Study: Majority Of Billionaires Consider Selves Middle Class

[Zorro]

ST. PAUL, MN—In a comprehensive new survey of how the wealthy view their socioeconomic status, a study published this week in the Journal Of Economic Perspectives found that the majority of billionaires consider themselves to be middle class.

The study—which collected responses from 865 of the richest Americans, including Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Alice Walton, and Michael Bloomberg—reports that 70% of individuals with $1 billion or more in assets said they belong to moderate-income households. Of those, around a third acknowledged that as a result of their hard work, they may now be doing well enough to qualify as upper middle class.

“The billionaires we surveyed spoke a great deal of the challenges they face just keeping up with all their bills,” said study co-author Simon Mendoza, who observed that while economic data suggests the wealthiest 0.0001% are doing better now than at any point in U.S. history, most do not feel this is reflected in their personal experience. “Many described themselves as simple small business owners who, for example, are often forced to lay off hundreds or even thousands of employees just to keep the lights on in all their vacation homes.”

He added, “Others cited structural disadvantages, such as supply constraints that continue to squeeze some billionaires out of private island ownership.”

Among the typical middle-class concerns shared by those who participated in the study was the increasing cost of putting kids through college. Many billionaires complained that a donation of a few million dollars was no longer sufficient to guarantee acceptance to elite universities, which now expect parents to subsidize a new research facility, performing arts center, or library before agreeing to admit their academically unqualified children.

https://theonion.com/study-majority-of-billionaires-consider-selves-middle-class/

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