There are more than 12 million Americans who have seven-figure or greater net worth. Sure, over time that millionaires club has become less exclusive and elite. Blame inflation! But millionaire status is still an aspirational marker of wealth, success, and perhaps most importantly, economic security.
During the pandemic we’ve seen cooped-up millennials and Gen Zers rush into trading apps like Robinhood in pursuit of riches, and yes, in pursuit of that millionaire label. Only a tiny minority will hit it big quickly. The rest would be wise to observe how other millionaires accumulated their wealth.
To help guide young investors, we looked over the results of a millionaire survey that Fortune and Civis Analytics conducted in December 2019. In all, we survey 519 individuals with seven-figure or greater assets.
The finding? When it comes to reaching seven-figure heaven, genius startup founders and pro athletes are the exception, not the rule. It’s slow and steady that typically wins the race: The vast majority of millionaires say they struck gold by consistently investing in the markets starting in their twenties and thirties. In total, 62% of millionaires we surveyed fit that description. That means if the Robinhood and r/wallstreetbets phenomenon results in more twenty- and thirtysomethings building lifelong investing habits, it’ll go a long way toward helping Americans achieve financial freedom.
Investing consistently also means not pulling out of the market—especially during rough periods. That lesson was retaught during the pandemic. At the onset of the crisis, the S&P 500 fell from 3380 points in mid-February 2020 to 2237 points in late March. But as of the close on Wednesday, the S&P 500 was at 3819 points. Investors who held—or bought during the dip—saw their wealth soar.
The next most common trait among millionaires? Being born into wealth. Among millionaires, 38% grew up in a household with high financial means. It’s too late to change that. Climbing the corporate ladder is next, with 24% of millionaires saying they were an executive at one point in their career. And 20% reached the C-suite.
But don’t overlook mom-and-pops: Among millionaires, 20% built wealth through a startup or small business they founded.
*Millionaires survey methodology: The Fortune–Civis Analytics survey fielded in December 2019 and received 8,809 responses. Among those responses, 519 had a household net worth above $1 million. The original data set was weighted to be nationally representative. We appended Census tract median household income data to evaluate if self-reported net worth correlated to high-income areas. Our comparison finds that statistically these self-reported millionaires tend to live in areas where high earners live.