The Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing America by Russ Alan Prince, Lewis Schiff

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(Hardcover)

  • Pub. Date: February 2008
  • 240pp
  • Sales Rank: 307,893
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    Product Details

    • Pub. Date: February 2008
    • Publisher: Broadway Books
    • Format: Hardcover, 240pp
    • Sales Rank: 307,893

    Synopsis

    A compelling look at a new class of the affluent—-the middle-class millionaires—-whose attitudes and values are influencing and reshaping American life.

    Publishers Weekly

    Sandwiched between the rich and the middle class are 8.4 million American households with a net worth between $1 million and $10 million. Prince and Schiff present intriguing statistical nuggets from their survey of 586 "middle-class millionaire" households. Although these people may be rich by most definitions, many were raised middle class, earned rather than inherited their wealth and still retain middle-class values. Comparing the responses of middle-class millionaires to middle-class households with less than $1 million net worth, Prince and Schiff determine that middle-class millionaires work harder, suffer more setbacks, choose homes for quality schools rather than convenience to work or shopping and have larger social networks. Unfortunately, these statistics are difficult to interpret without information about differences in age, family size, income, career and location. The book offers something for those who yearn to join the middle-class millionaires or move up among their ranks, especially entrepreneurs with business plans for this population, who are heavily profiled in these pages. Despite the breezy writing style, readers looking for a rigorous economic analysis will be disappointed. (Jan. 15)

    Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

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    Biography

    Russ Alan Prince is the world’s leading authority on private wealth, the author of more than 35 books on the topic, and a highly-sought counselor to families with significant global resources and their advisors. Hannah Shaw Grove is a widely recognized author, columnist and speaker and an expert on the mindset, behaviors, concerns, preferences and finances of high-net-worth individuals.

    RUSS ALAN PRINCE is president of the market research and consulting firm Prince & Associates, Inc. (russalanprince.com) and a founder of "Private Wealth "magazine. He is a columnist for "Elite Traveler "and the author or coauthor of more than forty professional development books. He lives in Redding, Connecticut.
    LEWIS SCHIFF leads a team of private wealth experts specializing in the needs of high-net-worth clients for Advanced Planning Group (advancedplanning.org). He is a regular contributor to TheStreet.com, a columnist for "Investment Advisor" magazine and the author of "The Armchair Millionaire" (2001). Schiff lives in New York City.

    Customer Reviews

    • Reader Rating:
    • Ratings: 2Reviews: 2

    Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing Americaby Anonymous

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    March 28, 2008: After reading The Middle-Class Millionaire, I have to admit that I had a lot of thinking to do about the decisions I've made about my own life. The research about how people succeed in America today made sense of what I've been seeing around me every day. I used to believe that the difference between those who made it and those who don't was more based on luck than anything else. Now, not only am I not sure, I think this book shows you exactly how to 'create' luck for yourself. I'm eager to put the ideas I read about in The Middle-Class Millionaire into practice in the workplace and in my personal life.

    Middle-Class Millionaire: The Rise of the New Rich and How They Are Changing Americaby Anonymous

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    March 10, 2008: While the dust jacket promises a well-written & researched socio-political exploration of an early 21st century phenomenon of a new wave of hard-working millionaires with middle-class values in tact, this visibly rushed through and weakly researched new comer cannot hold a candle to 'Bobos In Paradise' or 'The Millionaire Next Door.' I wish I could report otherwise-- because the authors' premise is quite alluring--but it simply does not live up to its published promise. Apart from sketchy facts and poor documentation 'more on that in a minute...', the authors end up turning what could have been a weighty and insightful sociological exploration into just another feather light self-help guide for wannabe millionaires. A bit of a disappointment. Just a couple of the more glaring inaccuracies from the book: Prince and Schiff state as fact that annual household incomes of $50,000-$80,000 are 'on the high end of the statistical middle? of American households.' No reference is given, but a book that came out the same time as theirs '?The Three Trillion Dollar War?', by none other than the Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, states that the median U.S. household income, for 2006, was $70,000. By simple definition, over half of American households cannot earn less than $50,000 a year if the median household income for the same period is $70,000. Prince and Schiff do not reference their figure--while the less careless Stiglitz does: at census dot gov. They then make a case for hitching one?s investment strategy to the ?multitudinous many who account for surprisingly small bites of the national pie? by buying stock in companies that sell things to the extremely well- heeled, an idea credited to Citibank?s Ajay Kapur but which has also appeared in financial corners such as Barron?s ?champagne bucket? portfolio: stocks like Sotheby?s, Mandarin Oriental, Bulgari, Burberry, Tiffany and Toll Brothers. Like any other cheesy get-rich quick investment book that paint past performance as a reliable guide to future gains, Prince and Schiff note that adherence to this plutocratic investment strategy has yielded average returns of 17.8% over the period 1985- 2005. All very well and good. But the tougher?and more relevant, one might add?question: How have the rich people?s caterers done since the authors? manuscript left the presses at Doubleday? It?s not pretty. Sotheby?s, Burberry, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany, just to name a few, have all plunged some 50% since mid-2007. And we all know what?s happened to luxury homebuilders like Toll Brothers: from $35 to just shy of $15 in the past year alone. The super rich clearly live in world apart, but the fact that luxury goods dealers have taken such a hit during this economic downturn suggests that many of these so-called Middle Class Millionaires may have been, like the authors of the book, been stretching themselves just a little too thin.