# Why will most Americans never become mega millionaires or billionaires? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969 "2016-01-23T14:44:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/21 "2016-01-24T02:27:01Z")
How about life as an answer? Or life choices? If you drop out of high school and have kids before you’re 18, you’re much more likely to make less money, but you have a big family instead. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dude5568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@dude5568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dude5568)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/22 "2016-01-24T02:47:29Z")
> [@GlowingDarkness](#): > > There are about 536 billionaires in the US and probably more mega millionaires. > > [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List\_of\_countries\_by\_the\_number\_of\_US\_dollar\_billionaires#/search](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_the_number_of_US_dollar_billionaires#/search) > > Anyway why is this such a small number? Is it that most people don’t have the drive to become wealthy? Is it intelligence? Luck? Or just a mix of certain factors? > > What do you think? Most american will never become millionaires let alone mega or anything more. About 8 percent of american households have a million dollar net worth. 92 percent don’t. That’s most. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/23 "2016-01-24T12:31:02Z")
> [@PhillyGuy](#): > > The more serious answer to the OP is that the United States already has a lot of mega millionaires and billionaires, relative to population, compared to other first world nations. This is a symptom of our high degree of income inequality. This attitude of envy really pisses me off. It matters less how many rich people there are than how many poor people there are. If 90% of the people can live comfortably and 10% live luxuriously, surely that’s better than 8% luxuriously, 70% comfortably, and 22% in poverty (figures wholly invented)? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/24 "2016-01-24T13:07:30Z")
Becoming a billionaire usually involves starting your own business and it becoming an empire. So that’s always going to be pretty rare. Now being simply wealthy, that can be done just by working hard and prioritizing moneymaking in your life over everything else. Do well in school, go to college, get an in demand degree, get a good paying job, work 60 hours a week, don’t start a family or let other things distract you, and you’ll probably get pretty darn rich. Most of us would rather not do that, and that’s fine. Just so long as we don’t think we’re entitled to the money of those who did make that their priority. Someday it might be possible to tax free time, love, and friendship. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/25 "2016-01-24T13:14:16Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Becoming a billionaire usually involves starting your own business and it becoming an empire. So that’s always going to be pretty rare. I would upgrade “usually” to “virtually always.” Except for a very few entertainers (and I think of athletes as a type of entertainer), nobody becomes truly wealthy by selling his or her own labor. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/26 "2016-01-24T13:22:18Z")
There is one path to mega riches that way: move up the ranks of a big company until you get to a high executive position. Quite doable for top performers with political skills. Not billionaire riches, but certainly in the 7 figure salary range. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/27 "2016-01-24T13:57:05Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > If 90% of the people can live comfortably and 10% live luxuriously, surely that’s better than 8% luxuriously, 70% comfortably, and 22% in poverty (figures wholly invented)? I agree with this – especially what’s in parentheses. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/28 "2016-01-24T14:26:58Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > According to Thomas J. Stanley’s book, “The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America’s Wealthy,” only 20% of millionaires inherited their riches. The other 80% are what you’d call nouveau riche: first generation millionaires who earned their cash on their own. Many millionaires simply worked, saved and lived within their means to generate their wealth - think accountants and managers: regular people going to work every day. Most millionaires didn’t get their riches overnight when a rich relative died - they worked for the money. No doubt true but perhaps misleading. $1 million, in 2016 dollars, is not so much. A decade’s savings plus a smart property investment could probably push a middle-manager over that line. But if we’re talking mega millionaires, like the OP, the proportion of inheritors likely increases. Also, how are we defining whether money was inherited? If my family can keep bankrolling my business ideas (so I never feel under financial stress), then I hit it big on the fifth attempt, and get even richer than my parents, does that count as inherited wealth? I’m not trying to use excuses of “It was easy for her; her parents are rich” or whatever, but it does have a big effect, and you can see that in social mobility stats (allowing for the fact that directly receiving money is far from the only benefit of having wealthy parents). ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/29 "2016-01-24T14:48:37Z")
Getting rich is a series of gambles. Hard work and talent will improve your odds, but never guarantee success. Also ‘millionaire’ needs to be retired as a mark of “Wealth” A million bucks assets isnt enough for a carefree , free-spending life. I promise. ---
**Author:** ![Corporal\_Clegg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Corporal\_Clegg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corporal_Clegg)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/30 "2016-01-24T15:27:46Z")
Because even if you have a billion dollar idea (as I have had) the venture capital folks wan’t give you the start-up capital unless you have covered every base–gotten people of note and notoriety to be willing to vouche for you and want “in” as a player. I have been through this and you get a lot of lip service and congratulations but then when it comes time for them to take any risks with their names and reps, no one wants to be first or you find out you’ve been told a bunch of crap by people who just don’t like the feeling of being straight with anyone. You can’t be imperfect. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/31 "2016-01-24T16:38:37Z")
> [@nicky](#): > > Also ‘millionaire’ needs to be retired as a mark of “Wealth” Not retired but redefined. Instead of assets it now needs to refer to income. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/32 "2016-01-24T18:16:35Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > There’s a flaw in the OP. Yes, there are 536 billionaires and some ungodly number of millionaires… > > But I’d bet my last donut that more than half of them inherited their money. The single strongest indicator of whether someone will be rich is if their parents are rich. I hope you don’t like donuts. > [@](#): > > About 80 percent of us (meaning millionaries) are first-generation affluent. [Cite.](https://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stanley-millionaire.html) > [@](#): > > Seventy percent of the Forbes 400 members are classified as self-made (EDIT NOTE: First version of this post said that 70% built their fortunes entirely from scratch; it should have said 70% are self-made, as some might have borrowed money from in-laws or parents, or started businesses with spouses or other relatives, but nevertheless built these fortunes themselves). [Cite](http://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2012/09/19/the-forbes-400-the-richest-people-in-america/#3089d177a4fc). > [@](#): > > Most interestingly, the majority of billionaires — think Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Larry Ellison, to start — are self-made, while a minority inherited the whole of their wealth. [Cite](http://www.businessinsider.com/richest-people-in-the-world-2015-4). Feel free to move the goalposts, but you’ve lost the bet. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2016, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/33 "2016-01-24T19:24:45Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > Republican answer: Taxes. > [@PhillyGuy](#): > > If, to our misfortune, Ted Cruz is that next President of the United States, and gets his policies passed by a GOP congress, there will be thousands more millionaires, but tens of millions fewer in the middle class. ENOUGH! Whether joking or serious, this thread does not need to turn into a partisan snipe fest. Stick to the topic and leave the partisan jabs for The BBQ Pit. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/34 "2016-01-25T01:56:59Z")
> [@nicky](#): > > Getting rich is a series of gambles. Hard work and talent will improve your odds, but never guarantee success. > > Also ‘millionaire’ needs to be retired as a mark of “Wealth” > A million bucks assets isnt enough for a carefree , free-spending life. I promise. No, but it is rich as hell for most people. The only exceptions would be those who live in areas where all of their million is tied up in their home and where a million dollar home denotes merely upper middle class for that area, such as New York City or San Francisco. But I don’t think we can retire one million just yet, since even in NY, having $1 million in your property and another $1 million in the bank makes you fabulously wealthy. I wouldn’t really define “the rich” as free spenders, since even at $10 million you can’t be a free spender. Lots of athletes and entertainers and lottery winners have made more than that and gone bankrupt through their free spending ways. Virtually any sum under $100 million can be spent away if you have enough “friends” to with their hands out. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/35 "2016-01-25T02:03:42Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > ENOUGH! > > Whether joking or serious, this thread does not need to turn into a partisan snipe fest. > > Stick to the topic and leave the partisan jabs for The BBQ Pit. > > [/Moderating] It actually wasn’t meant as a snipe, I think a lot of Republicans would blame taxes for them not being millionaires. ---
**Author:** ![sleestak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/919ad9/32.png) [@sleestak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleestak)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/36 "2016-01-25T02:07:23Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > There’s a flaw in the OP. Yes, there are 536 billionaires and some ungodly number of millionaires… > > But I’d bet my last donut that more than half of them inherited their money. The single strongest indicator of whether someone will be rich is if their parents are rich. I will take that bet for millionaires. The actual number of inherited millionaires is roughly 35%. Meaning 65% are self made. Slee ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/37 "2016-01-25T02:07:29Z")
> [@BobLibDem](#): > > It actually wasn’t meant as a snipe, I think a lot of Republicans would blame taxes for them not being millionaires. Well, it is the big difference if you’re in the high six figures. The issue with taxing incomes between 250K and 500K more is that people making that kind of money probably will have to cut back on their spending to pay the higher taxes. And they’ll certainly cut down on their savings. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/38 "2016-01-25T02:19:17Z")
> [@sleestak](#): > > I will take that bet for millionaires. > > The actual number of inherited millionaires is roughly 35%. Meaning 65% are self made. > > Slee Being a millionaire is meaningless nowadays. Lets see the stats for those with a net worth of $10 million and up and I think you’ll find that the percentage of inherited is much higher. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/39 "2016-01-25T02:21:14Z")
Not in the internet age. Nowadays some kid starts a website, it gets a big following, and either a big company buys it for a hundred million or he figures out a way to monetize his millions of users. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2016, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969/40 "2016-01-25T02:21:33Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, it is the big difference if you’re in the high six figures. The issue with taxing incomes between 250K and 500K more is that people making that kind of money probably will have to cut back on their spending to pay the higher taxes. And they’ll certainly cut down on their savings. I don’t see it. If you make over $250K, taxes plus your spending won’t be half of that. So in 10 years you’re a millionaire. Role of government and taxes is negligible. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-will-most-americans-never-become-mega-millionaires-or-billionaires/743969.md?page=3)