In US, Millionaires Just Ain't What They Used to Be

A surging number of everyday Americans now boast a seven-figure net worth—once the domain of celebrities and CEOs. But as the ranks of millionaires grow, the significance of the status is shifting, alongside perceptions of what it takes to be truly rich, per the AP. "'Millionaire' used to sound like Rich Uncle Pennybags in a top hat," says Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at wealth management firm Running Point Capital Advisors. But "it's no longer a backstage pass to palatial estates and caviar bumps. It's the new mass-affluent middleweight class, financially secure but two zeros short of private-jet territory."

• Drivers: Inflation, ballooning home values, and a decades-long push into stock markets by average investors have made millions of millionaires. A June report from the UBS bank found about one-tenth of American adults are members of the seven-digit club, with 1,000 freshly minted millionaires added daily last year.
• Comparison: Thirty years ago, the IRS counted 1.6 million Americans with a net worth of $1 million or more. Using data from the UN, World Bank, IMF, and central banks of countries around the globe, UBS puts the number at 23.8 million in the US last year, a nearly 15-fold increase.

• Wealth gap: The richest 10% of Americans hold two-thirds of household wealth, according to the Federal Reserve, averaging $8.1 million each. The bottom 50% hold 3% of wealth, with an average of just $60,000 to their names.
• Further breakdown: Fed data also shows there are differences by race, with Asian people outpacing white people in the US in median wealth, while Black and Hispanic people trail in their net worth.
• Buying power: It takes twice as much cash today to match the buying power of 30 years ago—a net worth of $1 million in 1995 is equivalent to about $2.1 million today, per the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 'Point in a longer journey': A seven-figure net worth is, to some, as outdated a yardstick as a six-figure salary. "It's a nice round number, but it's a point in a longer journey," says a 41-year-old resident of Providence, Rhode Island, who works in IT and who hit the million-dollar mark last month. "It definitely gives you some room to breathe." More here.