Reuters: Ranks of US millionaires worth over $5 million swell (26%)

[Up2Late]

Ranks of US millionaires worth over $5 million swell

Wed Apr 19, 2006 06:25 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of U.S. households boasting a net worth of at least $5 million swelled to an all-time high in 2005, according a report released Wednesday by consulting firm Spectrem Group.

The report, "Affluent Market Insights 2006," is based on data gathered through mail and surveys of 1,014 respondents from September 2005 to November 2005.

Spectrem, which specializes in the affluent and retirement markets, said a record 8.3 million U.S. households are worth at least $1 million, excluding the value of a primary residence. This is the second-consecutive year of record growth in the category, topping the 2004 mark of 7.5 million households.

The Ultra High Net Worth category, which is comprised of households worth at least $5 million, not including the value of a main residence, surged 26 percent in 2005 to 930,000.

(more at link)

<http://go.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=domesticNews&storyID=11896299&src=rss/domesticNews>

[redwitch]

1. the rich get richer...

nt

[fooj]

2. Yep.

:wtf:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

3. Duh!! They got a tax cut! What did they think was going to happen??

[Crazy Dave]

4. Not me

With rising gas and health insurance costs I'm getting poorer everyday :cry:

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

5. Only out-paced by Thousandaires and Hundredaires earning less.

[Ilsa]

6. Yeah, I was only worth a paltry $4 mil last year. Good thing W got me

my gol-durn tax cut to push me over the $5 mil mark and put me on the list. Can't believe I have to put up with the whining of all those poor people spending their food money on gas so they can go to jobs that pay them minimum wage so I can get a bigger bottom line. Shucks, Wilma, I think I'll vote for W again in 2-double-ought-8. :sarcasm:

[AlCzervik]

7. "not including the value of a main residence" sheesh.

[jus_the_facts]

8. Number of billionaires surges TOO....LBN 3/9/06

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2156762

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - The number of billionaires surged this year, as did their collective pile of cash, according to Forbes magazine's annual billionaire list.

http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/09/news/newsmakers/billionaires_forbes/index.htm?cnn=yes



That's a fundamental misreading of what's happening to American society. What we're seeing isn't the rise of a fairly broad class of knowledge workers. Instead, we're seeing the rise of a narrow oligarchy: income and wealth are becoming increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small, privileged elite.

So who are the winners from rising inequality? It's not the top 20 percent, or even the top 10 percent. The big gains have gone to a much smaller, much richer group than that.

But income at the 99th percentile rose 87 percent; income at the 99.9th percentile rose 181 percent; and income at the 99.99th percentile rose 497 percent. No, that's not a misprint.

Just to give you a sense of who we're talking about: the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates that this year the 99th percentile will correspond to an income of $402,306, and the 99.9th percentile to an income of $1,672,726. The center doesn't give a number for the 99.99th percentile, but it's probably well over $6 million a year.

To read the entire article go to this site, scroll down to find the article, then click on the comments (12) below the title.
http://www.pkarchive.org /

http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F50C1EFF3D550C748EDDAB0894DE404482&n=Top%2fOpinion%2fEditorials%20and%20Op%2dEd%2fOp%2dEd%2fColumnists%2fPaul%20Krugman

[Up2Late]

11. Thanks for that, but what I REALLY want to know is, how many more...

...are there in the 99.99 percentile, who did like Dick Cheney did this year?

In 2005, he "earned" nearly $9 Million (AGI in 2005 was $8,819,006.00), but then gave $6,869,655 to charity (78%), which reduced his "Total Tax owed" to $529,636.00 (that's 6%!).

He ended up getting a $1,938,930.00 REFUND.

I'd love to know how many of the 99 percentile people are actually in the 99.99 tax cheats.

If you missed it, here's the LBN post from last week:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2226956&mesg_id=2227349>

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=2226956&mesg_id=2226956>

[smacky44]

9. Now this is the true result of wage depression. Only those who actually

work are the losers. If you just sit back and invest in companies whose profits are soaring because of scaled back worker wages and benefits, you get richer.

[fshrink]

10. That's what I call

the "Gambling Model", better known as the "American Dream".

[mvd]

12. While the numbers of those in poverty increase

:grr:

[Erika]

13. W's redistribution of wealth. Take from the needy, give to the rich

He's certainly meeting his goal.