The No. 1 Reason Just 33% of Millionaires Consider Themselves Wealthy
Written by
T. Woods
Edited by
Chris Cluff
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The wealthy in America are only getting wealthier, with recent data from the Federal Reserve indicating that the richest 1% of the population (i.e., the people with net worths over $1.1 million) saw their aggregate net worth increase by $2 trillion in the first quarter of 2024. That created a record-shattering $46.2 trillion net worth total for the entire 1%.
All of which is to say, the wealthy have never been wealthier. So why don’t they feel like it?
While just 12% of Americans overall consider themselves wealthy, per a new Edelman Financial Engines report, only 33% of millionaires felt they could call themselves wealthy as well.
This means, on average, 67% of millionaires in America don’t consider themselves wealthy.
Housing Prices Play Critical Role
As the dizzying escalation of housing prices soared during the first year of the pandemic in 2020, a change in the nature of wealth creation in America occurred. Specifically, homeownership no longer feels like actual wealth, even to the wealthy, according to Jean Chatzky, personal finance expert and CEO of HerMoney.com.
As she noted in an interview with CNBC, “Homes are an asset that we use every day; it’s not like the balance in your retirement account or your savings account.”
Having millions tied into a home no longer feels like having millions at all.
As such, millionaires who have invested a large amount of their wealth into lavish, increasingly expensive homes no longer feel wealthy. Add to that the fact that high inflation rates have kept nearly every aspect of home ownership pricier — from stocking the cupboards to buying furniture and electronics to home upkeep — and expensive homeownership has begun to feel like a drain upon, rather than a signifier of, extreme wealth.
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