A Million Bucks Just Isn’t Enough

If I had a million dollars in the bank, I would be estatic! I've been told that in order to be comfortable by the time I retire, I need to have about a million in the bank, if not more, but I doubt that will ever happen.

Recently, a poll of 1,000 millionaires was conducted, and we've now gained some insight as to what they think about their wealth. The findings? 40% don't feel rich.

But they're millionaires, right?

More than four out of ten American millionaires say they do not feel rich. Indeed many would need to have at least $7.5 million in order to feel they were truly rich, according to a Fidelity Investments survey. Some 42 percent of the more than 1,000 millionaires surveyed by Fidelity said they did not feel wealthy. Respondents had at least $1 million in investable assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts.

I suppose that if they live a lavish lifestyle and have $25,000 in child support going out each month, I can maybe see it. But the vast majority of us don't have money like that, liquid or not.

"Every person in the survey is wealthy," said Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of National Financial, a unit of Fidelity. "But they are still worried about outliving their assets."

I realize it's easy to sit here on my soap box and make fun of these millionaires who don't feel rich, but I can't help but be a little miffed that these people have this kind of money and they don't think of themselves as wealthy. If the budget for your daughter's wedding is over $50,000, I consider you rich. Even if you don't.

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