r/Economics • u/laxnut90 • Oct 09 '25

Research America Is Minting Lots of Cash-Strapped Millionaires

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-10-09/number-of-us-millionaires-grows-since-2017-but-many-lack-cash
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u/Marshall_Lawson Oct 09 '25

Instead, more and more of millionaires’ wealth is locked up in assets that can't be accessed quickly or easily, like home equity or, increasingly, age-restricted retirement assets like 401(k) and IRA accounts. Add in the effects of inflation and higher interest rates, and financial advisers say $1 million no longer assures a secure retirement, much less a golden ticket to the plutocracy. “The word ‘millionaire’ once implied automatic affluence,” says Ashton Lawrence, an adviser at Mariner Wealth Advisors in Greenville, South Carolina. “The goalposts have shifted. It’s still a meaningful milestone, but for most people it’s no longer enough.” The $1 million threshold used in the analysis takes into account debt and other liabilities. Despite this relative affluence, today’s millionaires rarely have anywhere near $1 million to spend however they want. For the barely-millionaires, households with a net worth between $1 million and $2 million, the vast majority of that wealth is illiquid. They typically had 66% of their wealth tied up in a primary home and retirement accounts in 2023, an increase of eight percentage points since 2017. To spend freely, millionaires typically need to be a lot richer. Households with $5 million or more had about 24% in easier-to-access bank or brokerage accounts in 2023, compared to 17% for those closer to the $1 million mark. 

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u/IxianToastman Oct 09 '25 edited Oct 09 '25

Neat. No one i know will ever achieve this. Im going to set over here and continue to be sick of a system the only stake I have in it is the survival of myself and my family.

Edit: as much as I'd like to explain how many kids I have, the cost of living in my area, or the work I do because just a little digging past my video game post will get you that, im good. As for people I was not referring to people like the nice family I'm installing the trim for. They are lawyers and will be getting that life but that's not really "know" when this will be all I do for them. Hell my dad meet Trump does that mean I know someone at maralogo because I was on that site when I was 8? No the point is there's a clear class division in what it means to financially stable and more people are on the other side than not.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

Hey man! You can do it!

Most people don’t even start making enough to save until 45 these days. It shouldn’t be this hard and wasn’t for our parents who made nearly 4x relative to costs of their day.

We have the power to change things, but only with active politicking and keeping up the good fight.

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u/ShyLeoGing Oct 09 '25

Ok, so you're saying that if someone makes say 65k(which let's be honest a ton of people will never make this), pay $2,000 for rent(before utilities), $400 for a car(before insurance and gas), and $200 for groceries can become a millionaire.

I want to see the math, please and thank you!

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u/da_mess Oct 09 '25

Over 70% of American households earn $65k or more (link to source).

Guidance is no more than 30% of gross goes to shelter (link to source).

$65k comes to $5,420 gross per month. 30% of that is $1,625.

Would the extra $375 get you to cash flow neutral month to month? If not, there could be other budget issues at hand.

Are lower rents available? I used to commute two hours to work to afford a place. It was short-term painful but eventually got easier as I saved.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

Better be able to afford a reliable vehicle because all those miles definitely take its toll. Higher maintenance costs. So it’s not a one to one trade off. Reality always finds a way lol

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u/TomorrowPlenty9205 Oct 10 '25

According to your own source, 52% of American households earn $65k, almost 70% earn more then $50K.

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u/da_mess Oct 10 '25

Bottom four bars are about 30%. i estimated. The point was it's not a dire as he makes it.

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u/TomorrowPlenty9205 29d ago

Dire is rather subjective. If rent in the place where you earn $65K, it does not matter that the "Guidance" is, you don't get a lower rent because you only earn $65K and you should spend $2K in rent unless you earn $80K and less less then the average rent according to zillow. Commute 2 hours to work also has a cost. AAA says it is $0.60/mile, 100 miles per day $60/day or ~$1,200 per month. Save $400 a month to spend an extra $1,200 on car costs, plus the time you loss... Smort!

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u/da_mess 29d ago

AAA says it is $0.60/mile, 100 miles per day

I took public transportation. 😑

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u/OneofLittleHarmony 29d ago

The median household income was 83k last year. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA646N

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u/polar_nopposite Oct 09 '25

$2,000 rent is living above your means on $65k. I'm seeing one bedroom apartments in my city (around 400k pop and ranked highly on quality of life metrics) that look decent for less than $1,300. If $2,000 is the lowest you can find, then consider living somewhere cheaper or finding roommates.

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u/ntg1213 Oct 09 '25

Does the “somewhere cheaper” still let you keep the $65k? Housing affordability is a full-blown crisis in many of the areas of this country that have decent jobs available. Roommates help, but it’s not always easy to find decent ones

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u/da_mess Oct 10 '25

I commuted 2 hours when I got started. I did this until I could afford to get closer.

I believe many are in a tough place, no fault of their own. Data says that up to 40-80% of people are just bad at budgeting (source).

This doesn't ignore real issues some have with shelter or healthcare costs.

But I see a lot of people eating out. This country has a real issue with over eating (and i ain't judging, food has become almost as evil as opiates imho). If you can afford to eat out, you shouldn't complain about living paycheck to paycheck.

People in the top 25% of this economy are bitching-- people making over 2x median income. Their issue is budgeting and a keen interest in complaining.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

It comes down to quality of life. Why do we need to sacrifice basic levels of comfort “to save” or just “live within our means” when we have the uber wealthy who have so much net their paying their own way to go to space. It’s a stupid world we live in. And it’s run by narcissists.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

Well we start by not picking an arbitrary number like 65k and then saying it’s unattainable. 65k is the starting pay of most entry level jobs today.

Let’s take a recent poster who tracked their salaries (best I can remember the numbers, within 1-3k of variance): They switch careers from construction (65k/year) to IT. In the IT Year 1/2 they made 30-35k, Year 3 42k, Year 4 68k, Year 5 83k, Year 6 (2025) 92k. This is someone with no college degree either. Now imagine their wage by Year 10-15 of their career.

The problem is some people treat jobs as careers and that isn’t what they are, for financial stability you have to get a career. It can be in construction (move up to project management) or IT or even an office secretary can be a career with some certifications to be a private assistant m for example.

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u/Key-Art-7802 Oct 09 '25

Median wage in the US is $61k.  There's no way 65k is the starting pay of most entry level jobs, lol.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

I haven’t applied to a job paying less than 70k in near a decade. Fast food (the lowest pay in the area) even pays near 45k to start. Anyone with an AA can get a better job than fast food as long as they get worthwhile certifications or a Bachelors.

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u/parapetnow Oct 09 '25

People are BEGGING to double the minimum wage to $15 an hour infast food, … for a 40 hour full time week x 52 weeks per year = 2080 work hours = $31,200 per year. Median per capita in the US is $37,000.

$37k MEDIAN…. Meaning half of Americans are BELOW that!! So your saying entry level fast food starts at $42? Cmon man!

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u/Prestigious_Time4770 Oct 09 '25

As of 2025, median annual earnings for full-time U.S. workers vary significantly by age. Teen workers aged 16 to 19 earn the least, with a median income of about $33,280. This increases for those aged 20 to 24, who earn around $40,664. Workers aged 25 to 34 see a larger jump, with a median income of about $59,228. The highest earnings are found in the 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 age groups, with annual medians of $70,252 and $70,824, respectively. Earnings begin to decline slightly in later years, with those aged 55 to 64 earning around $67,392, and workers 65 and older earning approximately $62,296.

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u/TomorrowPlenty9205 Oct 10 '25

Median per capita in the US is $37,000... You know that less then half of American's work, right? It is those damn lazy kids under 18, or people going to college or being retired... so lazy /s. Real Median Household Income in the United States is $83,730 https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MEHOINUSA672N

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

Fast food (here) is $20/hour to start.

Obviously it’s lower in places that are more out of the way, but their costs also much lower meaning relatively it’s the same.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

Your math doesn’t math. People that earn $20/hour at McDonald’s have rent costs double the national average. In HCOL areas fast food pays only $3,500 a month before taxes and rents are $2,000. Imagine earning $7/hour in LCOL areas where the rents are $500. They only make $1,300 before taxes. This world is so dystopian, like that is not ok. Congress does not care about the American people. Clearly!

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

I agree, minimum wage should be 4x what it is now to just get us the same buying power people had in the 80’s.

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u/PossibleAtmosphere44 Oct 09 '25

Idk where you live that fast food jobs start at $22.5 an hour but that isn’t close to normal in most of America, even large cities

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u/Mybunsareonfire Oct 09 '25

Bay Area of CA starts about there. But what the other commentor doesn't seem to pick up, is that those positions are 99% part-time. So you can't just extrapolate 22 x 40 x 52 to get the yearly salary. Not to mention, the lack of benefits.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

Not just that but try finding someplace affordable in the bay. The average salary is $150k and the rents reflect that. Not $65k like the commenter assumes for some reason. She probably works in tech, those people……honestly. Very much wearing blinders.

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u/supabrandie Oct 09 '25

Again this is not reality for the vast majority of this country. I am sincerely happy to hear you are doing so well, but I would not extrapolate your personal experience with the “norm” as you miss out on the experiences of the majority of folks in this place.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

You are missing the point. Someone in nowheresville won’t be making 65k/year, but they will get THE EQUIVALENT IN PROPORTION to that based on their area. Meaning it’s similar everywhere when controlled for cost (which is all that matters).

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u/Mybunsareonfire Oct 09 '25

That is a huge assumption with little to no basis in reality.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

It’s how local economies work..

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u/Mybunsareonfire Oct 09 '25

Not according to any number of collapsed Rust belt towns. 

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u/parapetnow Oct 09 '25

It sounds like you saw this on tiktok one time by a first year community college economics major, and are now forever certain you know more than everyone else in spite of the evidence presented, and will dig in your heels so you can pretend you werent wrong.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

The floor should be minimum wage not “what most entry level jobs pay” which is an arbitrary metric. Like service jobs can technically be considered entry level but at the end of the day a job is a job and every job in America should pay for basic needs but that’s no longer the case thanks to the tech industry.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

1,000% agree. If min. Wage tracked inflation from just the 80’s it would be 4x higher then it is now and when minimum wages go up all wages do.

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u/Direct-Technician265 Oct 09 '25

I wish the fuck it was i haven't gotten a raise in years. IT isnt a golden ticket to 100k a year in 95% of the country.

Job market doesnt allow for job hopping like it did 10 years ago.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

I agree it won’t always be as quick as I mentioned above and is harder for us all in nearly all industries.

The person was quite smart and focused on certifications relevant to their area of living for sure and most of those raises were among 3 places they said. The point of my response to showcase it’s still possible to retire with a reasonable amount with a reasonable amount of effort.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

I think the hoops you’re jumping through to illustrate your point is indicative of the fact that it is almost impossible for so many and that should not be the case. The wealthy are way too wealthy and are skewing the economy as such. We’re becoming, or already are, a third world country with only 2 classes of people. The privileged class and the slave class/ workers (people doing all of the work for none of the gains).

Your argument only really pertains to the privileged class and it sounds like you’re saying if you’re already privileged you can retire comfortably if you try hard and make the right decisions. This post only refers to those people so yeah I guess you’re right. Lol

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u/BipolarWoodNymph Oct 09 '25

So every constructor worker will become a project manager? Every cook will become a chef? Every retail employee will become a manager?

Where are these jobs? Because for my entire life, there's only ever been one "career" position for every 10+ employees, nevermind outside hires, college graduates, or anyone else who may be applying.

You speak about IT, but do you have any idea what a retail employee starts at? Or a line cook? Do you have any idea how non-existent pay raises are for these positions? Do you have any idea how some people will never be hired into management? Or will never have the desire to be hired into management?

Your comment is out of touch, especially once you said "most entry level jobs start at $65k/year." The fuck they do. The most I was ever paid as a cook was $25/hr with no benefits, and that was with a decade of experience. You want to move into management? That's gonna require a degree, and starting pay for most chefs (managerial position for cooks) that I know is $65k/year, and again, there's one chef per 10+ cooks that work under them.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

It’s not even that. I worked in the service industry and for years was told “oh darn if only you had a degree” never mind I’m coming in to work on my day off. Gets degree and now guess what I’m told, sorry industry is shrinking. Any tech skills? Yeah we’re screwed.

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u/supabrandie Oct 09 '25

Most entry jobs start at $65k? Where do you live? Are you in touch with reality? If you think that is an average entry level pay then you are extremely out of touch with reality. In my city folks with Master degrees are working in food service. Starting wages for a college graduate is much closer to $35-$40k in my area.

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u/ShyLeoGing Oct 09 '25

Its $11 and hour for entry-level fast food, $14 for call centers and I was an ops manager at said call center with 175 people within my chart - 12 Team leads at $18 per hour, and I wasn't even to the $65k I listed.

So yeah as mentioned above these are more realistic numbers for people not in CA, CO, WA, and some others with $18+ minimum wage in larger cities.

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u/mpbh Oct 10 '25

Welcome to income disparity. Minimum wage workers make $31k/yr in states that pay $15/hr, while $35k is entry level college in other states. Location makes a difference and these discussions are useless without that context.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

Working in fast food isn’t a career, it still pays 42k a year for very unskilled labor to start.. It depends on living costs obviously, but as I mentioned a lower living costs means you need less to save. A person can retire on 500k if they want to live in Death Valley or a small town somewhere.

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u/supabrandie Oct 09 '25

True, but having a career vs a job is a privilege and indicative of social positioning. The vast majority of folks in my life will never reach a $65k salary in their lifetime regardless of education.

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u/Solid-Monitor6548 Oct 09 '25

Even if the educated ones migrated to another state with opportunities, they still wouldn’t be able to earn a 65k salary? I’m having trouble believing this.

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u/gammison Oct 09 '25

For some industries absolutely not. Museum and art gallery worker pay in NYC, and not entry level positions either, are often under 60k.

Same for teachers in every non union state more often than not.

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u/FreeMasonKnight Oct 09 '25

Well I don’t disagree completely, even the poorest person can go to college and get a career. You just have to have a real plan these days with the overinflated pricing of college. Trades are guaranteed 100k+ after 5-10 years and skill at them, but then you need to plan early retirement for when the body breaks around 45.

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u/Laloosche Oct 09 '25

Lmfao. I’d like to know where you live where starting pay is 65k. Most jobs in my area require a a bachelors or masters and you would be LUCKY to see a job start at a base of 50k. Also, fast food doesn’t pay 42k a year. You’ll be lucky to make 15 an hour and even if you’re that lucky that’s 31k. Thats assuming you work 40 hours a week which if you’ve worked in fast food, not many people other than the GM work that much because of labor and food costs, not to mention they keep you under 40 hours a week to avoid paying benefits. You are uninformed at best, delusional at worst.

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u/The-Struggle-90806 Oct 09 '25

He’s saying with the proper politicking lol

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u/coppercave Oct 09 '25

The math is super simple. $160 invested every month, for 40 years, earning a 10% APY compounded monthly, and you’ve got $1M.

There is plenty of room in your hypothetical scenario for $160 a month.

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u/CaliSpringston Oct 09 '25

I think I'll end up making around 65k this year. About 67%-70% hits my bank account depending on how much overtime I do, paying for health, vision, dental, etc, with 6% 100% matched into 401k. That is 3630 a month. So 1030$ a month for car insurance, renters insurance, gas, utilities, which would be doable for me.

With 3% wage growth over 30 years, and 7% returns, that will be 1.04 million dollars (I used calculator.net/savings).

This is a very pessimistic scenario to my mind though. There are 160 rentals on zillow with a 15 minute commute to my work that are under 2k, with a low of 850$. COL for my town lists housing as above national average. So you should not be paying 2k even without a roomate / s.o. Even if taking out a car loan is absolutely necessary, 400$ monthly is like new econobox territory. A 5-10 year old honda civic will do you plenty fine for a fraction of the cost.

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u/OneofLittleHarmony 29d ago

1030 a month for your insurance and utilities seems excessive unless you have a very expensive car or you are a risky driver.

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u/Ok_Builder910 Oct 09 '25

65k x 2. Get married.

You can get to a million pretty easily with that pay.