Modern Maturity magazine's July-August edition focuses on millionaires and
attitudes about money, but the surveys and interviews suggest that while most
people would like to be rich, accumulating great wealth doesn't really change
anything.
In the magazine reporter Susan Garland interviews researcher Thomas Stanley -
author of "The Millionaire Mind" - about habits of the rich. According to
Stanley, the average millionaire has a simple lifestyle, works hard for his
money and isn't flashy.
"They are not involved in conspicuous consumption," he told the magazine.
"These people buy quality shoes, but they resole them. Nearly half have their
furniture refinished. If you buy furniture that's good quality, you can have
it for five generations.
"It's the same with their homes. They rarely move. And their houses tend to
be good investments.
"For example, the typical millionaire bought a house for $550,000 about 12
years ago in a nice neighborhood. Today that home is worth $1.2 to $1.5
million. More than half of these millionaires live in a house that was built
in 1958, with three or four bedrooms. These homes are not mansions."
Stanley's book was the result of a nationwide survey of 733 millionaires who
had an average net worth of $9.2 million.
Then if millionaires are living relatively simple lives, Garland asked
Stanley "who's buying all the fancy cars and other exotic stuff?"
Said Stanley, "The worst culprit is the corporate two-career couple who make
from $70,000 to $120,000 a year. They've got two Jaguars, two Volvos that are
leased. They've got an au pair. They live in a $400,000 to $500,000 house.
They've got club dues. They're the highest credit users in the United States.
"It's astonishing how much they spend. And they look down their noses at the
guy who lives next door who's worth $10 million. He's got a 10-year-old car.
He goes to work in a uniform every day, and it says 'Richard' on it. They
don't like this guy. They tell him he ought to clean up his yard a little
bit."
In the same issue, Modern Maturity, a publication of the American Association
of Retired Persons, polled Americans on their desires to be millionaires.
It found that 27 percent of men and 40 percent of women said "no" when asked
if they would like to be rich - which more than half defined as having about
$500,000 in total assets.
The survey found that 4 out of 5 of those surveyed said "they feared that
wealth would turn them into greedy people who consider themselves superior,"
and 75 percent said "wealth promotes insensitivity."
Published: May 17, 2000
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