Americans are spending more time thinking about money than ever before
Economic stress is rising. Here’s how different generations are coping
A million dollars is not what it used to be.
Only 36% of American billionaires believe they will be wealthy in 2025, according to a new study from Northwestern Mutual.
The findings come from the 2025 Planning and Progress Survey, which was updated in early November. The study is based on a Harris poll of 4,626 Americans, including 969 with household investable assets of more than $1 million.
Even the wealthiest Americans worry about money, a study finds. They worry about having enough money and decide how to spend it and whether to pass it on to their heirs.
If $1 million isn’t enough, how much money do you need to feel wealthy?
“There are no hard numbers,” said Mark Mascarenhas, a private wealth advisor at Northwestern Mutual’s Haven Wealth Advisors.
Many billionaires don’t consider themselves wealthy
Feeling wealthy has a lot to do with context and perspective, he said.
In rural West Virginia or Kansas, $1 million might be a lot of money. In New York or Los Angeles, you may feel like that’s not enough.
Billionaires who hang out with other billionaires are bound to make boring comparisons with their wealthier friends.
“None of my millionaire clients consider themselves wealthy. They never will be,” said Liz Windisch, a certified financial planner in Denver.
“People who have that much money are necessarily millionaires, and they spend time with people who have even more money than they do, and like the rest of us, they compare themselves to others who have more money,” she said.
Northwestern Mutual found that nearly half of U.S. billionaires say their financial planning “needs improvement.” Only 53% said they would leave a legacy or charitable donation.
“It’s not that they don’t want to leave a legacy, it’s just that they’re worried about their retirement funds,” Mascarenhas said.
The study found that millionaires’ biggest retirement concern is the possibility of outliving their savings.
Rise of the Everyday Billionaire
According to the UBS Global Wealth Report, the United States has approximately 24 million billionaires, the most in any country in US dollar terms.
According to a report by UBS, the number of American billionaires will increase by more than 1,000 people per day in 2024. In fact, millionaires have become so common that the report describes people with assets of $5 million or less as “everyday millionaires.”
Average 50-something becomes a millionaire
The average American in their 50s now has a household net worth of more than $1 million, according to the 2022 Federal Consumer Finance Survey.
Household wealth has ballooned at a record pace during the pandemic. Soaring housing prices and an increase in stock holdings were factors that pushed it up.
The average household net worth for Americans in their late 30s is now over $500,000. If you’re in your late 40s, that’s over $750,000. By the age of 50, it will reach seven figures.
But if you’re in your 50s and not a millionaire, don’t despair. These numbers are averages and are inflated by the super wealthy.
Do you need $1 million to be “comfortable” financially?
Research shows that whatever “wealthy” means in late 2025, it will mean a net worth of more than $1 million. In the latest Charles Schwab Modern Wealth Survey, released in July, consumers set their wealth threshold at $2.3 million.
But if your goal is simply to be “comfortable,” Schwab has found that just over $800,000 is more than enough.
It may be mostly semantics, but American consumers believe there is a big difference between the economic goals of comfort and wealth.
Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning at Schwab, says the distinction boils down to needs, wants, and desires. Williams said that for many Americans, finances mean having enough money to meet their needs and wants. Being wealthy means having enough to satisfy your needs, wants, and aspirations.
For other financial experts, “wealth” simply means freedom.
“I believe the ultimate measure of success is being in control of how you spend your time,” says Michelle Crum, a certified financial planner in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
How much does the American Dream cost?
Inflation has eroded the currency of American billionaires. The cost of achieving the American Dream has also increased.
According to a September report from Investopedia, it currently costs $5 million over a lifetime to fund the eight elements of the American Dream, including homeownership and raising children.
The lifetime costs are:
- Severance pay: $1.6 million
- Home ownership: $957,594
- New car ownership: $900,346
- Raising two children and paying for college: $876,092
- Healthcare: $414,208
- Annual vacation: $180,621
- Pet: $39,381
- Wedding: $38,200
Americans with six-figure incomes are in survival mode
Just as many billionaires don’t feel wealthy, quite a few high-income Americans struggle from one paycheck to the next.
That’s the conclusion from a recent Harris poll, which suggests that many people with six-figure incomes feel far from wealthy.
One in three people with six-figure incomes describe themselves as financially strapped. Two in three people said a six-figure salary is not a sign of wealth. The study, released Nov. 14, was conducted among 2,109 Americans.
Three-quarters of people with six-figure annual incomes said they recently used a credit card because they were short on cash.
“People used to feel that when you hit six digits or higher, it was a sign of financial stability,” Harris Poll chief strategy officer and futurist Libby Rodney told USA TODAY in early November. “And now we just see it as a sign that we’re surviving and that we’re in survival mode.”
