To people living paycheck to paycheck or who haven't saved much -- which is the bulk of the U.S. population -- a million dollars seems very far out of reach. But a growing number of Americans are accumulating that amount and more. According to research from Merrill Lynch & Co. and the consulting firm Capgemini, some 2.9 million people in the United States and Canada have net worths of $1 million. The New York-based companies count all of an individual's financial assets except a primary residence.
Atlanta financial adviser Micah Porter, who has worked with Weese, estimated that about 70 percent of the wealthy clients his Minerva Planning Group sees have earned their money by building successful businesses or saving from their salaries. The others inherited all or part of their wealth.
But having that much money doesn't necessarily mean their financial concerns are over. He said a big worry is how long the money will last because "they've become used to a certain standard of living that may be difficult to support" when they stop working.
And the fact is, $1 million doesn't go as far these days as it used to. For one thing, it's vulnerable to inflation -- someone who bought $1 million worth of goods in 1957 would need $7.3 million to buy the same goods today, according to Federal Reserve figures.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/20/businessoflife.million.ap/index.html
Atlanta financial adviser Micah Porter, who has worked with Weese, estimated that about 70 percent of the wealthy clients his Minerva Planning Group sees have earned their money by building successful businesses or saving from their salaries. The others inherited all or part of their wealth.
But having that much money doesn't necessarily mean their financial concerns are over. He said a big worry is how long the money will last because "they've become used to a certain standard of living that may be difficult to support" when they stop working.
And the fact is, $1 million doesn't go as far these days as it used to. For one thing, it's vulnerable to inflation -- someone who bought $1 million worth of goods in 1957 would need $7.3 million to buy the same goods today, according to Federal Reserve figures.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/20/businessoflife.million.ap/index.html