How Long Does It Take To Become A Millionaire? | Money Guy (2024)

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How Long Does It Take To Become A Millionaire? | Money Guy? ›

However, this is far from the truth. While it is true that younger people have more time on their hands, it is never too late to start taking control of your finances. A lot of people believe in get-rich-quick schemes, but the reality is that becoming a millionaire typically takes 27 years.

The time it takes to become a millionaire depends on how much you save and the return you get on your money. If you invest $1,000 per month and get an 8% annual return, you'll be a millionaire in 25.5 years. The key to being a millionaire is to start investing right away and to be consistent about it.

Let's be real: becoming a millionaire from scratch by the age of 25 (or ever) doesn't exactly come easy. It takes incredible dedication, relentless work ethic, a keen vision and, more often than not, a healthy side serving of luck. And it takes discipline — not only in your work life but in your life-life.

It's Almost Impossible. While some experts believe it's an achievable feat, others aren't so optimistic. “It is almost impossible for most people to become millionaires within just one year,” said Loretta Kilday, attorney and spokesperson for Debt Consolidation Care.

Millionaires — those who have a net worth of at least $1 million —are, perhaps not surprisingly, on the older end. They're predominantly 55 and older; just 2.4% are under the age of 35.

While the overall odds of someone in the U.S. becoming a millionaire are about 7.29% based on the percentage of the population with that much money, you can increase your odds significantly if you just take these simple steps.

A stock portfolio focused on dividends can generate $1,000 per month or more in perpetual passive income, Mircea Iosif wrote on Medium. “For example, at a 4% dividend yield, you would need a portfolio worth $300,000.

Someone who has $1 million in liquid assets, for instance, is usually considered to be a high net worth (HNW) individual. You might need $5 million to $10 million to qualify as having a very high net worth while it may take $30 million or more to be considered ultra-high net worth.

In fact, most Americans are unlikely to ever become a millionaire. Estimates vary, but they range from about 12 million to 24 million millionaires in America. While that sounds like a lot, even the upper limit of that range is less than 10% of the approximately 332 million people in the U.S.

How to be a rich man? ›

It isn't easy to become a billionaire especially if you haven't already made millions. You will need time, patience, investment savvy, and entrepreneurship to become a billionaire unless you are born into a family with billions that you stand to inherit.

How Many Millionaires Are in the U.S.? Do you know how many millionaires there are across the country? According to a recent study, almost 24.5 million millionaires live in the U.S. today. To put that into perspective, that's more people than the entire population of Florida!

Earning $1,000,000 a year would surely be enough to live comfortably in the vast majority of places. But in one state, it means you've just crossed over into the top 1% of earners.

$1 Million the Easy Way

Putting aside someone's $40,000 in take-home pay every year—and earning that 10% return as described above—will get you to millionaire status in about 15 years. Halve those savings and you're still only looking at 20 years. It will take more work for sure, but it's a lot faster than 51.

1: Simply let compounding work its magic. Over the long haul, the stock market has provided average annual total returns somewhere in the neighborhood of 10%. If the future ends up like the past, $100,000 would grow into $1 million in just over 24 years from compounding alone.

Following the same math, 12% gains double your money in six years. If your investments earn 8%, you'll have twice as much in nine years. Presuming the stock market's approximate historical return of 10%, $200,000 becomes $400,000 in 7.2 years, then $800,000 in 14.4 years and finally, $1.6 million in 21.6 years.

If invested with an average annual return of 7%, it would take around 15 years to turn 500k into $1 million.