Data & Research March 11, 2010

Number of Millionaires Back on the Rise

After the financial crisis whittled down the number of millionaires in the U.S., the number is recovering.
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According to Spectrem Group, the number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more grew 16% to 7.8 million in 2009, up from 6.7 million the year before. That upswing follows a sharp decline of 27% in 2008 (see “Number of Millionaires Declined Last Year”). The net worth figures don’t include primary residence.

Similarly, the number of ultra-high-net-worth households (those with a net worth of $5 million or more), advanced 17% to 980,000 in 2009. And the affluent population, or those with a net worth of $500,000 or more, grew by 12% in 2009 to 12.7 million.

“While still well short of its all-time high of 9.2 million in 2007, this year’s growth in the millionaire population is nevertheless welcome news for an economy still working to recover,” said George H. Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group, in a news release.

Spectrem’s “Affluent Market Insights 2010” is based on Spectrem Investor Research surveys of 3,000 affluent households conducted throughout 2009.

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