Decline of the Demi-Rich

Wealth managers with clients worth more than $5 million should cherish and protect them. They're an endangered species. According to a Phoenix Marketing International study, U.S. households with investible assets of $5 million or more fell from 823,000 in June, 2008 to 675,000 as of last month. That's an 18% drop, far sharper than the 8% drop in high-net-worth households overall.

Note: Despite the Investment News headline, relatively few of those 675,000 households are truly rich, much less superrich. Even with the current deflation, a rich lifestyle generally requires at least $20 million; superrich, at least $100 million.

But even the formerly superrich can adjust to changing circumstances. Mr. Madoff's living expenses at his new home in North Carolina are said to be quite affordable..