How many people have a net worth over two million dollars?

Answer 1

There is no right answer. It is very tough for anyone to get a handle on this information.

First, high net worth individuals usually have significant assets that are difficult to value, if I paid $1,000,000 for my home 5 years ago, what's it worth today? If I own my own business, what's it worth? If I own artwork, what's it worth? I bought a brand new $400,000 Rolls-Royce six months ago, what's it worth? I bought a highly prized collectible 1934 Rolls-Royce for $2,000,000 ten years ago, what's it worth today?

2nd, only a few types of assets are publicly known, it I own a large block of stock in a publicly traded company, the value of this holding is reflected in various public filings, but if I have the same amount of a mutual fund, it would be unknown. Most states have publicly available real estate records but I could own real estate through a corporation or a trust which would give no inkling of my identity. I could own huge amounts of stock in a private company and there may be no way that anyone could find out about.

3rd, what about assets that are subject to forfeiture? A civil servant that worked for 30 years and retired at 55 with an annual pension of $75,000 has a asset with a net present value of more than $1,000,000 but if she died tomorrow, it would be worthless.

In the U.S., one out of seven households have over $1,000,000 in net worth according to Forbes magazine. Forbes magazine relies heavily on the publicly stated assets in their figures, so the number is probably somewhat higher.

Answer 2

Yes