Millionaire - Wikipedia Millionaire For other uses, see Millionaire ( disambiguation ). Parts of this article ( those related to documentation ) need to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( April 2017 ) A large suburban home valued at roughly $1,000,000 ( 2006 ) in Salinas, California, shown for scale of purchasing power A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. It can also be a person who owns one million units of currency in a bank account or savings account. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire, which makes that amount of wealth a goal for some and almost unattainable for others. In countries that use the short scale number naming system, a billionaire is someone who has at least a thousand times a million dollars, euros or the currency of the given country. Many national currencies have, or have had at various times, a low unit value, in many cases due to past inflation. It is obviously much easier and less significant to be a millionaire in those currencies, thus a millionaire ( in the local currency ) in Hong Kong or Taiwan, for example, may be merely averagely wealthy, or perhaps less wealthy than average. In 2007 a millionaire in Zimbabwe could have been extremely poor. At the end of 2017, there were estimated to be just over 15 million US $ millionaires or high - net - worth individual ( HNWIs ) in the world. The United States had the highest number of HNWIs ( 5,047,000 ) of any country, while New York City had the most HNWIs ( 393,500 ) among cities. Contents 1 Terminology 2 Net worth vs. financial assets 3 Influence 4 Historical worth 5 Multimillionaire 6 HNWI population 7 Global cities with the most super wealthy millionaires per capita ( higher than $30 million ) 8 Number of millionaire households per country by Boston Consulting Group 9 Number of millionaires per country by Credit Suisse 10 Number of millionaires per city 11 United States 12 See also 13 References Terminology The word was first used ( as millionnaire, double `` n '' ) in French in 1719 by Steven Fentiman and is first recorded in English ( millionaire, as a French term ) in a letter of Lord Byron of 1816, then in print in Vivian Grey, a novel of 1826 by Benjamin Disraeli. An earlier English word `` millionary '' was used in 1786 by Thomas Jefferson while serving as Minister to France ; he wrote : `` The poorest labourer stood on equal ground with the wealthiest Millionary ''. The first American printed use of the word is thought to be in an obituary of New York tobacco manufacturer Pierre Lorillard II in 1843. While statistics regarding financial assets and net worth are presented by household, the term is also often used to describe only the individual who has amassed the assets as millionaire. That is, even though the term statistically refers only to households, common usage is often in reference only to an individual. Net worth vs. financial assets This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. ( February 2013 ) There are multiple approaches to determining a person 's status as a millionaire. One of the two most commonly used measurements is net worth, which counts the total value of all property owned by a household minus the household 's debts. According to this definition, a household owning an $800 k home, $50 k of furnishings, two cars worth $60 k, a $60 k retirement savings account, $45 k in mutual funds, and a $325 k vacation home with a $250 k mortgage, $40 k in car loans, and $25 k in credit card debt would be worth about $1,025,000 ; and every individual in this household would thus be a millionaire. However, according to the net financial assets measurement used for some specific applications ( such as evaluating an investor 's expected tolerance for risk for stockbroker ethics ), equity in one 's principal residence is excluded, as are lifestyle assets, such as the car and furniture. Therefore, the above example household would only have net financial assets of $105,000. Another term used is `` net investable assets '' or working capital. These practitioners may use the term `` millionaire '' to mean somebody who is free to invest a million units of currency through them as broker. For similar reasons, those who market goods, services and investments to HNWIs are careful to specify a net worth `` not counting principal residence ''. At the end of 2011, there were around 5.1 million HNWIs in the United States, while at the same time there were 11 million millionaires in a total of 3.5 million millionaire households, including those 5.1 million HNWIs. In the real estate bubble up to 2007, average house prices in some U.S. regions exceeded $1 million, but many homeowners owed large amounts to banks holding mortgages on their homes. For this reason, there are many people in million - dollar homes whose net worth is far short of a million -- in some cases the net worth is actually negative. Influence While millionaires constitute only a small percentage of the population, they hold substantial control over economic resources, with the most powerful and prominent individuals usually ranking among them. The total amount of money held by millionaires can equal the amount of money held by a far higher number of poor people. The Gini coefficient, and other measures in economics, estimated for each country, are useful for determining how many of the poorest people have the equivalent total wealth of the few richest in the country. Forbes and Fortune magazines maintain lists of people based on their net worth and are generally considered authorities on the subject. Forbes listed 1,645 dollar billionaires in 2014, with an aggregate net worth of $6.4 trillion, an increase from $5.4 trillion the previous year. ( see US - dollar billionaires in the world ). Sixteen percent of millionaires inherited their fortunes. Forty - seven percent of millionaires are business owners. Twenty - three percent of the world 's millionaires got that way through paid work, consisting mostly of skilled professionals or managers. Millionaires are, on average, 61 years old with $3.05 million in assets. Historical worth Depending on how it is calculated, a million US dollars in 1900 is equivalent to $29.4 million ( in 2017 ). $21.2 million using the GDP deflator, $24.8 million using the consumer price index, $61.4 million using the gold price $114.1 million using the unskilled wage, $162.8 million using the nominal GDP per capita, $642 million using the relative share of GDP, Thus one would need to have almost thirty million dollars today to have the purchasing power of a US millionaire in 1900, or more than 100 million dollars to have the same impact on the US economy. Multimillionaire Another commonly used term is multimillionaire which usually refers to individuals with net assets of 10 million or more of a currency. There are approximately 584,000 US $ multimillionaires worldwide in 2017. Roughly 1.5 % of US $ millionaires can also correctly be identified as ultra-high - net - worth individuals ( ultra-HNWIs ), those with a net worth or wealth of $30 million or more. There are approximately 226,000 US $ ultra-HNWIs in the world in 2017, according to Wealth - X. The rising prevalence of people possessing ever increasing quantities of wealth has given rise to additional terms to further differentiate millionaires. Individuals with net assets of 100 million or more of a currency have been termed hectomillionaires. The term centimillionaire has become synonymous with hectomillionaire in America, despite the centi - prefix meaning the one hundredth of a whole, not 100, in the metric system. Offshoots of the term include pent - hectomillionaire, referring to those who are halfway to becoming billionaires. In discussions on wealth inequality in the United States, hectomillionaires are said to be in the richest 0.01 %, prompting calls for a redistribution of wealth. HNWI population Number of millionaires and ultra-millionaires ( more than $30 M ) High Net Worth Individuals. HNWI Wealth Distribution ( by Region ) Region HNWI Population HNWI Wealth Global 12 million $46.2 trillion North America 3.73 million $12.7 trillion Asia - Pacific 3.68 million $12.0 trillion Europe 3.41 million $10.9 trillion Latin America 0.52 million $7.5 trillion Middle East 0.49 million $1.8 trillion Africa 0.14 million $1.3 trillion Global cities with the most super wealthy millionaires per capita ( higher than $30 million ) According to wealth research group Wealth - X that released its latest UHNW Cities report, showing the residential footprint of the world 's top ultra-high net worth ( UHNW ) individual cities. Excluding Monaco -- which has very high UHNWI density -- Geneva has the highest density of super wealthy people per capita in the world. The city is known as the most compact metropolitan area, and also enjoys a concentration of affluence. Singapore has the second highest concentration, followed by San Jose, the center of Silicon Valley, and the largest city in Northern California. While New York leads in terms of overall UHNW footprint, London has a similar number of UHNW ' second homers ' despite a considerably smaller population. Paris, perhaps surprisingly, features as the highest European city after London, Wealth - X said. Among suburbs and smaller towns, Beverly Hills has the highest overall number of UHNW residents, and Aspen has the highest concentration on a per capita basis, the report showed. Ultra-high net worth individuals are defined by Wealth - X as those whose total net worth is higher than $30 million ( R400 million ). Fig below illustrates Cities with The highest millionaire density worldwide ( higher than 1 $ million ). Number of millionaire households per country by Boston Consulting group The following is a list of the countries with the most millionaire households in U.S. dollars worldwide according to the Boston Consulting Group 's 2017 study. Rank Country Number of US $ millionaire households United States 7,085,000 China 2,124,000 Japan 1,244,000 United Kingdom 821,000 5 Canada 485,000 6 Germany 473,000 7 Switzerland 466,000 8 France 439,000 9 Taiwan 370,000 10 Italy 307,000 11 Australia 263,000 12 Belgium 240,000 13 Saudi Arabia 236,000 14 Hong Kong 228,000 15 Netherlands 206,000 Number of millionaires per country by credit Suisse Credit Suisse 's `` Global Wealth in 2017 '' measured the number of millionaires in the world. According to the report, the US has 15.3 million millionaires, highest in the world. Rank Country Number of Millionaires % of the population United States 15,356,000 4.71 % Japan 2,364,000 1.87 % United Kingdom 2,189,000 3.33 % Germany 1,959,000 2.37 % 5 China 1,953,000 0.13 % 6 France 1,949,000 2.90 % 7 Italy 1,288,000 2.13 % 8 Australia 1,160,000 4.68 % 9 Canada 1,078,000 3.07 % 10 South Korea 686,000 1.33 % 11 Switzerland 594,000 7.07 % 12 Spain 420,000 0.91 % 13 Taiwan 381,000 1.62 % 14 Belgium 340,000 3.01 % 15 Sweden 335,000 3.31 % Number of millionaires per city The following is a list of the cities with the most number of US $ millionaires as of February 2018. Rank City Number of US $ millionaires ( 2018 ) London 357,200 New York City 339,200 Tokyo 279,800 Hong Kong 250,700 5 Singapore 239,000 6 San Francisco Bay Area 220,000 7 Los Angeles 199,300 8 Chicago 150,200 9 Beijing 149,000 10 Shanghai 145,800 United States Main article : American upper class There is a wide disparity in the estimates of the number of millionaires residing in the United States. A quarterly report prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of Barclays Wealth in 2007 estimated that there were 16.6 million millionaires in the USA. At the end of 2011, there were around 5.1 million HNWIs in the US, while at the same time, there were 11 million millionaires in a total of 3.5 million millionaire households, including those 5.1 million HNWIs. According to TNS Financial Services, as reported by CNN Money, 2 million households in the US alone had a net worth of at least $1 million excluding primary residences in 2005. According to TNS, in mid-2006 the number of millionaire US households was 9.3 million, with an increase of half a million since 2005. Millionaire households thus constituted roughly seven percent of all American households. The study also found that half of all millionaire households in the US were headed by retirees. In 2004 the United States saw a `` 33 percent increase over the 6.2 million households that met that criteria ( sic ) in 2003, '' fueled largely by the country 's real estate boom. A report by Capgemini for Merrill Lynch on the other hand stated that in 2007 there were approximately 3,028,000 households in the United States who held at least US $1 million in financial assets, excluding collectibles, consumables, consumer durables and primary residences. According to TNS Financial Services, Los Angeles County had the highest number of millionaires, totalling over 262,800 households in mid-2006. Los Angeles County is also the largest single jurisdiction of any kind in the United States. Top 10 counties by HNWIs ( more than $1 million, in 2009 ) County State Number of millionaire households Los Angeles County California 268,138 Cook County Illinois 171,118 Orange County California 116,157 Maricopa County Arizona 113,414 San Diego County California 102,138 Harris County Texas 99,504 Nassau County New York 79,704 Santa Clara County California 74,824 Palm Beach County Florida 71,221 King County Washington 68,390 See also Look up millionaire in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Aggregate demand Billionaire Business oligarch Distribution of wealth High - net - worth individual Upper middle class Upper class Six figure income Wealth concentration Who Wants to Be a Millionaire ? ( game show ) The Millionaire Next Door ( book ) Moscow Millionaire Fair Pierre Lorillard II ( first American to be designated a `` millionaire '' ) List of African millionaires Lists of billionaires Sunday Times Rich List hide Extreme Wealth Concepts Billionaires Capital accumulation Distribution of wealth Dynastic wealth Economic inequality Geography and wealth High - net - worth individual UHNWI Millionaires National wealth Oligarchy Overaccumulation Paper wealth Plutocracy Plutonomy Wealth Wealth concentration Wealth effect Wealth management Wealth and religion Wealth tax Lists of people Female billionaires ‎ Wealthiest Americans Richest royals Wealthiest families Wealthiest historical figures Forbes list of billionaires Lists of organizations Companies by profit and loss Largest companies by revenue Largest financial services companies by revenue Largest manufacturing companies by revenue Public corporations by market capitalization Wealthiest organizations Other lists Cities by number of billionaires Countries by number of billionaires Most expensive things Wealthiest animals See also Business magnate Business oligarch Philanthropy The Giving Pledge The rich get richer and the poor get poorer Upper class Nouveau riche Vieux riche Religion and poverty References Jump up ^ Marlys Harris. How to marry a billionaire. Money Magazine. June 21, 2007. Archived 1 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Zimbabwe 's multi-currency confusion - BBC News ''. BBC News. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 26. Jump up ^ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-31/rich-folks-are-fleeing-london-and-lagos-wealth-report-shows Jump up ^ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-global-shift-wealth-10-years/ Jump up ^ https://www.afrasiabank.com/en/about/contact/global-wealth-migration-review Jump up ^ `` Millionaire ( n and adj ) '' ( available online to subscribers but also available in print ). Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 20. 1816 BYRON Let. 23 June ( 1976 ) V. 80 He is still worth at least 50 - 000 pds ( em ) being what is called here ( sc. Evian ) a ' Millionaire ' that is in Francs & such Lilliputian coinage. 1826 B. DISRAELI Vivian Grey I. ix, Were I the son of a Millionaire, or a noble, I might have all. Jump up ^ `` Millionary, n. and adj '' ( available online to subscribers but also available in print ). Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 21. 1786 T. JEFFERSON Observ. on Démeunier 's Manuscript 22 June in Papers ( 1954 ) X. 52 The poorest labourer stood on equal ground with the wealthiest Millionary Jump up ^ History in Asphalt : The Origin of Bronx Street and Place Names, page 129. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 18. ^ Jump up to : Bennettsmith, Meredith ( 2012 - 11 - 02 ). `` Number of high net worth individuals in US ''. Huffington Post. Retrieved November 2, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Number of millionaires in US ''. Retrieved November 2, 2012. ^ Jump up to : `` Number of millionaire households in US ''. Retrieved November 2, 2012. Jump up ^ `` Inside The 2014 Forbes Billionaires List : Facts And Figures ''. Forbes. Jump up ^ The Economist : A special report on global leaders, More millionaires than Australians, 20 January 2011, pp. 4 -- 7. Jump up ^ `` Fidelity Survey Finds 86 Percent of Millionaires are Self - Made ''. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown ( link ) Jump up ^ Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Community Development Project. `` Consumer Price Index ( estimate ) 1800 -- ''. Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. Retrieved January 2, 2018. Jump up ^ Gold price trend Jump up ^ https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-global-shift-wealth-10-years/ Jump up ^ http://www.superyachtnews.com/fleet/reducing-waste-and-increasing-value Jump up ^ Forbes - Volume 183 - Page 68, Bertie Charles Forbes - 2009 Jump up ^ `` Hectomillionaire vs. Centimillionaire '' Jump up ^ https://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2012/02/15/what-is-foster-friess-worth/ Jump up ^ Kindermann, Fabian ( 2014 ). Lambert Strether Lambert. Jump up ^ `` World Wealth Report 2013 ''. Capgemini. Jump up ^ `` Global cities with the most millionaires per capita ''. go.wealthx.com. Jump up ^ `` How many millionaire households there are in South Africa ''. BusinessTech. 2017 - 06 - 19. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 02. Jump up ^ `` The U.S. Is Where the Rich Are the Richest ''. Bloomberg. 2017 - 06 - 16. Retrieved 2018 - 01 - 02. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Jump up ^ https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/01/where-millionaires-live-across-the-world.html Jump up ^ https://www.afrasiabank.com/en/about/contact/global-wealth-migration-review Jump up ^ Barclays Wealth Insights. Volume 5 : Evolving Fortunes. Barclays ( 2008 ). p. 11 Jump up ^ Sahadi, Jeanne ( 2006 - 03 - 28 ). `` Top 10 millionaire counties ''. CNN. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 12. ^ Jump up to : TNS : : TNS Reports Record Breaking Number of Millionaires in the USA. Tnsglobal.com. Retrieved on 2011 - 11 - 23. Jump up ^ Sahadi, Jeanne. ( 2004 - 11 - 16 ) Real Estate investments as the main source of growth among millionaire households, according to CNN Money. Money.cnn.com. Retrieved on 2011 - 11 - 23. Jump up ^ `` report by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini '' ( PDF ). ( 2.41 MB ) ( p. 35 ) Jump up ^ `` Top 10 millionaire counties. No 1. Los Angeles County, California ''. CNN. Retrieved 2010 - 05 - 12. Jump up ^ Top 10 U.S. Counties With The Most Millionaires. Streetdirectory.com. Retrieved on 2011 - 11 - 23. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Millionaire&oldid=849554899 '' Categories : Distribution of wealth Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links CS1 maint : BOT : original - url status unknown Wikipedia articles in need of updating from April 2017 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating EngvarB from July 2015 Use dmy dates from July 2015 Articles that may contain original research from February 2013 All articles that may contain original research Articles that may contain original research from February 2010 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Беларуская ( тарашкевіца ) ‎ Català Deutsch Esperanto Français Galego 한국어 Հայերեն Қазақша Malagasy Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Português Русский Simple English Svenska Türkçe Українська 吴语 ייִדיש 粵語 14 more Edit links This page was last edited on 9 July 2018, at 20 : 06 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: how many millionares are there in the usa
Answer: just over 15 million