How much money does it take to be a millionaire…???

[Shamou]

How much money does it take to be a millionaire…???

When we refer to someone as a “millionaire” obviously we are not saying that the person has a million dollars but we are talking in term of a general financial status…

The so called “millionaire” will probably have values up to a million in personal residence, furniture and cars… so, it stands to reason that more than one million dollars is required to be called a “millionaire” and, the question here is… How Much…???

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[Nico Kempe]

Hmmz, I think if you can afford a Ferrari, live in a nice big house or villa with a big slap of land, and have at least one butler, you could call yourself a millionaire.

Then again, you might be broke at that time too.

Or you just have more than a million rupees.

One thing I do know: I'm not one of them, yet anyway..)

[Ree]

Actually, I think being a millionaire IS defined as having assets of at least one million dollars. The number of millionaires has increased greatly of late, so apparently it's no biggie anymore. Now, if you get to be a billionaire..... you've arrived!

Check out this article: Report: Number of U.S. millionaires jump - Jun. 9, 2005
Report: Number of U.S. millionaires jump - Jun. 9, 2005

[openeyes]

With housing values soaring on the west coast and elsewhere, many people can have a net worth of $1 million+ while still living paycheck to paycheck. $30 million+ would be nice

To me, an entry level millionaire is someone who can regularly fly first class and live in a nice place most anywhere in the world he wants, without needing to work any more than he cares to for the rest of his life.

A serious millionaire would be someone who could effectively pay cash for his own jet, helicopter, heli-pad equipped yacht and mansion without making too much of a dent in one's finances.

I know several people of the entry level type, but only one of the latter (net worths ranging from ~$5 - 200+ million). All of them are incredibly disciplined and enjoy their work, with the wealthiest also being the most colorful.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by openeyes

All of them are incredibly disciplined and enjoy their work, with the wealthiest also being the most colorful.

Ditto here... I've had the pleasure of rubbing elbow with a fair amount of wealthy people... and they are all hard working, disciplined people...

however... the opposite seems to be the norm for the children... either spoiled brats or just plain weird... at least in most cases...

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[openeyes]

Originally Posted by Shamou

however... the opposite seems to be the norm for the children... either spoiled brats or just plain weird... at least in most cases...

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Indeed. The only one I've seen doing well with a family made the money before having kids (building a software company then selling it to Microsoft), donated a lot to effective charities, got an average sized house in a walkable college town, and became a calculus/computer science teacher at a charter school. He follows attachment parenting techniques with his wife, with the only tv the kids see being one movie per month, watched as a family. The kids go to an alternative school with similar values to how their parents are raising them. There's an abundance of knowledge and affection at home, but not so much material/electronic stimulation.

[agnostic]

Stricly speaking, you'll need a million Dollars.

But the question is a bit like "How long is a piece of string?"

My best answer is: House, car AND a million dollars.
(... and a yacht, 10 other cars, 5 other houses, a butler, a limousine, an island of your own, your own football team, and maybe another yacht in case the first one is dirty or something , and ...)

[silicon toad2000]

net assets of 1 million dollars not including your primary residence.
are billionaires the new millionaires?

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by silicon toad2000

net assets of 1 million dollars not including your primary residence.
are billionaires the new millionaires?

From Wikipedia... "The 2006 report for the year 2005 tells that "8.7 million people globally each hold more than US$1 million in financial-asset wealth..."


Being a millionaire is not such a big deal anymore...

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[Ree]

Originally Posted by Shamou

Being a millionaire is not such a big deal anymore...

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Which is exactly what I stated in my earlier post. And you're right, silicon, it is defined as having assets equal to $1 million excluding the value of your primary residence.

[silicon toad2000]

I think if I ever reach the point of having $1M, I will have to work harder at providing my skills freely to people who cannot afford them rather than selling them to people who can.
There is so much misinformation around the financial sector, especially in lending institutions it makes me mad sometimes.
***RANT DELETED***

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by silicon toad2000

I think if I ever reach the point of having $1M, I will have to work harder at providing my skills freely to people who cannot afford them rather than selling them to people who can.

I find this a little hard to understand... would you care to expound on that a little...???

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[silicon toad2000]

stop paid work and work for charities. As an accountant I'm sure there could be useful services I can provide to charitable organisations, or to the less fortunate through outreach programs.
honestly, once you have $1M in income producing assets, what value is more money going to add to ones life.

[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by Shamou

How much money does it take to be a millionaire…???

When we refer to someone as a “millionaire” obviously we are not saying that the person has a million dollars but we are talking in term of a general financial status…

Well, having the million dollars is what defines a millionaire. The financial status, however, will of course vary with the management of the money and the money's buying power in its place and time (e.g. local cost of living, inflation rates, etc.).

I think you might be looking to ask a different question, like "How much does it take to enjoy the lifestyle, positional socioeconomic status, relative freedom from money worries over a length of time comparable to a lifetime, and/or other effects of possessing money that were once associated with millionaires in the past?"

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by TheIronStar

I think you might be looking to ask a different question, like "How much does it take to enjoy the lifestyle, positional socioeconomic status, relative freedom from money worries over a length of time comparable to a lifetime, and/or other effects of possessing money that were once associated with millionaires in the past?"

I fully agree with you that this is how the question should have been formulated... however, not too long ago, a poster who seemed to know what he was talking about was telling us that, if we had any hope of being understood by the average Joe our sentences should not contain anymore than 28 words... yours has 41...

However, to get back on topic... fifty years ago, I would estimate that the annual salary was roughly $5,000 and today it would be around $35,000... which is a seven fold increase... so, by that standard, today's millionaires need at least $7,000,000 in order to be considered the "typical millionaire..."

However, after talking with some very "well off" people, I have found that they consider $20,000,000 to be the breaking point to be considered a "millionaire..."

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[TheIronStar]

Originally Posted by Shamou

I fully agree with you that this is how the question should have been formulated... however, not too long ago, a poster who seemed to know what he was talking about was telling us that, if we had any hope of being understood by the average Joe our sentences should not contain anymore than 28 words... yours has 41...

I actually hadn't heard of that. I don't doubt its validity, but then again, hey, it's a forum called "Personal Development For Smart People Forums", so maybe we don't have to worry about average joes.

Originally Posted by Shamou

However, to get back on topic... fifty years ago, I would estimate that the annual salary was roughly $5,000 and today it would be around $35,000... which is a seven fold increase... so, by that standard, today's millionaires need at least $7,000,000 in order to be considered the "typical millionaire..."

However, after talking with some very "well off" people, I have found that they consider $20,000,000 to be the breaking point to be considered a "millionaire..."

The people you spoke to are probably right; salary increases being what they may (and they also are affected by other factors, such as the relative bargaining power between capital and labor at a given point in time), there's also the matter of life spans being much longer than what they were 50 years ago. So in the case of the "million" that keeps one nearly free from money worries "for life", both quantities are much different today.

[ahimel]

One of the best definitions of intelligence I've run across is "The ability to make finer distinctions." So here are some distinctions worth making:

Asset Millionaire You control assets worth $1mil or more.
Equity Millionaire The portion of the assets' worth that belongs to you totals $1mil or more.
Cashflow Millionaire Your assets provide $1mil or more worth of cashflow.
Living the Millionaire Lifestyle You fly around on private jets, work 4 hours/wk (or work 80 hrs/wk at something you love), hire a butler, cruise around the world, or whatever else is your personal dream, without money getting in the way. Depending on your personal dreams, may take significantly more or significantly less than $1mil.

Hopefully that'll help clarify discussion.


Bibliography: The definition of intelligence is from Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Kid, Smart Kid. The definitions of the millionaires are from Bill Barnett's Are You DUMB Enough to be Rich?. The concept of living the millionaire lifestyle is from Tim Ferriss' The Four-Hour Workweek

[Ree]

Originally Posted by Shamou

However, after talking with some very "well off" people, I have found that they consider $20,000,000 to be the breaking point to be considered a "millionaire..."

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Wouldn't that technically be a "multi-millionaire"?

[justfiverules]

It's $12 Million... according to Ricardo Semler's book "The Seven Day Weekend", published in 2003.

His book is highly recommended if you have been questioning your personal connection with the modus operandi behind multinational public corporations and their seemingly endless quest to grow.

But is $12M enough?

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Ree

Wouldn't that technically be a "multi-millionaire"?

It might be technically but not realistically... if you want to be known as a multi-millionaire you have to be a billionaire...

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[Liara Covert]

I believe it would begin with the related state of mind.

[Gerald]

I always thought millionaire is just a million dollars + in very LIQUID assets (stocks, bonds, cds, cash, etc.)

[Liara Covert]

During a recent Toastmaster's meeting, one of my peers was asked an impromptu question: "what would you do with 100 million$?"

His response was, "that wouldn't be enough..."

Thus, for some people, to be a millionnaire translates into having virtually unlimited capital. These people fear running out of $, no matter what.