Other People’s Money – Millionaire Incognito

You can see why the wealthy might lay low. Suppose you were a millionaire. Suppose you were a HNWI, VHNWI, or an UHNWI. Would you show it off? Knowing that you risk almost certain demonization, you would probably keep it to yourself. You might have a nice house, but not so much nicer than your neighbors. You might take exotic vacations, but not tell many people about it. You might have a nice car, but keep it in the garage and take it out only occasionally. In other words, you would keep your wealth quiet, for the most part, in order to not be targeted.

Of course, it is not just to avoid being targeted. One does not accumulate high net worth by spending it. Many people have high incomes, but low net worth. If you spend all your income on houses, cars and other status items, you are not investing it and making it work for you. So the majority of millionaires are actually found living in middle class neighborhoods, driving older cars and wearing inexpensive clothes. They invest their income. Their money is in diversified accounts and under the watchful eye of wealth managers, not sitting in their driveway.

There are several wonderful perks to being the incognito millionaire. First, you are rarely the target of jealous neighbors and family members. If people think you don’t have anything, they won’t come after you. Second, you have the peace of mind that comes from knowing you never have to work, if you don’t want to. You are less stressed. When you choose to work, you work with passion and confidence, two things that always lead to success.

So is your seemingly nondescript neighbor actually a millionaire? Maybe. But they are smart enough to keep it to themselves. Maybe a more important question is: