--- title: Why America's Richest Millionaires Don't Consider Themselves ‘Wealthy’ description: A new report finds most U.S. millionaires don’t feel wealthy, citing inflation and shifting social comparisons. authors: - name: Adam Hardy role: Lead Data Reporter url: https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/ bio: Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. Adam’s work has also appeared in Business Insider, Forbes, Nasdaq, The Penny Hoarder, Yahoo! Finance and more than a dozen local and regional newspapers. education: University of South Florida, BA, Magazine Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 498 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - The Penny Hoarder - Forbes Advisor - Creative Loafing - The New York Times - The Washington Post - Bloomberg - Harvard Law School - The Federal Register - National Consumer Law Center - CBS News - Becker's Hospital Review - Business Insider - Mother Jones - The Week - Fortune - The Philadelphia Inquirer - National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NAFSAA) - Education Advisory Board (EAB) - The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS) - This Morning with Gordon Deal - Empower - Reddit social: - https://www.x.com/hardyjournalism - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hardyjournalism/ editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-11-07T19:11:28.000Z' modified: '2025-11-07T19:11:28.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 568 canonical: https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Photo collage of a worried man sitting on top of a stack of money](https://img.money.com/2025/11/News-Millionaires-Consider-Wealth.jpg) They might belong to the two-comma club, but don’t call them “wealthy.” Nearly two-thirds (64%) of U.S. millionaires don’t consider themselves to be "wealthy," according to a [new report](https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-study-2025) from insurance firm Northwestern Mutual. The share of millionaires shunning the term is down slightly from last year — the first time the firm asked the question — when 68% of millionaires said the same. “A million dollars is undoubtedly a substantial sum, but money alone does not inherently create financial confidence,” Douglas Benson Jr., founder of Benson Wealth Management, says in an email. ## Regain financial stability with the help of Freedom Debt Relief ### Freedom can start you on the path to resolve your debt, especially if you owe over $20,000. Why wait? Select your state to get started today! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/l67257dab4e3?ap_referrer=%2Fmillionaires-dont-feel-wealthy%2F) Typically, when calculating net worth, people factor in retirement accounts and property. By that definition, [about 24 million Americans](https://www.ubs.com/us/en/wealth-management/insights/global-wealth-report.html) are millionaires. However, Northwestern Mutual defines “millionaire” not by net worth but by owning at least $1 million of investable assets, excluding retirement accounts and homes. Under this strict definition, far fewer qualify, but the exact number is difficult to pin down. A separate [wealth gauge](https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/world-wealth-report/?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=PR&utm_campaign=wwr&utm_cre=IMG&utm_id=2025May07) by Capgemini reveals that about 7.9 million Americans own at least $1 million of investable assets. Only 3% of U.S. adults meet that definition, although this measure is also broader than Northwestern Mutual’s because it includes retirement accounts. The millionaires included in Northwestern's study provide a glimpse of the nation's richest people who not only have net worths of $1 million — but have at least $1 million readily available in their financial accounts. ## Why don’t America’s richest feel ‘wealthy’? Money asked certified financial planners, or CFPs, who advise high-net-worth people whether the trend holds true for their clients — and why they might feel that way. Eric Roberge, founder of the Boston wealth management firm [Beyond Your Hammock](https://beyondyourhammock.com/financial-planning-in-boston/), says one of his clients, who has over $3 million in investable assets, recently asked him: “Why do we feel so poor?” According to Benson, whose Iowa-based firm is affiliated with Northwestern Mutual, there are several social and economic factors that come into play that keep millionaires from feeling wealthy, despite owning more assets than approximately 97% of U.S. adults. On the economic side, recent bouts of inflation have eroded the buying power of $1 million. And in certain areas of the country with disproportionately high costs of living, $1 million “may not provide the expected financial comfort,” Benson says. Still, even in New Mexico, “that trend absolutely rings true,” says Nathan Sebesta, owner of [Access Wealth Strategies](https://www.accesswealthstrategies.com/). For many of his high-net-worth clients, the social factors are more heavily at play, as they often compare themselves to other people who are multimillionaires or even billionaires. “Wealth has become a moving target,” he says. Roberge explains that people often need to have more than the people around them to “feel wealthy.” But he says, as people accumulate vast sums of wealth, the people around them tend to change: different friends because your kids are now in private school, different neighbors because you live in an exclusive neighborhood and different colleagues because you landed an executive role at a major company. “Now \[you’re\] surrounded by people who have even more than you — even though you're well-off, too,” he says. “It's a never-ending cycle, and the people who do not recognize this effect will always feel behind.” ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fmillionaires-dont-feel-wealthy%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Wealth", "item": "https://money.com/wealth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Why America's Richest Millionaires Don't Consider Themselves ‘Wealthy’" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/", "name": "Why America's Richest Millionaires Don't Consider Themselves ‘Wealthy’", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-11-07T19:11:28.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/millionaires-dont-feel-wealthy/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-11-07T19:11:28.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Why America's Richest Millionaires Don't Consider Themselves ‘Wealthy’", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/11/News-Millionaires-Consider-Wealth.jpg", "width": 2304, "height": 1536, "caption": "News-Millionaires-Consider-Wealth" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Hardy", "url": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/adam-hardy/#author", "description": "Adam Hardy is a lead data journalist at Money, where he frequently reports on financial barriers that affect low-income Americans. 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