Number of U.S. millionaires hits a new record: study
The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or more has reached 9.6 million, up 600,000 from 2012, according to Spectrem Group. The mega-wealthy, with $25 million or more in net worth, have also grown.
By Phyllis Furman / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, March 14, 2014, 8:30 PM
JIN LEE/BLOOMBERG NEWS
The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or above has hit a new record, according to a study. The study also says 60% of investors with a net worth of $5 million or more plan to use their millions to invest in the stock market this year.
The rich keep getting richer — and now there are way more of them, too.
The number of American households with a net worth of $1 million or above has hit a new record: 9.6 million, a surge of more than 600,000 from 2012, according to a new study from Spectrem Group.
The previous high-water mark was 9.2 million in 2007. Total net worth does not include the value of a primary residence, according to Spectrem’s annual Affluent Market Insights Report.
Millionaires are making a comeback after seeing their ranks shrink to as low as 6.7 million in 2008 when the recession hit.
Since then, they’ve benefitted from a rebounding stock market and recovering real estate values.
“Most of the financial damage done by the recession has been erased by recent record-high markets in 2013 as well as a continued rebound in the real estate markets,” said George Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group.
“In terms of the affluent investor, it’s fair to say they have finally recovered from the economic downturn.”
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Millionaires are on the rise again after seeing their ranks shrink to as low as 6.7 million in 2008 when the recession hit. All sectors of the rich are seeing their numbers grow.
Those with $5 million or more in net worth reached a record high of 1.24 million from 1.14 million in 2012.
There were just 840,000 who fit that bill in 2008.
The ranks of the mega-wealthy are also getting fatter: those with $25 million or more in net worth grew by 15,000 to 132,000 in 2013.
That’s way up from the 84,000 in this gilded class that were around back in 2008.
So how will they be spending their millions?
Sixty percent of investors with a net worth of $5 million or more intend to invest in the stock market this year, the study found.
More than 50% of the $5 million-plus club said they’re willing to invest outside the U.S., with an increased interest in investing in China.
