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PROVIDENCE – Despite a decline in their total number due to the recession, Rhode Island has maintained its ranking at 14th place on an annual list of the percentage of each state’s households headed by millionaires.
With about 4.67 percent of its households having a net worth of $1 million or more, Rhode Island tied with Colorado, Illinois and Nevada for the 14th spot this year, according to annual market-sizing analysis and aggregate wealth rankings by Phoenix Marketing International.
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As has been the case elsewhere, the recession has pruned the ranks of the wealthy in the Ocean State. Phoenix estimates that 19,272 of Rhode Island’s 412,348 households are millionaires.
That’s down from 5.21 percent – or 21,698 out of 416,379 households – in 2008, when Rhode Island ranked 14th without a tie, and the high of 5.32 percent – or 22,550 of 424,216 households – in 2007, when the state ranked 17th. It is only slightly less than 2006, when 4.72 percent of Rhode Island’s 428,941 households were millionaires. (The total number of households in Rhode Island, millionaire or otherwise, is down 3.9 percent since 2006.)
“While the top states in millionaire percentages were little changed from the previous year, overall, the market downturn has taken its toll on the ranks of millionaires in most states,” David Thompson, a managing director at Phoenix, said in a statement.
Phoenix defines a millionaire household as one with $1 million or more in invested or liquid assets, excluding sponsored retirement plans and real estate.
Nationwide, the percentage of millionaires fell to 4.46 percent of households this year, down from 4.89 percent in 2008. Their total number fell to 5.14 million from 5.61 million last year, according to Phoenix.
Hawaii was the state with the most millionaires for the second year in a row, with 6.41 percent of households having net wealth of $1 million or more. It was followed by Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut and Virginia.
After three years at fifth place, Massachusetts slipped to sixth in the millionaires rankings, edged out by Virginia. The firm estimates that 137,792 of the Bay State’s 2.5 million households are millionaires. Connecticut’s fourth-place ranking was the same as last year, with 6.15 percent millionaire households in the Nutmeg State.
The article on millionaires points out that they exclude the value of pensions. Too bad!. If they did include pensions, the present value of our State and Municipal employees would boost the RI percentage of millionaires to #1 in ranking.
Bill’s comment is absurd. He must know it is not true. What interests me more is that with all the moaning and complaining about the terrible state of our state, unemployment, high taxes, etc., the rich are doing as well as ever. Why should they want to leave? 14th isn’t good enough for them?