# What exactly is a millionaire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 20, 2003, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443 "2003-08-20T14:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![threeorange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@threeorange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threeorange)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/21 "2003-08-22T13:10:21Z")
> [@](#): > > Hey, math guys! Isn’t there a mathematically relevant number in the range of say 10,000,000-100,000,000 that bears its own short name? I’m not exactly a math guy, but I believe I’ve heard the words “decimillionaire” for 10,000,000 and “centimillionaire” for 100,000,000. Neither word is particularly catchy, though. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/22 "2003-08-22T13:41:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rayne Man \* > \*\*Got o Turkey then . There are about one and a half million Turkish Lire to the US dollar and over two million to the Pound Sterling. \*\* …and I squandered about 20m lire on a meal for two in Bodrum, Turkey a few years back…I am getting over it!😃 ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/23 "2003-08-22T15:29:24Z")
Fun thing about the Turkish currency is its extreme rate of inflation. When I was in Istanbul in March, I checked a Turkish newspaper written in English just for fun, looking for the central bank interest rates, and IIRC it was 44 per cent. So if your meal was “a few years back,” **spogga** , it certainly was an expensive one 😉 ---
**Author:** ![viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viking)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/24 "2003-08-22T18:16:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by threeorange \* > \*\*I’m not exactly a math guy, but I believe I’ve heard the words “decimillionaire” for 10,000,000 and “centimillionaire” for 100,000,000. Neither word is particularly catchy, though. \*\* I’m not exactly a math guy, either, but deci- means a tenth of, and centi means a hundredth of. So: decimillionaire: 100,000 centimillionaire: 10,000 decamillionaire=centibillionaire\*: 10,000,000 decibillionaire: 100,000,000 I think you’re right about them not being very catchy, though 🙂 \*assuming we’re talking about the brand of billion that’s a thousand million, rather than the brand that’s a million million. I can never remember which side of the pond is which. Maybe we should just use pseudo-scientific notation and call them ``8-figure-guys’’? Heck, we can even get thorougly specific and non-sexy, and talk about 8-figure assets, 8-figure liquid assets, or 8-figure income, as needed… ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/25 "2003-08-22T18:23:10Z")
British billion = million million American billion = thousand million ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/26 "2003-08-22T21:03:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BCE \* > \*\*I think we should change the definition to be: > > Millionaire: One whose annual income exceed a million dollars (or other unit of currency). > > BCE \*\* That’s what I would call a GREEDY sob. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/27 "2003-08-22T21:10:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BCE \* > \*\*I think we should change the definition to be: > > Millionaire: One whose annual income exceed a million dollars (or other unit of currency). > > BCE \*\* Go to Iraq and take your pay in Dinars, you’ll be filthy rich instantly ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/28 "2003-08-22T21:14:08Z")
The most convenient term you are probably going to come up with for informal use is MULTI-millionaire, indicating a net worth of at least $2 million, and implying more. As observed, a net worth of a million isn’t that big a deal anymore. Sustained annual income of a million bucks or being a billionaire is probably still too large a step - even if a million ain’t what it was, somebody worth, say, $10 million is still seriously rich. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/29 "2003-08-25T16:16:46Z")
The income definition is goofy. I mean… what if I just had a hoard of a trillion dollars in my barn, and lived off that. I had no income at all. By your definition, I wouldn’t be a millionaire. Seems very silly to me. I think that the term ‘millionaire’ just isn’t as impressive as it once was. We don’t need to create new definitions for it to make it more impressive, the world just moves on and there are other impressive milestones. ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/30 "2003-08-25T19:42:05Z")
from the Oxford English Dictionary: "millionaire (\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_). Formerly also in Fr. form. [a. F. millionnaire, f. million: see million.] 1. a. A person possessed of a ‘million of money’, as a million pounds, dollars, francs, etc.; a person of great wealth." YOU can call it any way you like but without definitions words are meaningless and prevent intelligent conversation. ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2003, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/31 "2003-08-25T20:10:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by OpalCat \* > \*\*The income definition is goofy. I mean… what if I just had a hoard of a trillion dollars in my barn, and lived off that. I had no income at all. By your definition, I wouldn’t be a millionaire. Seems very silly to me. > > I think that the term ‘millionaire’ just isn’t as impressive as it once was. We don’t need to create new definitions for it to make it more impressive, the world just moves on and there are other impressive milestones. \*\* Thank God, you came along and straightened out this mess, **Opal** 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/32 "2003-08-26T01:37:25Z")
Yes, I know. I try to do what I can. ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/33 "2003-08-26T02:25:39Z")
Yes, thank you **Opal**. I ran an inflation calculator comparing $1MM in a year from the 1920s (a decade I somehow associate with the word “millionaire”) to last year and it came up, surprisingly, as “only” $10MM in 2002 dollars. I then cranked 1890 through the same calculation and came up with $19MM. Conclusions: 1.) It’s going to be a little while yet before billionaire needs to supplant millionaire. 2.) Wow, the 34 years between 1890 and 1924 were almost as inflationary as the 78 years between 1924 and 2002. ---
**Author:** ![spogga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ab097/32.png) [@spogga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spogga)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/34 "2003-08-26T02:36:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Schnitte \* > \*\*Fun thing about the Turkish currency is its extreme rate of inflation. When I was in Istanbul in March, I checked a Turkish newspaper written in English just for fun, looking for the central bank interest rates, and IIRC it was 44 per cent. So if your meal was “a few years back,” **spogga** , it certainly was an expensive one 😉 \*\* Listen mate my g/f can eat for England not to mention drink, I considered I got off cheapl:D ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/35 "2003-08-26T20:44:05Z")
This thread reminds me of the definition I once saw in a dictionary: a millionaire was “someone who owned a million of money”. This way of putting it was interesting as it seemed to come from a time when all countries had a monetary unit that represented a hefty chunk of purchasing power. How different from today when even relatively stable monetary units like the Euro and the U.S. dollar can buy at best a couple of postage stamps or newspapers. ---
**Author:** ![Snorrki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Snorrki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snorrki)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/36 "2012-08-25T19:35:03Z")
Does assets plus income over time qualify a person as a millionaire? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/37 "2012-08-25T19:52:37Z")
> [@BCE](#): > > I think we should change the definition to be: > > Millionaire: One whose annual income exceed a million dollars (or other unit of currency). > The ‘old’ definition based on wealth, whether it is total assets less liabilities or limited to liquid assets, is too broad in today’s world. A hundred years ago, “millionaire” meant something along the lines of “top 1% of wealth.” > > Basing the definition on income would bring back some of that exclusivity to the word. Movie stars, sports stars, CEOs and others of that ilk would be the only millionaires. An average lawyer/doctor who owns a house in San Francisco would be excluded from the new definition. > BCE Income is a really foolish way to define the well-off from the less well off, and confusion over the importance of income is why our tax system is so out of whack. I could have a billion dollars in assets and easily show negative income if I wanted to structure my assets that way. I could also borrow 10 million a year and live off that, if I had enough assets. Assets. Net assets. Not income. They don’t even have to be terribly liquid as long as they are real enough assets to borrow against. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/38 "2012-08-25T20:46:49Z")
How many brains do you need to be a zombie millionaire? ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/39 "2012-08-25T21:11:42Z")
In my neighborhood 1100 sq ft homes can go for $1,000,000. Lots of folks bought those homes 50 years ago for about $25,000. Millionaire doesn’t mean wealthy anymore, lower end of upper middle class maybe. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443/40 "2012-08-25T21:26:06Z")
More seriously, the notion of a millionaire is somewhat vague, but the notion of an [accredited investor](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accredited_investor) is not. From the link, bolding mine: > [@](#): > > In the United States, for an individual to be considered an accredited investor, he or she must have a net worth of at least one million US dollars, **not including the value of one’s primary residence** or have made at least $200,000 each year for the last two years (or $300,000 together with his or her spouse if married) and have the expectation to make the same amount this year." [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-is-a-millionaire/196443.md?page=3)