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Millionaires live in different worlds
Big divide among earnings tiers
CHICAGO -- Becoming a millionaire no longer guarantees a life of champagne and caviar.
In fact, households with a net worth of $1 million to $5 million, not including primary residence, demonstrate a much more humble existence than the term "millionaire" tends to evoke, according to a new report that studies this group, "The Millionaire Investor," released by Spectrem Group.
The two most prevalent careers among the $1 million to $5 million group are manager (20 percent) and educator (11 percent). Meanwhile, those in the $25 million and higher category are entrepreneur/business owner (30 percent) and senior corporate executive (17 percent), according to additional Spectrem research.
"Millionaire has always had a magical ring to it, presenting a powerful aspiration for many. However, achieving millionaire status no longer guarantees a life of leisure. In fact, those in the $1 million to $5 million category work in jobs like managers and educators that we don't typically associate with the term 'millionaire.' The real millionaires today are those with $25 million or more. These tend to be senior corporate executives and business owners and represent the top tier in American wealth. Those with $5 million or less have still done well. They just represent a slightly different category, more like working-class millionaires," said George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group and co-author with Spectrem Managing Director Catherine S. McBreen of the new book "Get Rich, Stay Rich, Pass It On: The Wealth-Accumulation Secrets of America's Richest Families" (Portfolio, January 2008).
In terms of assets, both millionaire groups have the majority of their money placed in investable assets. However, for the $5 million and under group, the biggest allocations of their remaining assets are principal residence (16 percent) and insurance and annuities (9 percent). The $25 million and higher tier have their non-investable assets in privately held business (12 percent) and all other real estate (10 percent).
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