• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

2

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

3

Current price of oil as of June 18, 2026

1

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’

2

The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families

3

Current price of oil as of June 18, 2026
LeadershipWealth Gap

The Number of American ‘Penta-Millionaires’ Just Hit a Huge Milestone

By
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Chauncey L. Alcorn
Down Arrow Button Icon
September 19, 2016, 3:55 PM ET
Future possibilities
Photograph by JJ Pan—iStockphoto/Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Two new reports on the U.S. economy this week illustrate a tale of two Americas and an apparently growing wealth gap, where one group is earning perhaps more than ever and the other continues to struggle financially.

On one hand, there’s the rich, whose ranks are dramatically increasing. Researchers from the Boston Consulting Group recently released the findings from their 2015 report on the nation’s upper class, which shows massive increases in the number of millionaires and billionaires since 2010, with more than 100 Americans joining the ranks of Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg since 2011, according to a recent Barron’s Magazine write up.

Most notable from the study, however, was the fact that there are now at least one million American “penta-millionaires”—those with assets of $5 million or more. That’s a 5% rise from 2014, according to Barron’s, and a “historic threshold,” according to David M. Thompson, managing director of the Rhinebeck, NY wealth research firm Phoenix Affluent Practice.

“This is the first time that has happened since we started measuring these markets in the mid-1980s,” Thompson told Barron’s.

 

In total, there were 6,789,666 millionaires in 2015, an increase of 41.5% from 2010. Since that year, the number of people worth $20 – $100 million increased a whopping 63.5%. The number of people worth $100 million – $1 billion jumped by an equally stunning 61%, according to Barron’s.

Despite the new crop of increasingly-younger mega rich Americans, the majority of the nation’s populous is earning less money than it did 16 years ago, though that trend has changed slightly. The U.S. Census on Tuesday reported America’s median income rose 5.2% in 2015 to more than $56,500, according to CNN Money, but that figure is still less than the $57,342 median income the nation enjoyed in 2000, according to Austria’s Mises Institute of Economics.

The majority of the income increase last year came from the nation’s poorest economic group, which saw its earnings jump 10% while America’s top earners saw the least income growth, CNN Money reported.

 

About the Author
By Chauncey L. Alcorn
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Leadership

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Leadership

LaShonda Anderson-Williams, chief customer and commercial officer at Salesforce, speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Stuart Isett/Fortune)
Future of WorkBrainstorm Tech
How to run a company when the AI agents vastly outnumber the humans
By Alexei OreskovicJune 18, 2026
6 hours ago
LinkedIn research says half of C-suite leaders are flying blind on AI—and its CBO says they can’t fix it the way they’re trying
Future of WorkLeadership
LinkedIn research says half of C-suite leaders are flying blind on AI—and its CBO says they can’t fix it the way they’re trying
By Nick LichtenbergJune 18, 2026
6 hours ago
Fortune 500 Power Moves: Which executives gained and lost power this week
C-SuiteFortune 500 Power Moves
Fortune 500 Power Moves: Which executives gained and lost power this week
By Fortune EditorsJune 18, 2026
8 hours ago
Entry-level work didn’t disappear, PwC finds with ‘seniorization.’ It just morphed into something young workers can’t get
Future of Workentry level
Entry-level work didn’t disappear, PwC finds with ‘seniorization.’ It just morphed into something young workers can’t get
By Nick LichtenbergJune 18, 2026
9 hours ago
Dario Amodei
SuccessView from the C-Suite
Dario Amodei has only 1 direct report, his chief of staff—and everyone else reports to his sister: ‘It’s incredibly freeing’
By Preston ForeJune 18, 2026
11 hours ago
Senator Ruben Gallego arriving with a binder in hand at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
EconomyEmployment
Exclusive: Arizona senator warns ‘ghost jobs’ are warping labor data, presses Trump admin to investigate
By Camila Grigera NaónJune 18, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
Success
Anne Hathaway says she was spammed with ChatGPT-written thank you notes after hiring for a recent role: ‘Nobody on that list gets that job’
By Orianna Rosa RoyleJune 18, 2026
19 hours ago
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
Economy
The affordability crisis is so bad that, for the first time ever, both mom and dad are working full-time in most American families
By Jacqueline MunisJune 17, 2026
1 day ago
Current price of oil as of June 18, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 18, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 18, 2026
13 hours ago
Current price of oil as of June 17, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 17, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 17, 2026
2 days ago
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
Big Tech
Hundreds of Stanford students walked out of their grad ceremony to protest Google CEO’s commencement speech. It wasn’t all about AI
By Tristan BoveJune 15, 2026
3 days ago
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
Success
Microsoft boss Steve Ballmer publicly dismissed Chrome as a 'rounding error'—but Google’s CEO says he used the jab as fuel to win the browser-wars
By Preston ForeJune 17, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.