incredible 1.14 mil housholds with over $5 mil assets

[infolode]

Quote from hels02:

I wonder where they get these figures from? Does the IRS release them?

I think this is impossible, because the MEDIAN income for Americans was $46,000, but then, that's from the Census bureau.

If the MEDIAN income is $46K in the US, that means 50% makes more and 50% makes less. Only 17% of households makes over $100K a year. (google it, or just look up median income on Wikpedia)

If the population of the entire US is 260 million, 15.3 million would be 16.9%. That would mean EVERY SINGLE HOUSEHOLD making over $100K a year has 500K in net assets EXCLUDING their homes. EVERY, minus .1% of that group (which would fall into a statistical error). That is rediculous. All my neighbors make over $100K, and some of them drive cheap cars, and own no furniture to afford their mortgages.

They all have 500K, EXCLUDING their homes? I don't think so. Especially when you consider that the 'average' American is a net consumer and not a net saver, with most statistics saying that we are supposed to be in debt up to our eyeballs, with most families 1 paycheck from disaster.

Further, included in that group are new graduates who landed a $100K+ job out of school. They have $500K in net assets too? More like they are in debt up to their eyeballs just getting set up.

I'd like to see where he gets his data from. You sure this was in CNN and not a supermarket tabloid?

Good points. I too, would like to see the white paper on how this data was gathered and compiled.

 

[hels02]

Here's the census data from Wikpedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:American_Income.png

The top 1.5% of households make over $250K a year. The top 5% make over $157K.

So from which segment are all these millionaires?

 

[qll]

This report is fake! Don't believe it, because they run a survey out of 516 (or 560, I can not remember the exact number) people. So this game is more or less polling very small number of people then use this number for overall country.

 

[Businessman]

I can believe it.

The figures are hiding something obvious (big mortgages on the primary property!).

If you say 5% >500K is reasonable to believe.

I can believe that another 10% have bought at least one more property or started a business by extracting equity from the primary home, some of them mortgaging the primary home to the hilt.

Some may even have withdrawn equity and invested in the stock market.. And be showing a nice profit (for now atleast).

 

[Adobian]

Quote from StockBagger:


I will stick with renting, I live in a 700k home, I pay 1300 a month for. No maintenance, no taxes, NOTHING. My math works out great .

Where is this ?

 

[Pa(b)st Prime]

I believe it also.

Granted I worked at the CBOT and CME where several thousand guy's are millionaires off the IPO's alone. I know dozens of people outside the trading world though who've been investing in 401k's since the 1980's and are sitting on seven figures in stock.

Not to mention those who inherit a portfolio and home.

As MVIC points out, just look around. Ballparks are filled each night with folks scooping up $50 tickets around the country. Run of the mill hotels charge for rooms what suites in the Plaza would have cost two decades ago.

Jeez, I know a teacher who's making 90 something a year.

Income doesn't tell the entire tale. For millions it's all about assets accumulated on the cheap.......

 

[Lights]

i'd say they're understated. media presents a doom and gloom scenario whenever they can.

Quote from joeyata1:

i found the # extremely high. its basically saying 1 out of every 130 households has 5 million in cash,real estate outside there own home and bonds

 

[Maverick74]

Quote from Lights:

i'd say they're understated. media presents a doom and gloom scenario whenever they can.

I concur. I think the numbers are severely understated. The guys on this board that are working odd jobs and trading at IB have no idea what is going on in the outside world. I have friends that I went to school with (high school) that are practically millionaires. And none of them even make over 50k a year. Between generous 401k plans in a strong stock market and flipping a few properties in a strong real estate market, there is a lot of cash out there. It's just that very few people on this forum actually understand that there are people who work for a living and actually get very generous compensation packages, even if their salary does not look that sexy.

 

[minitrade]

I'm not sure why this is hard to believe. The numbers seem pretty easy for me to accept. And the "income" numbers being tossed around here have little to do with net worth as we are talking about assets here.

 

[fusionz]

Quote from Maverick74:

I concur. I think the numbers are severely understated. The guys on this board that are working odd jobs and trading at IB have no idea what is going on in the outside world. I have friends that I went to school with (high school) that are practically millionaires. And none of them even make over 50k a year. Between generous 401k plans in a strong stock market and flipping a few properties in a strong real estate market, there is a lot of cash out there. It's just that very few people on this forum actually understand that there are people who work for a living and actually get very generous compensation packages, even if their salary does not look that sexy.

Nice to see other people being optimistic. It seemed I was the only one on this thread who thought this number wasn't incredible, a millionaire is a dime a dozen these days.