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US millionaires' ranks rose 19% in 2009, study says
The millionaires' club in the U.S. grew by 16 percent in 2009, following a 27 percent decline in 2008.
Families with a net worth of at least $1 million, excluding primary residences, rose to 7.8 million in 2009, an increase from 6.7 million a year earlier, according to a survey of high- net-worth U.S. households conducted by Spectrem Group.
"With the markets trending upwards, we expected an increase," George H. Walper Jr., president of Spectrem Group, said in a telephone interview. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index increased 24 percent in 2009 and has risen 68 percent over the past 12 months.
Affluent households, which the survey defined as those with net assets of $500,000 or more, increased 12 percent to 12.7 million, the Chicago-based consulting firm said in a statement today. The number of households with a net worth of more than $5 million rose 17 percent to 980,000, Spectrem said.