Portait of a Millionaire

In the first chapter of their book "The Millionaire Next Door" Stanley & Danko ask the questions; Who is the prototypical American millionaire? What would he/she tell you about themselves?

I found some of their answers to be very interesting and a few surprising. Here is a sample of their findings;

• I am a fifty-seven-year-old male, married with three children.
• About one in five of us is retired. About two-thirds of us who are working are self-employed.
• About half of our wives do not work outside the home. The number one occupation for those wives who do work is teacher.
• Our household's total annual realized (taxable) income is $131,000, while our average income is $241,000.
  
• We have an average household net worth of $3.7 million.
• We live well below our means. We wear inexpensive suits and drive American-made cars.
  
• Most of our wives are planners and meticulous budgeters.
• We are fastidious investors. On average, we invest nearly 20 percent of our household realized income each year.

This has been an interesting book to read and can change some of the misconceptions one might have about millionaires or becoming a millionaire. The average millionaire does not ride around in a big fancy car or live in a big mansion. The title of the book really does say it all.