A popular article on the topic of how much money millionaires make is an article on Yahoo! It was written by Jeff Yeager, author of The Ultimate Cheapskate’s Road Map to True Riches, and was published in 2008. The normal median income for adults in the United States was $24,062 annually according to the U.S. Census Bureau, but this statistic does not tell the full story about how much money millionaires make due to the distribution of wealth within the country.
It’s a question most people ask … how much money do millionaires make ? Approximately 1,000,000 millionaires live in the U.S. – which means there are approximately 3,154 new millionaire households occurring each month – and this is growing.
How much does a Millionaire make?
As of Oct 25, 2021, the average annual pay for the Millionaire jobs category in the United States is $77,916 a year.
Just in case you need a simple salary calculator, that works out to be approximately $37.46 an hour. This is the equivalent of $1,498/week or $6,493/month.
While ZipRecruiter is seeing annual salaries as high as $100,000 and as low as $11,000, the majority of salaries within the Millionaire jobs category currently range between $52,500 (25th percentile) to $100,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) making $100,000 annually across the United States. The average pay range for a Millionaire job varies little (about $47,500), which suggests that regardless of location, there are not many opportunities for increased pay or advancement, even with several years of experience.
Based on recent job posting activity on ZipRecruiter, the Millionaire job market in both Lagos, NG and throughout the entire state of is not very active as few companies are currently hiring. People working within the Millionaire category in your area are making on average $77,916 per year, or the same as the national average annual salary of $77,916. ranks number 1 out of 50 states nationwide for Millionaire job salaries.
To estimate the most accurate annual salary range for Millionaire jobs, ZipRecruiter continuously scans its database of millions of active jobs published locally throughout America.
What Is a Millionaire?
The most basic definition of millionaire is somebody who has $1 million. But that definition can be misleading. What if a guy has $1 million in cash under his mattress but owes the bank $20 million? Is he still a millionaire? Not really. That’s why we prefer to use the term net-worth millionaire.
Now in order to define net-worth millionaire, we need to first talk about net worth. Here’s a simple way to explain net worth: It’s what you own minus what you owe. If that amount ends up being $1 million or more, you’re a net-worth millionaire. Make sense? Let’s look at an example.
John and Maria have accumulated $750,000 in mutual funds and savings. Their house is worth $350,000, and they own two vehicles worth $12,000 each. Altogether, their assets total $1,124,000. However, they still owe $150,000 on their home, have $10,000 of credit card debt, and owe $20,000 on their student loans. Their liabilities add up to $180,000.
To figure out if they’re net-worth millionaires, let’s subtract what they owe from what they own.
What they own: $1,124,000
What they owe: – $180,000
Net worth: $944,000
In this situation, John and Maria would not meet the definition of net-worth millionaire. They’re close, but they haven’t hit that mark yet.
However, let’s run the numbers again to see what would happen if the couple didn’t have any student loan or credit card debt and they owed $100,000 on their mortgage instead.
What they own: $1,124,000
What they owe: – $100,000
Net worth: $1,024,000
In this situation, John and Maria would be considered net-worth millionaires. And if they got serious about paying off that mortgage—because you never want to take a mortgage with you into retirement—they could invest and save even more.
Are you a net-worth millionaire? Check out our Net Worth Calculator to find out.
What Does Being a Millionaire Mean Today?
If you ask 10 people what being a millionaire means, you’ll likely get 10 unique answers. But if you were to ask that question a few generations ago, the response would probably have been a little different. That’s because back in the day, having $1 million in the bank meant you could sleep easy at night. For a lot of people, that number was the target to hit. You would have enough money to enjoy your retirement years without worrying.
But that was a long time ago, and two things are different now: cost of living and the length of retirement. Let’s talk about how those have changed the power of $1 million and the definition of wealth over the years.
1. Cost of living
You probably know this, but it’s worth repeating—it costs more to live in 2021 than it did in past decades. For example, $1 million in today’s dollars would have been worth roughly $1.54 million in 2000.(1) Hello, inflation.
And if the inflation rate stays at about 2.5% for the foreseeable future, $1 million today will be $1.63 million in 2031.(2) That means your nest egg will be worth about $600,000 less in 20 years.
Now, why are we throwing these numbers at you? Because you need to plan for cost of living to go up as you get older. Depending on what you want to do in retirement, $1 million may not be enough to live out your retirement dreams.
2. Length of retirement
From 1950–55, the median age of men retiring was about 67 years, and they were expected to live to age 78.(3) Fast-forward to 2018 and the average retirement age is 62.(4) Plus people are expected to live into their 80s.(5) In the 1950s, you had to prepare for a decade of retirement. Today, you could be retired for 20 years or more. That’s a long time to provide for yourself!
For many people today, the classic definition of millionaire is no longer the goal to reach. Rather, they’re working toward having enough to feel financially secure. Let us show you what we mean.
The X Factor in Reaching Your Definition of Wealth
Cost of living and the length of your retirement help determine how much money you’ll need in your golden years. But there’s one more factor—and it’s the most important one.
You.
Do you want to live in a fancy condo on the beach or own a small condo in the suburbs? Do you want to start your own business or explore a new hobby? A person who wants to retire and travel the world will need a lot more in the bank than a person who wants to volunteer in their community and watch their grandkids grow up.
It’s okay if your number is different than the classic millionaire definition. It’s your personal goal, and only you get to decide what that number is—and only you can make it happen.
Ever wonder how self-made millionaires earned their fortune?
- There are two types of millionaires: self-made millionaires and those born into wealth.
- More than two-thirds of individuals with a net worth of $30 million or more are considered “self-made.”
- No matter how millionaires get their money, they all share some core traits, including prioritizing savings and diversifying investments.
- This article is for those curious about how self-made millionaires got to where they are today and hoping to learn something from their success.
Most of today’s millionaires weren’t born into their wealth, research shows.
A 2019 study published by Wealth-X found that around 68% of those with a net worth of $30 million or more made it themselves.
Further, a second study by Fidelity Investments found that 88% of all millionaires are self-made, meaning they did not inherit their wealth.
The Fidelity study also revealed that self-made millionaires’ top sources of assets were investments/capital appreciation, compensation and employee stock options/profit sharing. This path is markedly different from those who inherited their wealth, who are more likely to cite entrepreneurship, real estate investment appreciation and the inheritance itself as asset sources.
For self-made millionaires, though, coming into wealth isn’t always a simple process – many of them worked hard to achieve the financial success they did, and then had the smarts and savvy and put their new wealth in the right places. What do some of these self-made millionaires have in common, and what lessons can you learn for your own investment strategy?
Examples of self-made millionaires
According to the same Wealth-X study discussed earlier in this article, as of 2018, a little over 265,000 individuals are considered ultra-wealthy, meaning they have a net worth of $30 million or more. Moreover, more than two-thirds are self-made. Here are three famous examples:
- Barbara Corcoran: The real estate mogul turned Shark Tank investor started her eponymous brokerage business with a $1,000 loan. Under her supervision, shegrew the business into a multi-million-dollar empire that she sold for $66 million in 2001.
- Janice Bryant Howroyd. The founder and CEO of ActOne Group started her staffing agency with $1,500 ($900 of which she borrowed from her mother), a fax machine, and a phone. She is now one of the richest self-made Black women millionaires in the U.S., with an estimated net worth of $285 million.
- Warren Buffet. Perhaps one of the most famous and richest people in the world – and technically a billionaire and not a millionaire — Warren Buffett still merits a mention in this list because he is well known for being self-made. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO made his first millions by running a hedge fund and is known for his principled and sensible approach to investing.
Conclusion
It’s funny to see how the income of millionaires is exaggerated by the mainstream media. For example, have you seen on some of the news organizations or even on some lifestyle/wealth blogs that say that millionaires make up to an average of $7 million dollar a year? Well, this number is definitely wrong. I don’t know where did they got that figure from because I am not interested in money but it can’t be that much unless you are part of the .0001% of the world. But still, averages are never what they seem. Let me give you an insight why.