Becoming rich takes skill, patience, and a little bit of luck. You'll need to set yourself on a path that leads to a monetarily enriching career, then handle the money you earn wisely by investing it, saving it, and reducing your living expenses.
Becoming a millionaire may seem like it is out of reach for many Americans, but it is nonetheless achievable. Being a diligent saver and investor in a well-diversified and tax-advantaged portfolio can help you get there, but this, of course, will take some patience.
In fact, most Americans are unlikely to ever become a millionaire. Estimates vary, but they range from about 12 million to 24 million millionaires in America. While that sounds like a lot, even the upper limit of that range is less than 10% of the approximately 332 million people in the U.S.
If you can afford to put away $1,400 per month, you could potentially save your first $100k in just 5 years. If that's too much, aim for even half that (or whatever you can). Thanks to compound interest, just $700 per month could become $100k in 9 years.
The world's 100 richest individuals earned their first $1 million at age 37, on average. The average millionaire is 57 years old.
This is according to a study conducted by Ramsey Solutions, which is the largest study of millionaires to date. The average age of a millionaire is 49 years old, which means it takes them over 27 years of saving and investing to reach this status.
The average age of a first time millionaires is 37, it has been found. In data released by Betway Insider, the average age of a first time billionaire is also revealed: and is a little higher at 51. So, if you're not quite there yet, what can you do to make your first million?
Studies indicate that millionaires may have, on average, as much as 25% of their money in cash. This is to offset any market downturns and to have cash available as insurance for their portfolios. Cash equivalents are financial instruments that are almost as liquid as cash and are popular investments for millionaires.
Generational Wealth Lasts Forever
A staggering 70 percent of wealthy families lose their wealth by the next generation, with 90 percent losing it the generation after that.
20% of Your Annual Income
Alice Rowen Hall, director of Rowen Homes, suggests that “individuals should aim to save at least 20% of their annual income by age 25.” For example, if someone is earning $60,000 per year, they should aim to have $12,000 saved by the age of 25.
The ATO classifies those who control a net wealth of $5 million or more as 'wealthy individuals'2. Those with a net wealth of $30 million or more are classified as 'high-wealth individuals'. The wealthiest person in Australia is currently Gina Rinehart, with a net worth of around US$14.8 billion.
Austin Russell, the 28-year-old CEO of California-based Luminar Technologies, remains the world's youngest self-made billionaire, with a net worth of US$1.
More specifically, that 88% of all millionaires are self-made.
Saving Your First Million
7.84 years… to earn just the first $100K. That means you earned 4 times as much ($400K instead of $100K) in less time toward the end. Again, this is why Charlie Munger says the first $100K is the hardest and why you really need to do whatever it takes to get to that first $100K.
In order to hit your goal of $1 million in 10 years, SmartAsset's savings calculator estimates that you would need to save around $7,900 per month. This is if you're just putting your money into a high-yield savings account with an average annual percentage yield (APY) of 1.10%.
Australia has plentiful supplies of natural resources, including the second largest accessible reserves of iron ore in the world, the fifth largest reserves of coal and significant gas resources. For a long time, commodities have made up a sizeable share of our exports.
Australians wanting to be in the country's top 1% for wealth need to have an individual net worth of US$5.5 million ($8.3 million), Knight Frank's 2023 Wealth Report has found.
Australia is a highly developed country with a mixed economy. As of 2023, Australia was the 13th-largest national economy by nominal GDP (gross domestic product), the 19th-largest by PPP-adjusted GDP, and was the 20th-largest goods exporter and 24th-largest goods importer.