Are Millionaires and Billionaires Very Different?

In my Rich Habits Study, I focused my research on individuals who had amassed at least $3.2 million in net assets and also generated $160,000 or more a year in income. I was able to document over 360 data points on the rich and my study has been highlighted in 25 countries and read by more than 100 million people.

Well, Wealth X does something similar. Every year they gather data on some of the details of all of the world’s billionaires. It’s a massive undertaking. I thought I’d share with you some of their findings and then compare it to my findings on millionaires, which you can find in my book, Change Your Habits Change Your Life.

• 87% of the Wealth X billionaires were self-made. 76% of the millionaires in my Rich Habits Study were self made.
• The average age of a Wealth X billionaire was 63. In my Rich Habits Study 21% of the millionaires were over age 60, 31% were between age 56 – 60, 28% were between age 51-55, 16% were between age 46 – 50 and 4% became millionaires before the age of 46.
• 70% of the Wealth X billionaires had a bachelors degree, 22% had a masters degree, 13% had an MBA, 10% had a PhD and 4% had either a law degree or were doctors. In my Rich Habits Study 68% had a bachelors degree and 25% had a post bachelors degree. What is most interesting about both studies is that 30% or more of the billionaires and millionaires did not have a college degree.
• 13% of the Wealth X billionaires had inherited their wealth. In my Rich Habits Study, 24% had inherited their wealth.
• 56% of the Wealth X billionaires were engaged in philanthropy (charitable causes). In my Rich Habits Study 52% of the millionaires were on the board of directors of some charity or non-profit organization and 78% were involved in some charity or non-profit organization.
• 85% of the Wealth X billionaires were married. In my Rich Habits Study 93% were married.
• 7% of the Wealth X billionaires were divorced. In my Rich Habits Study 32% of the millionaires were divorced at least once. Some remarried, some stayed single.
• The average number of children of a Wealth X billionaire was 3, which was the same in my Rich Habits Study.

As you can see there are not many differences between the Wealth X billionaires and my Rich Habits millionaires.

The rich share many things in common, including their good habits, rich thinking, incredible work ethic, persistence, resilience, positive attitude attitude and their decision-making. If you want to be wealthy, you need to walk in the footsteps of the wealthy. You must do what they do and keep doing it over many years.