According to the 2Q 2015 UBS Investor Watch, American millionaires do not feel on top of the world. According to a survey undertaken by UBS (H/T ZeroHedge), despite their wealth, most U.S. millionaires still feel they have to keep working full time to maintain the same lifestyle for themselves and their families.
U.S. millionaires don’t feel financially secure
More than half of the millionaires replying to the UBS Survey say they are “stuck on a treadmill” because slowing down would mean giving up the lifestyle to which his or her family has grown used to. While two-thirds of the millionaires reported achieving financial security is the main point of working to build wealth, only those with a net worth of$5 million or more reported they have enough money to be secure.
Nearly half of millionaires with under $5 million in assets, and 63% of those with children at home, say that one wrong move including a job loss or market crash, would be a major impact on their lifestyle. For those who are worth at least $5 million, only 34% report they could not withstand a major setback without an impact on their lifestyle.
Pursuit of wealth is not a personal passion for most millionaires
A solid 87% of millionaires would do things differently If they just had five years to live. They said that they would enjoy a wider range of experiences, such as traveling and spending time with family. Of note, respondents also said they would be more likely to take chances if their time was short. Based on the survey results, most millionaires are not going to get off the treadmill unless they have to deal with a major life event such as a health scare or retirement.
Millionaires say success is due to hard work
The UBS survey also highlights that 74% individuals with at least $1 million in net worth feel like they’ve “made it”. More than 86% of those worth more than $5 million lso feel that way.
In general, millionaires report that they have earned their wealth, mentioning “hard work” as the single most important reason for being where they are today. More than 75% of millionaires grew up middle class or less, but today 76% consider themselves as either upper middle class or even upper class. Around 77% of millionaires, and 86% of the very wealthy believe they have worked harder than the average American in earning their wealth.
Enough is never enough
The UBS report notes that general satisfaction with life moves up as net worth increases, reaching 85% for those with $5 million or more. However, enough is not enough for most millionaires to be satisfied, because their lifestyle expectations have increased together with their net worth. Close to 58% of millionaires say their expectations for standard of living have increased in the last decade.
Of note, those whose wealth has grown a lot during this time period are the most likely to feel their standard of living expectations have gone up (64%). It boils down to the fact that the large majority of millionaires want more money. As the reports says, “Those with $1 million want $2 million; those with $10 million want $25 million.”
