Millionaires Aren’t What They Used To Be

Reporting on the latest Spectrem survey of millionaires, The Guardian places people with $1 million among the "super-rich." The Telegraph describes them as "mega rich."

Are Americans with investable assets of $1 million really extremely rich? Or, as noted here recently, are they actually too poor to afford a comfortable retirement?

Most truly rich people will tell you that $1 million is small change. To most other people, especially those wrestling with high credit-card balances and student loans, $1 million still sounds like a vast fortune.

For sure, $1 million isn't what it used to be.

To live like a millionaire lived in 1987, you today need $2 million.

To live like a  millionaire lived in 1976, you need $4 million.

To live like the millionaire of 1959, you need $8 million.

To  live like the millionaire of 1945, you need $13 million.

And to live like the millionaire of 1935, you need $17 million.