I don't know, maybe I'm old fashioned but if you have a million bucks you still seem rich to me. Jeff
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LINCOLN FINANCIAL GROUP: THE NUMBER OF MILLIONAIRES IN AMERICA GROWING, BUT DOES A MILLION DOLLARS MEAN YOU'RE REALLY RICH?
PR NEWSWIRE - December 08, 1999 12:20
PHILADELPHIA, Dec 8, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- After a prolonged period of national prosperity, a growing number of middle- and upper-class Americans think a million dollars may no longer be the accepted standard for being considered rich.
More than half of Americans with household income of $50,000 or more now think you have to have at least $3 million to be considered rich. That compares to only 15 percent who thought that in the early 1980s before the current economic boom began, according to the 13th "Americans and Their Money" survey conducted for Money magazine and Lincoln Financial Group.
In 1984, more than half of all Americans -- 56 percent -- thought you were rich if you had up to $500,000, according to the survey, which has measured American attitudes toward money over the past 16 years.
Now only 13 percent think that. Today, 28 percent of middle- and upper- class Americans think you need $3 million to be thought of as truly rich and another 28 percent think you need at least $5 million. In 1984, only 7 percent thought a person needed $3 million to be rich and 8 percent thought $5 million or more was needed. Today, 30 percent think $1 million makes a person rich, compared to 25 percent 16 years ago.
"There are more millionaires in America than at any time in our nation's history and their number is continuing to increase," said Jon Boscia, chief executive officer of Lincoln Financial Group (LFG) of Philadelphia. "And these survey results indicate significantly changing attitudes about wealth in American life as we approach the next century."
Fueled by the creation of new industries, an expanding economy, record stock market growth and other factors, more and more Americans are expected to become rich by the time the nation enters the early 21st century.
For example, demographers have projected the overall population of the United States will grow at a rate of 1 percent by the beginning of the 21st century. Over that same period, analysts estimate the super-affluent segment -- the number of Americans with a net worth of $1 million or more -- will grow at a rate of 17 percent.
Figures from The VIP Forum in Washington, D.C., show that in 1997, there were 5.3 million households with a net worth of $1 million or more, and by the end of last year the number had increased to 6.7 million households.
In addition, a study of the wealthy by Cerulli Associates, Inc., of Boston, also shows there are more than 2 million households with investable assets of $1 million or more, and they control $5 trillion in assets. The study also said those households with more than $1 million in investable assets -- are currently growing at an annual rate of 22 percent.
Some studies also have shown the new generation of millionaires have some significant differences from previous generations, Boscia added.
"The new generation of millionaires tend to invest more aggressively, and they have sought higher returns by looking for hot, new investments worldwide," Boscia said. "New technology also allows the new generation of wealthy individuals to invest their money virtually anywhere."
A report on the "The Newly Wealthy" issued earlier this year by The VIP Forum noted that whereas in the past "fortunes were once accumulated gradually and preserved over time through family legacy, the vast majority of America's wealthiest individuals are now self-made."
"These trends will result in a number of issues," Boscia said. "For example, in the next two decades there will be a huge transfer of wealth from one generation to another that has never been seen in the history of this country. How Americans deal with this transfer of wealth will go a long way toward determining if this vast national resource of personal wealth is preserved."
Experts have predicted that the inheritances passed on to the nation's 77 million Baby Boomers by their parents will total $5 trillion to $10 trillion in the early decades of the next century, with one-third of those inheritances happening within the next 15 years.
The 13th "Americans and Their Money" poll was conducted by the Willard & Shullman Group of Greenwich, Conn. The survey was sent to more than 4, 500 households across the nation. A total of 899 completed surveys were returned and the margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.
Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for Lincoln National Corporation (NYSE: LNC) and its affiliates. LNC is a prominent financial services holding company with $98 billion in assets and annual revenues of $6.5 billion. The businesses of the Lincoln Financial Group provide wealth accumulation and protection products, including annuities, life insurance, life-health reinsurance, mutual funds, 401(k) plans, institutional investment management and advisory services, and financial planning.
Money magazine is the nation's largest financial publication, with a circulation rate-base of 1.9 million and total readership of more than 9 million.
SOURCE Lincoln Financial Group (C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. prnewswire.com -0- CONTACT: D'Arcy Rudnay of Lincoln Financial Group, 215-448-1454; Jim
Willis for Lincoln Financial Group, 314-982-1972; or Diane Milton of Money Magazine, 212-522-6282 (LNC)
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