Few Millionaires are Rich These Days

When Bernie Sanders released his tax returns, he triggered taunts about being a millionaire – a rich socialist! Bernie did achieve richness temporarily: for two years his success as an author made him a income millionaire. Presumably his net worth is also well over a million. But unlike demi-billionaires, ordinary millionaires don't live rich.

Median U.S. household income is a bit over $60,000. As Thomas Heath points out in The Washington Post, a retiree with $1 million probably can't reach that income level. Even retirees with two or three million shouldn't expect to live large.

These days living rich probably requires at least $20 or $30 million. According to Spectrem, almost 12 million U.S. households have at least one million in investable assets, but only about 170,000 have more than $25 million.