Yup. I agree with you here - every year Forbes puts out its list of the fairly leveraged with mortgages and other loans, so their true net worth is not all that high. The "coupon-clipping" class is mostly "old money." Well since so many people are commenting on it, I'd better explain. I have heard a number of times that of all the millionaires in this country, the vast majority of them are first-generation millionaires. I'll certainly admit that that's different than saying most of the wealth is first-generation wealth. And sorry, but I can't give a specific source. I have no doubt that the above is correct - but a million ($) just isn't what it used to be. Even if all the "millionaires" are 1st generation wealth, the million+ -aires certainly aren't.
Bill Gates. Sam Walton. 2 very large examples. Waltons heirs got most of his wealth, so they are second generation. While it may be that "most" of the wealth is controlled by few entities, exactly _what_ are those entities, and what does that wealth consist of? Real estate? Money in the bank? -or- things like stocks, bonds, and other _investments_? Petro, Christopher C. petro@suba.com <prefered for any non-list stuff> snow@smoke.suba.com