One hundred years ago, millionaires were seemingly as rare as unicorns. They were mythical people who resided in ivy-covered estates and lived lives of conspicuous consumption.
Having $1 million in savings and investments in the year 1900 was equivalent to having $30 million today. Even by 1980, a time when a lot of baby boomers were still graduating from college, a $1 million bankroll had the spending power of about $3 million today.
Alas, becoming a millionaire is still a long climb for those who are not born into wealthy families. But, all things considered, it’s much easier than at any point in contemporary history – assuming average stock market returns going forward. About one in 20 Americans, over 17 million people, are now considered millionaires according to Money magazine, and their ranks are growing by about 1,700 a day.
Nationwide, some 7.2 million households (about 5.8%) have amassed at least $1 million according to Kiplinger.com, which published the statistic last summer from Phoenix Marketing International, a company that studies the affluent. To meet the $1 million threshold, the company considered household assets such as education savings accounts, IRAs, 401Ks, brokerage accounts, savings and cash-value life insurance. Real estate holdings, such as home equity, were not counted.
Even in Tennessee, where median earnings are more than 15 percent below the national average, almost one in 20 households (4.67% to be exact) have a seven-figure sum in invested assets, not counting real-estate assets. Putting things in perspective, if you are a Tennessee citizen, you are about as likely to live in one of the state’s 122,585 millionaire households as you are to have hazel-colored eyes.