The New Elite

Whom would you label as “truly wealthy”? According to market researchers Taylor and Doug Harrison, who have studied more than 6,000 individuals in four years, the answer is a cool $5 million in liquid assets. But that’s where the commonalities end. Emphasizing their roots in marketing science, the authors spin a fascinating, statistically illustrated narrative of the—surprise!—hardworking, middle-class small-business owners, beginning with a retrospective of the four historical phases of American wealth creation: agrarian, industrial, corporate, and entrepreneurial. They delve into shopping and acquisition tendencies, discuss offspring’s attitudes toward work and wealth, and validate the growing philanthropy of the wealth boomers. Yet differences exist, as in their five lifestyle typologies: neighbors, who don’t change their lives; wrestlers, dealing with paradoxes; mavericks, using the motto “In Me I Trust”; directors, who consider money as essential to living the good life; and patrons, giving back to civilization. Throughout, the charts and percentages are enlivened with real-people stories, including Jim McCann, head of 1-800-FLOWERS, who realized $20 million after the company’s IPO. Great reading, even better inspiration for millionaires-to-be.