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AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world 1 year ago
Billionaires? No, but there are self made millionaires, they’re just considered lower middle class these days. Anyone of a certain age could drop out of highschool, get an apprenticeship with a plumber, electrician, carpenter, etc. and end up with 1-2 million to retire on. Doctors and lawyers routinely save up 5-10 million. It’s when you’re doing significantly better than that, that you absolutely have to have had significant support and luck.
I’m not sure that scenario plays out for the majority of people anymore because the COL has gone out of control, while wages are in the shitter. That’s why I work for myself.
A “self made millionaire” these days can be somebody who bought a cheap inner city house in the 70s and now it’s worth over a million though nothing more than being in the right place.
Doesn’t mean they have a luxury lifestyle, but they could always sell up and move somewhere cheaper.
cricket98@lemmy.world 1 year ago
since when are millionaires considered “lower middle class”
CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 1 year ago
In different States in the US you need a whole lot more money to retire on than in other States.
cricket98@lemmy.world 1 year ago
You can retire off a million dollars of assets easily
CosmicCleric@lemmy.world 1 year ago
The hell you can, not in certain regions of the US. Don’t know about the rest of the world.
Takumidesh@lemmy.world 1 year ago
1 million dollars would only support a family of four living a lifestyle equivalent to the poverty line for 16 years. Sure that’s a long time, but that’s not forever, it’s not generational wealth and it’s not a luxurious lifestyle.
This example of course is if they don’t work, but that’s kind of the point. A household with a million dollars in the bank doesn’t just mean they can retire and live off of that forever, unless they are old, in which case they worked all of their life to have that money and are only retiring in old age.
There is a huge difference between someone who saved $1 million through retirement plans over their working life and someone with a $50 million dollar trust.
The first case is absolutely lower middle class. You need more than a million dollars if you want to retire at 55 for example and have an annual retirement income of 50k.
If you create a 401k when you are 18 making 15k a year, putting 10% each month and expecting a modest 4% return And an annual salary increase averaged out to 3% (putting you just under 100k salary by the end of your working career in your 60s) you will have over a million in your retirement fund by the time you retire, that’s with no employer match.
If you are slightly more successful, and manage an averaged out 5% annual salary increase (remember average, sometimes you might jump up higher, and some years you may not get any salary increase) you will end up with 2.5 million.
I wouldn’t consider someone who worked their entire life, saved what they could, got some pay raises from things like getting degrees and promotions, and finishing their career with a salary around $100k to be anything but middle class.
cricket98@lemmy.world 1 year ago
I believe we are talking about retirement, not supporting a family.