great fortunes, but people whose wealth stems from hard work. (Note that I say “stems”.) Another to treat the wealth accumulated on those earnings as accumulating through hard work.
There is no distinction made in the commentary, so far as I can see, between wealth accumulated from hard work and the hefty portion of it that comes from investing that hard earned cash. (It would be quite revealing to know the breakdown.) The difference has a lot of important ramifications. Here, my focus is on the following: it may be thought that it is to a person’s credit that by investing in a certain piece of real estate much wealth had been acquired. People like to see such a fortunate turn of events as being owed primarily to savvy, although much of it comes as much from savvy as from having the opportunity, due to one’s wealth, of riding out downturns in economic conditions. Most fellow citizens don’t have that luxury. In fact, that may be the biggest factor in the creation of the insidious problem of the great disparity in wealth we are watching grow by leaps and bounds, which evidence suggests increasingly tears at our social fabric as it gets even larger. But, then, that can be fairly seen as parasitic on the stable conditions of a society. For relative stability and expectations of returns on investment go hand in hand. A favorable risk-reward ratio is largely a function of such conditions. Does that mean that the investor has no claim to rewards that come from taking the financial risk of purchasing property? Not at all. The question is not whether but how much: In all fairness, given that a collective effort of fellow citizens led through their own hard work to the establishment of those conditions which made the steady accumulation of such rewards possible, isn’t the question of how much one that is a matter for society to collectively determine?
The United States attracts a great deal of cash from foreign investors, which is mainly why, due the strength provided to it by such investment, the dollar is the closest thing there is to a worldwide currency. So much cash is invested that Instruments such as government bonds owe their stability to it, the track record of which fuels that attraction. The less stable the society, the more likely would occur shocks to the financial system that have an impact on worldwide perceptions of stability, a cause itself of greater instability, thereby setting up conditions suitable for a vicious cycle detrimental to the US economy. The United States benefits greatly, as far as its reputation is concerned, as a good place, frequently seen as the best place, to park vast wealth due to its combination of stability and economic dynamism. But the stability is not an expendable factor, which means that the disparity in wealth threatens the very conditions that created the opportunity upon which great wealth-accumulation is typically built. Now, there may be those who don’t care: what’s it to them, their thinking may go, what future opportunities would be like? For they have already utilized the opportunity afforded them which they helped create by hard work. But there are two main points I want to highlight about such thinking: the first is that it is, as I mentioned, parasitic, for it weakens if not wipes out the conditions that made the accumulation of great wealth possible; second, it mistakes a necessary condition for a sufficient one: the opportunity could only have been created by hard work, assuming it was created legally, under the right conditions (i.e. long-term stable ones). By missing the latter point, regardless of whether, in an effort to derive great personal satisfaction from patting themselves on the back for the savvy they take themselves to have demonstrated, as if luck weren’t a good part of it, blinders are worn which help account for the point’s being missed. Wearing such blinders would mean that a concern for promoting the maintenance of the conditions that made the growth of their wealth possible would more likely be absent from their thinking. But worse, as I see it, is this: if we are to grant that there is some moral claim to hard-earned cash, it does not follow that the same claim applies to the wealth accumulated by an investment in real estate, including, say, a contractual arrangement set up with a maintenance company to do the hard work involved in upkeep. Where, then, would be the hard work needed for the claim’s justification? Seen in light of that difference, how is the great growing disparity in wealth we are witness to, in our increasingly fragmenting society, a result of fair play? The conclusion I draw is that the disparity does not exist under conditions of fair play, but under those which, with only empty-headed propaganda to back it up, allow the strong to grow stronger at the expense of the weak by using the law to protect hoarded money from being used to, say, help children flourish, including their physical and mental health, or to support joint efforts to stem the advancing degradation of environmental conditions needed to.be maintained if the planet is to remain suited to the lives of human beings and other living things.
Don M.
Michael
November 13, 2021 at 7:45 pm
I would say that there is 100% fair play when it comes to being a millionaire in the United States. Anyone can do it and it’s relatively simple.
Take my case. I grew up in a family of 5 kids, my mother was essentially a secretary and my father worked in factories most of his life. I went to college and graduated with about $80k in student loans. When i first graduated interest rates were in the process of increasing 4.5% from 2004-2006. I’m an older millennial. The fed was raising rates 0.25% every two months. My payments were about $1,300 a month. I took a sales job that paid minimum wage of $7.25 if I didn’t make enough sales. I was having trouble just paying my student loans. It may not have been a great job but I learned from it.
I got laid off and eventually landed a customer service job with a 401k provider. The starting pay was about $32k a year. Being a 401k provider they had a generous 401k match and allowed overtime. I used to work an average of 75 hours per week for most of the year. Working nights, weekends and in snowstorms. We took pride in never shutting down to be there for our customers. I worked as much as I possibly could. The only person working more than me was a friend from Africa, there were a few others from other countries as well.
I helped my sister pay for her wedding and my parents pay their mortgage when my fathers factories in the paper industry shut down. I would work the extra hours and give them the money directly after paying for my student loans. My friend from Africa was sending money back to his family.
I remembered thinking I needed more income to get ahead. My parents had rented out my grandparents house when they had Alzheimer’s and dementia it helped pay the bills. So I thought maybe I should try it. When I was a kid my father took me to a side job he was doing for someone to a multi-family. I remember him saying “if” he could buy any multi he would buy a 4-unit. Turns out he was right without even knowing it because that’s as big as you could go without the disadvantages of commercial real estate.
So I had my girlfriend at the time (now wife) buy a 4-family to live in, and then I would buy one as well. She was older and had more money saved than I did. We would work on her property when overtime was not available. I asked my friend who was working so many hours if he owned a house and he said no. He was a renter. I explained to him it was on 3.5% down as a first-time buyer, so to buy a property for $250k-$300k was only $10k-$15k down. He bought his own 3-unit. I later asked him his thoughts, he said it’s the best thing he’s ever done. He lives for free, gets a building paid for by his tenants, and even makes a little cash.
My idea was that he would buy the multi, stop paying rent, and not need to work as much and he could have a family. The next year he was working just as much 80+ hours a week. I said what happened? I thought you were going to cut back on working? He replies, I want to buy another multi. Fast forward and he owns at least 3 properties, he paid for his mother’s expensive surgery back in Africa from one month of his rental income, and he’s heavily invested in crypto now. He said that despite dealing with cleaning up used condoms and pregnancy tests, bed bugs, cockroaches, and maggots from food left out by tenants, and having to deal with people who just stop paying their rent, stopped responding, taking them to court and repairing their extensive damage. Buying real estate was the best thing he ever did.
I did the math and in hindsight, my one time investment of $10k-$15k in a 4-unit 10-years ago, vs my generous savings into a 401k (27% with employer match included) invested in stocks at 7% average return, working my butt off 75 hours a week starting just before the Great Recession in 2007 and including promotions and pay increases in a “clean” white collar job, and just the equity in the building from appreciation and the mortgage being paid down are worth more than all of the savings and investing in stocks. This is not even counting rental income.
So in a way the author is right. 90% of wealth does come from real estate. Anyone who is responsible can easily do it. All you need is to show that you are responsible. Have a job with W2 income and that you pay your bills (credit score). Work a few extra hours for your 3.5% down.
By the time I was 30 I had more money than my parents had at any point in their life through age 65. My father had the right idea but didn’t execute. It’s not that he didn’t work hard like I did, because he certainly did. He just didn’t have that extra push, and he had a family early on. You have to be determined to take the risk of a tenant not paying you and resilient for whatever will come your way.
My initial thought was that the rental income would cover my student loan payment. Remember, if I could make at least $1,300 in rental income a month that would cover my student loans and I’d get to keep my money from working. A $10k-$15k down payment was much cheaper than paying off $80k in loans. By working at least 27.5 (I actually did 35 hours a week) hours extra each week at time and a half, I doubled my $32k pay to $64k to have the discretionary income to save and get ahead.
The point is it’s all a question of work ethic and motivation. There is plenty of info online about making money. The people who have no money have no money because they spend their money, and usually on stupid things, new cars, coffee, video games and going out to eat. If you don’t believe this ask anyone who has ever worked in a 401k withdrawal department, 9 times out of 10 retirement withdrawals are taken out for people to buy a brand new car for immediate comfort or to pay off a credit card they maxed out that they will just wrack up again. Instead of thinking about the future they just care about immediate gratification. This is really a cultural and educational fault. Most people think that when they leave their job getting access to their 401k is like winning the lottery.
Race doesn’t matter, my friend came from Africa by himself and was renting an apartment. He was black and he did what I did and now he is a millionaire. If he didn’t know how to fix something, he would go online and look up videos.
Being rich is easy and anyone can do it. You have to spend less than you make, either make more money by working more, or by finding a way to cut expenses. Take that money and buy real estate. Work is a factor but determination is more key. In about 10 years we went from almost no savings to owning 2 businesses, working on buying our tenth property, and probably $1mm in paper assets. Owning a service business is much harder and less worthwhile than working for someone else. In retrospect I should have not bought the businesses, kept working for someone else, less hours, and kept buying more real estate. A.k.a. Less time in khakis and a collared shirt, and more time cleaning up used condoms and bedbugs.
Im that 80% of millionaires who worked their butts off to get where they are.
Jack
November 25, 2021 at 5:10 pm
That is an excellent personal statement Michael. I’m 62. I’ve lost my personal fortune twice in my life and had to all over from scratch. I’ve now made a third fortune far bigger than the previous two and retire anytime I want. I also have 80% of my wealth and income coming from residential rental properties. Condo/apartments. I tell all my employees the same thing. Anyone can do it, start saving for your first down payment and protect your credit rating.
Steve Conrad
April 28, 2022 at 11:49 pm
Your thesis is that mental work, planning, and mastering how to handle a set of conditions is not a worthy way to accumulate wealth. I think that new ideas are the single most important contribution a person can make and that a new idea is ultimately worth much more to society than is the fine tuning of an old idea.
Nouveau Riche
November 3, 2021 at 1:33 am
Does anyone get the feeling that the writer/s of this article and study are communists? Why do they hate wealthy people so much? They WORKED their a$$e$ off to get rich and they deserve to keep it. We recently joined the HNWI list and it took close to ten years after college to do it. We didn’t blow our earnings on cars, luxury items, and a crazy lifestyle. We have lived on about 10% of our earnings and saved and invested the rest. That is called responsible living. Maybe we should be ENCOURAGING the young to do that instead of dreaming of utopian communism where they get the steal from those who WORKED for their wealth!
Jana W
November 4, 2021 at 5:52 am
Hard work does not always result in wealth. Teachers, retail workers, wait staff, hospitality workers, musicians, artists, car mechanics, construction workers, public health servants, UBER drivers, and custodians all have demanding jobs. Even a millionaire could not enjoy life without the hard work of many others contributing to society. Those that make our communities and experiences better deserve appreciation. For me and many of my friends, our jobs serve a purpose, we are responsible, we have civic pride, relationships, and plan for the future. We work hard for low to moderate pay. Sure, I dream of being rich. How much is enough? At what dollar amount do your worries go away? I try to remember that wealth does not ensure happiness.
Gusto Alonzo
April 11, 2022 at 10:45 pm
You hit it on the money. I been working in the service industry since college now im 40 something have a home that we owned married with two grown kids that work decent careers,we about too be grand parents from are oldest daughter,we able to go
On vacation spend time enjoying ourselves and going too service on Sundays and pay ties. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.. That what wrong with this Society people forget the true value of life suppose too be that why
We have so many problems
Dre
July 21, 2022 at 7:47 pm
Read about a man named Ronald Read.
Andrew
November 25, 2021 at 10:23 pm
Love the stats. I especially like number 4. It helps hit home that most millionaires are not young. It takes time to save, and invest.
jack ivory
April 29, 2022 at 1:06 am
so in america i am in the top 5%. so in thailand with 100 million baht i am in the top .01 percent
Patrick
July 13, 2022 at 7:35 pm
I like the article, but there’s some gaps – “Since the adult US population is around 250 million, that means that just over 8% of Americans are millionaires.”
The US population is 332 million, and the millionaires number 20 million, placing the percentage at 6%.
WR
August 25, 2022 at 10:15 pm
The key to becoming a millionaire is to live wisely financially, mainly by living within your means, avoiding credit card and other non-productive debt and having a long term outlook. In other words, delay of gratification is key. I made some bad financial decisions in my late-30’s which continued to impact me into my 40’s. Just about had to declare bankruptcy, so I educated myself a bit about money by reading books on how to become a millionaire. “The Millionaire Next Door” truly inspired me. At age 42, my net worth was only $30k, but I now had a vision. I kept my vehicles in great shape for years and years. I bought an inexpensive, but nice house with a price tag of $84k. I saved to my 401k consistently, but was fairly aggressive in my 401k allocation by investing 100% in American companies, namely the S&P and Big Tech. I stayed away from financial vehicles with poor returns such as bonds. I also started investing in other real estate. Through it all, I was able to carry the bulk of my children’s college education and still take vacations. It was a tough road to financial freedom, but had I not made those mistakes earlier in life, I may not have been motivated to be smarter with money. I retired at age 59, and I now travel the world. My rental properties subsidize my retirement, and my 401k continues to have a very healthy balance despite the decline in the market we’re experiencing in 2022. I just bought a reasonably priced new car for the first time in 14 years with cash from my savings, and I still live in my $84k house which is now worth $300k. I’m no financial guru, but I learned how to stick to a budget. If I was able to build wealth, then most people should as well. It takes discipline to avoid the allure of high priced luxury cars and that $500k house. Too many people fall into that trap and join the category of “All hat and no cattle,” thus living paycheck to paycheck. Keeping things simple over long term will yield very favorable results. Listening to Dave Ramsey helps as well. My children listen to him, and I’d like to think they listen to me as well. They’re all educated, and two of them are already millionaires. They contribute to their 401k’s, invest in real estate and stay away from non-productive debt.
MJ
September 4, 2022 at 9:41 am
WR, I “amen” your response to this article. We also practiced very lean living for the first 25 years of marriage with 7 children at home to educate, feed, clothe, carpool, raise up, and inspire. We arrived at the millionaire mark maybe back in 2013 and have continued building upon that initial milestone.
What is noteworthy for those hard workers who wish to follow suit, is that we literally started with $8k as a down payment on our first home, and then borrowed equity out for real estate. Most of the impetus to do so came after educating ourselves, much prayer (to overcome fear) and after reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad. We then took several inexpensive real estate investment seminars and bought a dozen properties while I was in my 30’s. Even after counting for hard moments during the Great Recession and just situations of life, we held 7 properties long-term and bought more when interest rates were low the last few years.
We are training and educating our kids to follow suit and I hope/pray they will. As a way to give back, we have helped family and friends buy real estate as well, with amazing results to their long-term wealth. It’s pretty exciting to see what 20 years can do (since our first investment properties in 2002). Kick the excuses to the curb and jump in. There is still plenty of time to prosper. Hop to it!!