A millionaire is, by definition, an individual whose wealth is equal to, or exceeds, one million units of currency.
There are several schools of thought on how to calculate the value of one’s wealth and determine if one is a millionaire. One school suggests that a millionaire is one whose net worth exceeds one million. Net worth, in this case would be calculated as the value of the total assets owned less the value of all debts owing. For instance:
James, 37, has a car worth 2M, a house worth 7M and stuff in his house worth another million, a total of 10 M. However, he has a car loan of 1.5M, a mortgage of 6.5M and a personal loan of 2M he is paying off. James’ net worth, then, is zero. He is thus not a millionaire. Sandra, 37, has a car worth 500K, she rents her home and has stuff in the house worth another 200K that she saved up and bought. She has 300K saved up in the bank and has no debt. In this case her net worth is 1M and she is, by this definition a millionaire.
(Read more: Establishing your net worth)
The other school of thought states that a person’s status as a millionaire is based on financial assets, principal residence (ie home you live in) excluded. Some users of this definition go as far as to state that lifestyles items, such as the car and furniture, should not be included in the calculation.
The third, and most stringent, term used is “net investable assets” or working capital, used mainly by financial institutions. These practitioners may use the term “millionaire” to mean somebody who is free to invest a million units of currency through them as broker.
Here are two interesting takes on what some people believe wealth is:
1. “Wealth is a measure of your ability to do what you would like to do, when you would like to do it – a measure of your breadth of immediately available choice. Therefore your wealth is determined by the resources you presently own.” (You can read more on the take here)
2. “Wealth is when you have created more value for others than you have spent. It is a stored value. Wealth is easier to store when you create lots of value for others. Wealth cannot be had if you spend as much or more than you create, no matter how much that is.” Larry Janesky
Taking these definitions, are YOU a millionaire? Are you on the way? Tell us what you are doing to get there.