We’ve all dreamed, at some point, of being a millionaire. What would it be like to have all of that money? What would we do with it all?
Unfortunately, the millionaire lifestyle is one that will likely continue to elude many of us, making it all very much just a distant fantasy.
Perhaps this is why people often find themselves so fascinated with millionaires, and how they built their fortunes.
If you can’t live the millionaire lifestyle yourself, why not at least experience it from the periphery, and learn some incredible millionaire statistics about the world’s millionaires?
We’re willing to bet that you are reading this right now because you want to find out some of the most essential statistics on millionaires, right? If so, you’ve come to the right place!
We’re about to dive right in and look at 29 of the most interesting statistics about millionaires that you will definitely want to know, so keep reading down below!
What's Ahead...
Millionaire Statistics
1. The Most Millionaires
The cities in the world that play host to the most millionaires include Tokyo, New York City, London, Beijing, Hong Kong, Paris, and Shanghai, amongst numerous others!
2. New Millionaires
Though millionaires obviously make up a very small portion of the world population, research has shown that an incredible 1,700 US citizens become millionaires every single day!
Of course, this doesn’t mean that everyone one day will have their chance to become a millionaire, as with every few people becoming millionaires, another few people lose that same status.
3. Strong Education
More than 84% of millionaires in the United States have received a college education, and have received a full college degree. This perhaps explains why it would be largely impossible for some people to become millionaires.
4. Smart Investment
Over 72% of the world’s millionaires believe that one of the most important steps in becoming a millionaire is making smart investments for a portfolio. This perhaps explains why the status of “Millionaire” is so volatile.
5. Long-Time Investments
One statistic that often goes completely overlooked is the fact that it actually takes most millionaires more than 32 years to actually hit the $1,000,000 mark.
This is a very surprising statistic that flies directly in the face of the belief that most millionaires make millions in a very short period of time.
This once again relates to the fact that many millionaires believe investments and education to be the most important elements in reaching millionaire status.
6. Self-Funded Education
Many of us depend on student loans to help us to get through college and to pay for our tuition. However, this leads to heavy debts weighing on our shoulders for years after we finish our college education.
This is another area where millionaires tend to differ from many of us, as 1 in 3 millionaires entirely self-fund their own college education.
Whether this be through family investment in education via nepotism or not, this is a stark contrast between millionaires and average people!
7. Millions Of Millionaires
Annual reports on wealth from across the world have shown that there are now currently more than 46.8 million millionaires found across the world. This is an incredible statistic that is constantly changing.
Despite 46.8 million being a massive number, this only accounts for around 1% of the world’s population, which helps to really put into perspective how lucky millionaires are!
8. Plenty Of Exercise
Research has shown that over 76% of millionaires exercise more than four days a week. This suggests that millionaires are actually incredibly health conscious.
However, this speaks to larger access to exercise facilities, such as exclusive gyms, or even personal gyms in the homes of millionaires!
9. Writing Goals
More than 67% of millionaires claim to make a point of writing down their goals as a way of self-actualizing and manifesting their goals. This stands in stark contrast to most average people.
A research pool of people on average income shows that only 17% of non-millionaires make a habit of writing down their goals.
10. Early Rising
Research has shown that more than 44% of millionaires make a habit of waking up more than 3 hours before they start at work. This relates to the popular ‘rise-and-grind’ culture that has also proven to be very popular amongst many modern millionaires.
This time before work allows more time for extra activities. However, this statistic once again points to the fact that millionaires often have more free time to be able to have the energy to wake up so early!
11. Heavy Readers
More than 88% of millionaires make a point of reading for more than 30 minutes every day. As well as this, over 86% of millionaires claim to love reading.
12. Inheritance Plays A Small Role
More than 86% of millionaires that took part in a study carried out by Fidelity stated that they believed that they created their own wealth and that they did not inherit it.
Of course, this is not entirely empirical evidence, but it does suggest more about the millionaire mindset, with a belief that hard work pays off in the long run.
13. Hard Work And Long Hours
Once again relating to the prevailing rise-and-grind culture in the world of millionaires, research by ‘Rich Habits’ showed that more than 86% of millionaires believed that they benefited from putting in more than 50 hours of work at their jobs every week.
14. Low Income Start
More research by ‘Rich Habits’ also showed that more than 78% of millionaires actually started off life in middle-class or lower-income families. It was shown that only around 22% of current millionaires grew up in affluent and high-income families!
15. Top Industries
Millionaires most often tend to pop up in certain industries that make it easier to make significant profits. Some of the industries that are best known for producing millionaires include finance and investments, technology, manufacturing, fashion, and healthcare.
Some of these perhaps should not be surprising, especially considering the proliferation of technology in culture and the continued importance of fashion in culture.
However, healthcare often surprises many. This generally speaks to the for-profit nature of the United States healthcare system.
16. Gender
Around 33% of all Millionaires based in the United States are women, which equates to around a third of the United States’ millionaires.
17. Aggregate Wealth Increase
Research has shown that, over the space of time between 2000 and 2020, the collected wealth of the world’s millionaires had nearly quadrupled.
As well as this, millionaires also now account for more than 46% of the world’s wealth, whereas in the year 2000 they only accounted for around 35% of the world’s wealth!
18. Average Age
The average age of millionaires nowadays tends to be around 57 years old. This makes sense considering that research has shown that it takes many millionaires more than 32 years to build up their wealth to the point that they become millionaires!
19. Millennial Millionaires
Recent reports have shown that, by 2020, over 600,000 millennials in the United States had already achieved millionaire status.
This is perhaps thanks to the many varied avenues that younger people can take to earn themselves great fortunes, especially thanks to the interconnected nature of the internet, and its many avenues for monetization.
20. Less Spending
Despite there being a larger number of Millenials already earning enough to be considered millionaires, many of those same millionaires are actually incredibly hesitant to spend their money!
The reason for this is actually because of the increasing rates of inflation, especially when it comes to making large investments.
Compared to baby boomers, Millennials are far more cautious about spending their millions on large things such as homes and fast cars, thanks to the effect that inflation continues to have!
21. California: Land Of Billionaires
Perhaps unsurprisingly, California is the state that boasts the highest concentration of billionaires in the world, with over 189 and counting residing in the state!
New York follows just short of California, with around 126 billionaires residing in the state. The collective wealth of these billionaires is around $672 trillion!
22. The Richest Person In California
Because California is such a hotspot for billionaires and the world’s richest, you’ve likely found yourself wondering who the richest person in the state is!
The person that this status currently belongs to is Mark Zuckerberg, the inventor of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg currently has a net worth of around $97 billion!
23. Low Tax Rates
Average American Millionaires have a tax rate of only around 8.2% on their income. This is much lower than the average tax rate levied on most Americans on their income.
24. Average Age To Become A Millionaire
Although the average age of most millionaires currently stands at around 57 years old, the average age by which most people become millionaires is actually around 37 years old.
This once again ties into the fact that it often takes around 32 years for a person to save to the point of earning millionaire status.
25. Women Less Likely
Unfortunately, the wage gap between men and women not only affects everyday women in all kinds of jobs, but it also affects the odds of whether women can successfully become millionaires.
Women are less likely to become millionaires, and this is a direct result of how much less some women earn in comparison to their male counterparts!
In terms of lifetime earnings for both men and women, the gap between the two is often around $1,055,000, which is a totally massive difference!
26. Billionaires In The United States
Recent counts have shown that there are around 927 billionaires currently in the United States, which is a massive increase since 2010, a time in which there were only around 404 billionaires based in the United States.
A lot of this can likely be pinned on the continued role that the internet is playing in developing millionaires, especially in the millennial population!
27. Real Estate
Millionaires tend to enjoy investing their large fortunes in real estate. In fact, this has long been the case for over 200 years. Current counts have shown that over 90% of the world’s millionaires invest their funds into real estate.
Real estate investing has long been a favorite of millionaires thanks to the fact that it offers opportunities for existing wealth to grow, while also being a creative endeavor.
28. Countries With The Most Millionaires
Of course, it should not come as too much of a surprise that the country with the most millionaires is the United States, with over 20 million people currently considered millionaires.
China is the country with the second-largest concentration of millionaires, with around 6 million millionaires in the country. This is quite a significant disparity!
In third place is Germany, which has around 2 million millionaires in its population.
29. Youngest Billionaire
Currently, the youngest billionaire in the world is an 18-year-old called Kevin David Lehmann. He earned his wealth after inheriting a 50% stake in his father’s drugstore chain!
At the moment, Kevin David Lehmann’s net worth is around $3.3 billion!
To Wrap Up
These are just a few of the amazing statistics and facts that give us an insight into the world of millionaires, and what it is that makes millionaires tick.
There is so much more to be gleaned about the world’s millionaires, but these 29 statistics definitely give you the best sense of the world of the millionaire!
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Millionaires In The 1%?
Most definitely. There is only a small number of millionaires even amongst the population of the United States.
There are only around 21 million millionaires in the United States alone, which is an incredibly small number considering the overall population of the United States.
What Salary Is Considered Rich?
The answer to this question will, for the most part, be different from person to person. However, the IRS has stated that any household that earns over $500,000 a year is considered to be in the 1%, and thus can be considered to be “Rich”.
How Old Is The Average Millionaire?
The average millionaire is generally around 57 years of age, which stands up to reason considering how most millionaires take around 32 years to actually build up their wealth. The average age that most millionaires earn their first million is around the age of 32!
Paul Martinez is the founder of BendingDestiny.com. He is an expert in the areas of finance, real estate, and eCommerce.
Join him on BendingDestiny.com to learn how to improve your financial life and excel in these areas. Before starting this blog, Paul built from scratch and managed two multi-million dollar companies. One in the real estate sector and one in the eCommerce sector.