Sunday, July 5, 2009

Retirement

Who Are the 'Middle-Class Millionaires'?

They work long hours, take little time off, and persevere in the face of setbacks

Posted May 2, 2008

Lewis Schiff, adviser to the superrich and founder of the private wealth specialty firm Advanced Planning Group, coauthored the recently released The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America. Schiff defines "middle-class millionaires" as those with a net worth of between $1 million and $10 million who earned their wealth rather than inherited it. They are people, the author says, who live a fundamentally middle-class life, yet are exerting powerful influence on society.

Cover of The Middle Class Millionaire

Schiff and his coauthor, Russ Alan Prince, surveyed more than 3,600 middle-class-millionaire households for their book. Schiff spoke with U.S. News. Excerpts:

How does a middle-class millionaire approach retirement?
I think the traditional retirement concept of stopping work and living on the assets you've accumulated is something the middle-class millionaire is redefining. The notion of retiring at 65 is not something you necessarily hear from them.

Folks who are succeeding in America are knowledge workers, in financial services or creative services, where their brain is their No. 1 asset. The body is healthier for longer and longer periods, and now that the body isn't failing and you have the technology where you can get on a yacht and continue to do business, they might just look to scale back and not retire, because their bodies are up to it anyway.

What kind of person becomes a middle-class millionaire?
They on average work 70 hours a week and take fewer vacation days. They show perseverance in the face of adversity. They've had more failures in their professional life, but what's interesting is what they do in the face of failure. They observe information in a more savvy way and tap into the flow of information capital, and they know how to leverage this enlightened self-interest.

You talk about persevering in the face of adversity. What does that look like to this group?
These are people who have had an average of three career setbacks, and three quarters of the group we surveyed said that each time, they've come back in a different way. Persevering in the face of adversity is easier said than done, but it's a distinguishing characteristic.

The middle-class millionaires we spoke to said that failure and defeat are crushing no matter who you are, but some of them will say, "I have to rectify this because I prize financial independence above all else."

Seriously—70 hours a week?
There's a certain absurdity to it. "Are they really working 70 hours a week?" But they walk around with their BlackBerrys and do business at their kids' soccer games. Why do they do what they do? They work hard every day because they want their kids to grow up in a financially stable environment and have opportunities. Middle-class millionaires are people working on behalf of their families.

Reader Comments

Who are the middle class millionaires

What is the sence of not enjoying your hard earned money? If one works 80 hours a week and goes on vacation once every ten years, he would be dead much sooner than later.

The trick is to work hard. Save ten percent of your income, buy what you need not what you want, donate to charities your excess money, eat what is good for you and what you like but be happy with what you have and don't expect to have more than your neighbor.

If you and your family are happy with those traits then you are the richest person alive.

Middle Class Millionaires

Great article! I've been annoyed all my life by the people who work 40 hours a week, put 2 week vacations to exotic places each year on their credit cards, watch hours of TV each day, and complain about not having any money. My last vacation was in 1982 to Paris, France but, I only lived 3 hours away. I stopped watching TV in 1996 and am amazed at the money I have made and the things I have learned since.

Really you can be!

>Middle Class Millionaires? If you're a millionaire you are

>not middle class. What the Hell are you on?

There are people with a net worth of over $1,000,000 that

do live a middle class lifestyle. Actually if you only have

a million it's hard to live the "rich" lifestyle for more

than a limited amount of time. Inflation will one day bring

us "poor millionaires" as the purchasing power of the currency

erodes. ^_-

I remember when I visited a friend who lives in California

in the year 2001 and he was telling me what houses sold for

down there. I realized that if I won the lottery and I moved

down there I'd have to keep working because a very large bite

of my capital would be tied up in the house. My friend doesn't

really have a lot, just he's able to keep up with his mortgage

because he makes several times the salary that I do, it

wouldn't suprise me if I had a higher net worth.

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

advertisement

Retirement Widget

Get Retirement News on Your Site

Click here to add a Usnews.com retirement widget.

advertisement

Get Stock Quotes

America's Best Healthy Places to Retire

U.S. News writers profile 10 healthy retirement spots around the country.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.
Make USNews.com your home page.