When you think of the word “rich,” a few images likely come to mind. Lavish homes and expensive cars for some, expansive property or fruitful investment for others. Wealth can be defined in a number of ways, but most would agree that being a billionaire or millionaire would certainly qualify.
One billionaire recently gave his take, and the number he gave for one to qualify as truly “rich” may be lower than you think.
During an appearance on the “Iced Coffee Hour” podcast, Brian Preston and Bo Hanson of “The Money Guy Show” were asked what number they would aspire to amass before experiencing diminishing returns.
Preston explained that they spoke to a billionaire about the topic, and asked him what “rich” meant after selling his company for over $900 million.
“He said, honestly, $10 million,” Preston recalled.
“He goes, ‘Once you have $10 million in the bank, even if you’re not very good at managing and you just make 5% on that, that’s half a million dollars a year. It’s hard to spend half a million dollars a year if you’re debt free.'”
Preston then said that if a billionaire can consider himself rich with $10 million, the everyday person can aim for a lower goal.
“A lot of people just don’t have lifestyles that are that big,” he said. “If you have $4 million, $5 million, there’s a pretty good chance you’re gonna be financially independent in most parts of this country in most lifestyles.”
How Many Americans Are Millionaires?
A study by Swiss bank UBS determined that the United States currently has the most millionaires in the world, reporting 23.8 million in 2024.
379,000 people became millionaires in the United States last year, amounting to just over 1,000 per day. That’s an increase of 1.5% over the previous year.
Nearly 40% of the world’s millionaires reside in the United States, but the study shows that concentration of wealth is higher in countries like Luxembourg and Switzerland. In those nations, around one in seven citizens have a net worth of over $1 million.
Even among the world’s richest, money is still concentrated toward the top of the financial spectrum. The UBS study estimates that around 60 million individuals hold a combined $226.47 trillion – nearly half of the planet’s wealth.
Within that group, the study estimates that 15 centibillionaires – the top 1% of the top 1% – have a combined net worth of $2.4 trillion.
