All wealth experts agree that the world is creating more millionaires. Last year, Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management released their World Wealth Report measuring the world's millionaires. The report said there were 920,000 new millionaires created in 2014, bringing a total of 14.6 million worldwide (Note: a 1 million US dollars = Rs.6.5 crores).
Measurements of millionaires by individual country vary. But almost all reports say that the United States has the most millionaires. The average age among these millionaires is62, suggesting most have built up their wealth over a lifetime.
Sure, money cannot buy happiness. But studies show that people at any level of wealth are more content than those on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. They enjoy higher self-esteem and derive satisfaction from their work. Their satisfaction also stems from doing their job well, having a say in their work, being able to innovate, or utilizing their God-given talents to the fullest. For example, high-net-worth entrepreneurs place extraordinary pressures on themselves to do well in business. Specifically, about 70 percent work more than 40 hours a week. They tend to treat their work as a hobby; they love what they do, and are able to work hard to make their business successful.
These high-net-worth people are very conscious about their own well-being. They are more interested in prevention than in dealing with illness after the fact. They are particular about what they eat and drink; they tend to smoke less than other economic groups and drink alcohol with restraint. They also feel that spending money on a habit or addiction demonstrates a serious lack of self-control. The feeling of being in control of selves and taking personal responsibility for their actions are two of the most conspicuous characteristics of the high net worth.
No matter how wealthy they are, most high-net-worth people never tell their children how much wealth they have accumulated. Just as they have become wealthy through no easy way, these parents teach their children that wealth is more often the result of hard work, diligent savings, and living below your means than it is about inheritance, or even advanced degrees. And yes, they tell their children that there are a lot of things more valuable than money. They teach their children to achieve, not just to consume. They minimize discussions of the items that each child or grandchild will inherit or receive as gifts.
Understandably, high-net-worth people are good managers of their money. They know exactly what their financial priorities are and how to allocate their time, energy, and money in ways consistent with enhancing their net worth. That way they can retire early without a financial problem. Even at their retirement, most of them take their pension in a lump sum, rather than live on monthly payments, because they expect to earn greater returns through direct investment. And in doing so, they have more money coming from investments each month than they ever earned when they were working full-time. And even if they live 25 to 30 years more after retirement, they rarely use up all their saved earnings. In fact, their money will last indefinitely if they only live on the interests earned from investments, and not touch the principal amount.
Most high-net-worth retirees spend their next phase of life pursuing other meaningful and varied activities of their own choosing. They have more time for finding new interests, taking new challenges, and helping others. For example, the United States Trust Company found in its survey that the high-net-worth retirees give an average of 17 hours of their services to charities per month, with religious organizations and educational institutions receiving the most. They also get involved in consulting or lend their particular expertise on an ongoing basis to community organizations. Others get involved in high-school programs for youngsters with disadvantaged or troubled backgrounds. They enjoy discussing with students the value of education, hard work, perseverance, discipline, and use their own stories of personal success to make a lasting impression. Frequently, they leave their money for colleges in their wills, mostly in the forms of scholarships.
A favorite endeavor for high-net-worth entrepreneurs is to lecture at local colleges or universities. Educational institutions seek proven business leaders, and they have found that the high net worth can be very effective and inspiring in the classrooms. Many entrepreneurs have also provided internships and work-study opportunities for college students. In some instances, students who have shown a strong work ethic have eventually been hired by those companies.
The high-net-worth people give back to their country. They like to perform their civic duties and often seek out leadership positions in civic organizations. They can share concerns, issues, and problems. They also lobby for change, whenever needed, to improve the lives of their fellow citizens.
So, do you want to be a person of high net worth? I would assume that you do, because being one could make your life more productive, to say the least. No matter how humble your background or how lowly your current job, I believe you can become a high-net-worth person if you are willing to reject the big-spending lifestyle most of us associate with rich people. This means being willing to postpone short-term pleasure in order to achieve long-term goals. It also means living below your means, saving money, and investing as much as possible. This, then, is the path to take if you are serious about becoming one amongst the high-net-worth people.
