Americans' household wealth rises to $89.1 trillion

[Thəorətic Muslim]

Depending on who you ask an American life is worth $1M to $4M.

So if you ever feel sad about your $100,000 student debt your still worth $900,000 to $3,900,000.

 

[india2050]

is a family net worth of 5 million considered rich in the US .. ? how about in New York or LA or Chicago

 

[TruthSeeker]

is a family net worth of 5 million considered rich in the US .. ? how about in New York or LA or Chicago

I think most Americans would consider any family that did not have to work for a living would be "rich". A family can have a very comfortable lifestyle for $300,000 to $500,000 per year of income. So depending on how much income one could safely generate off of one's wealth without harming the principal, ~ 8 - 10 % ?, then $4M to $5M would make one rich in the USA. I.e. one could live at $400,000 per year without working.

 

[VCheng]

I think most Americans would consider any family that did not have to work for a living would be "rich". A family can have a very comfortable lifestyle for $300,000 to $500,000 per year of income. So depending on how much income one could safely generate off of one's wealth without harming the principal, ~ 8 - 10 % ?, then $4M to $5M would make one rich in the USA. I.e. one could live at $400,000 per year without working.

But the dollar is dead.

How much is 5 million dollars in real money, like the Yuan?

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

I think most Americans would consider any family that did not have to work for a living would be "rich". A family can have a very comfortable lifestyle for $300,000 to $500,000 per year of income. So depending on how much income one could safely generate off of one's wealth without harming the principal, ~ 8 - 10 % ?, then $4M to $5M would make one rich in the USA. I.e. one could live at $400,000 per year without working.

I agree. It also depends upon where you are.
Certainly if you had no debt/obligations and you already owned a nice car/house it would be hard for the average person to spend $300K/year (after taxes) unless you did something outright crazy.

I could even live in the Ritz Carlton for $500/night.

 

[TruthSeeker]

But the dollar is dead.

How much is 5 million dollars in real money, like the Yuan?

Well the dollar may be dead in fabulously wealthy places, such as India, but is still alive in the USA. Last time I went to the supermarket here in Virginia, they wouldn't take yuan, or even a Canadian nickel.

 

[jaheen100]

Rising prices help the top 20% much more than the bottom 50% in absolute and relative numbers. Especially when one considers that rentals are "homes."

 

[VCheng]

Well the dollar may be dead in fabulously wealthy places, such as India, but is still alive in the USA. Last time I went to the supermarket here in Virginia, they wouldn't take yuan, or even a Canadian nickel.

https://defence.pk/threads/why-the-us-dollar-will-collapse-in-28-may-2016.428838/

 

[india2050]

I think most Americans would consider any family that did not have to work for a living would be "rich". A family can have a very comfortable lifestyle for $300,000 to $500,000 per year of income. So depending on how much income one could safely generate off of one's wealth without harming the principal, ~ 8 - 10 % ?, then $4M to $5M would make one rich in the USA. I.e. one could live at $400,000 per year without working.

Hmm fair enough ..also ,does a net worth of 5 million put a family in the top 0.1 percent bracket ? or is it a top 1 percent bracket

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Hmm fair enough ..also ,does a net worth of 5 million put a family in the top 0.1 percent bracket ? or is it a top 1 percent bracket

1.8%

http://www.shnugi.com/networth-percentile-calculator/?min_age=18&max_age=100&networth=5000000

According to that site almost 10% of households in the US are worth over $1M (9.42%)
http://www.shnugi.com/networth-percentile-calculator/?min_age=18&max_age=100&networth=1000000
Which confirms what I said about having a net worth of $1M is NOT rare.

 

[VCheng]

Which confirms what I said about having a net worth of $1M is NOT rare.

For minorities, it is.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

For minorities, it is.

Certainly if you don't have a white collar job or you don't own your own business the chances of you being worth $1M declines quickly.

 

[TruthSeeker]

1.8%
http://www.shnugi.com/networth-percentile-calculator/?min_age=18&max_age=100&networth=5000000

Thanks for this link! It's interesting to play with the age factor. I am 71 so I need a much higher net wealth to score high in the wealth percentiles. On the other hand, I'm not sure that the calculator includes the affect of retirement plan incomes and government entitlements such as social security. My net wealth is ~ $4M, depending on what my real estate is really worth, but I also have a retirement entitlement income stream which functions like additional wealth at least for my wife since she would be entitled to some of the income stream after my death. Some wealth analyses and comparisons among national groups that your see reported in the press do not take into account reliable government income entitlements, which have the affect of raising the actual income level of many people who have low reported "private" income. It isn't "wealth" per se but functions as wealth, at least until the promising government goes bankrupt...

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Thanks for this link! It's interesting to play with the age factor. I am 71 so I need a much higher net wealth to score high in the wealth percentiles. On the other hand, I'm not sure that the calculator includes the affect of retirement plan incomes and government entitlements such as social security. My net wealth is ~ $4M, depending on what my real estate is really worth, but I also have a retirement entitlement income stream which functions like additional wealth at least for my wife since she would be entitled to some of the income stream after my death. Some wealth analyses and comparisons among national groups that your see reported in the press do not take into account reliable government income entitlements, which have the affect of raising the actual income level of many people who have low reported "private" income. It isn't "wealth" per se but functions as wealth, at least until the promising government goes bankrupt...

$4M!!! Excellent job! You certainly have lived the American dream! Again another example of being worth $1M in the US is not a rarity.

 

[TruthSeeker]

$4M!!! Excellent job! You certainly have lived the American dream! Again another example of being worth $1M in the US is not a rarity.

My wife and I achieved our "wealth" almost entirely through our income as salaried employees. Of our four parents, only my mother had a college degree, a school teacher. I earned a PhD in physics and my wife has a Masters degree in Music but became proficient as a self-taught computer network administrator. We both worked for Fortune 500 companies and paid US, State and local income taxes on all our income. All together we inherited ~ $50,000 from our deceased parents. We accumulated wealth primarily by saving ~ 25% of our joint income for a period of ~ 10 years when we were in our mid-40's to mid 50's. We invested those savings in 401K plans that were primarily Vanguard Index Funds. We haven't gained very much in the past decade because we left the US stock market in 2007 before the big losses at the end of 2008. If we had had the courage to jump back in to the US stock market in 2008 or '09, we would have another $3M of wealth! Oh well, what we have is plenty for the rest of our lives. Our children are all quite self-sufficient.