The Endangered American Millionaire
Posted By Randy Jones on April 16, 2009
When I turned in The Richest Man in Town to my publisher last fall, there were slightly more than 9 million millionaires in the United States. By the time my book debuts on May 4th, there will be just under 7 million. One has to question whether this is a good thing or bad thing.
Many people think this economic correction, which has cost wealthy Americans $10 trillion dollars in net worth, has brought the rich their richly deserved comeuppance. And as I have written before in the blog, that attitude is understandable, at least toward those rich who made their fortunes on the backs of others, and those who expected the government to bail them out from the consequences of their recklessness and greed. But the hard-working, job-creating majority of millionaires give the rest of us hope. They prove that anyone can improve his or her station in life, and that’s a fundamental American belief. We don’t hate the rich—or at least, not the self-made rich. Nor should we, because they also help fuel the economy, and we need them now more than ever.
It’s easier to criticize the wealthy than it is to become one of them, but how is your energy better spent? If you’re real RMIT material, the answer is obvious. The American Millionaire is far from extinct, but its population has dwindled. Help keep it off the endangered-species list by taking a step toward joining the ranks of the self-made rich today.
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