Singapore

SINGAPORE leads the world in terms of the proportion of households classed as millionaires after the ranks of the wealthy swelled again last year.

A new study has found that the number of households with investable assets of US$1 million (S$1.26 million) or more rose 14 per cent to 188,000 last year. That means 17.1 per cent of households - or one in six - are millionaires.

The findings come from management consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG) in its Global Wealth Report 2012, which does not include property and other non-financial assets.

In 2010, 165,000 households were classed as millionaires.

The latest jump comes even though the economy grew only 4.9 per cent last year, following a 14.8 per cent surge in 2010.

BCG said the 17.1 per cent figure was the 'highest density' of millionaire households across all the 63 countries it surveyed.

Singapore came in 11th in terms of the absolute number of millionaire households.

That figure was definitely boosted by the appreciation of the Singapore dollar over the past few years, while wealth was generated by the strong growth in the property market, said Mr Warren Lim, chief executive of Finexis Advisory.

The average millionaire goes bankrupt at least 3.5 times.^h

In the United States, approximately 7% of households are millionaires.^h

A 2010 study argues that millionaires (those in the top 1% of earners) pay approximately 40% of all taxes in the United States.^e

According to the book The Millionaire Next Door, only 20% of millionaires inherited their wealth. The other 80% earned their cash on their own.^h

Half of all millionaires are self-employed or own a business. Around 80% of millionaires are college graduates. Only 18% of millionaires have Master’s degrees. Eight percent have law degrees, 6% have medical degrees, and 6% have PhDs.^b

The preferred car of millionaires is a Ford. Cadillacs are second and Lincolns are third. Many millionaires avoid high-priced cars in favor of a more economical set of wheels because cars are investments with little return.^j

Only 20% of millionaires are retirees. Around 80% still go to work.^h

Just 17% of millionaires or their spouses attended a private elementary or high school. However, 55% of millionaires’ children have attended/are attending private schools.^h

Many millionaires think that the ideal occupations for their kids are accountants or attorneys. Tax advisors and estate planning experts are also in the top the list.^h

Most modern American millionaires today (about 80%) are first-generation millionaires. Usually the fortune they build will dissipate by the second or third generation.^h