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U.S. Millionaires Shrink 27% to Lowest Level Since 2003
Number of Millionaire Households Totals 6.7 Million in 2008, Spectrem Group Reports; Households Worth $5 Million or More Down 28% to 840,000
| Source: Spectrem Group
CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - March 11, 2009) - The economic crisis has taken a big bite out of
America's millionaires.
The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not
including primary residence (NIPR), fell 27% to 6.7 million in 2008, down
from a record 9.2 million the year before, according to the new report,
"Affluent Market Insights 2009," released today by Spectrem Group
(www.spectrem.com).
That is the lowest number of millionaires since 2003, when the millionaire
population stood at 6.2 million. Similarly, the number of Ultra High Net
Worth households, those with a net worth of $5 million or more (NIPR),
dropped 28% to 840,000 in 2008, down from 1.16 million in 2007.
"America has a lot fewer millionaires than when this economic crisis began.
In fact, the 2008 decline to 6.7 million -- which reduced the millionaire
ranks by 2.5 million households -- shrinks this important population close
to levels seen in the last recession. The culprit is not just the stock
market, which we all know has dropped precipitously, but broad declines in
the asset classes available to the nation's wealthiest investors," said
George H. Walper, Jr., President of Spectrem Group.
Affluent households, a broader group defined as those with $500,000 or more
in net worth (NIPR), declined 28% in 2008 to 11.3 million, down from 15.7
million in 2007.
The Spectrem report, "Affluent Market Insights 2009," is based on surveys
of 3,000 affluent households conducted throughout 2008 and insights from an
online survey of 750 millionaire households conducted in November and
December 2008. The margins of error, respectively, for these studies are
plus or minus 4.4 percentage points and plus or minus 3.5 percentage
points.