Bernie Sanders a billionaire? That would be a shock.
But Bernie Sanders a millionaire? Sure. And in today’s America, he’s got a lot of company.
Sanders, who acknowledged his seven-digit status last week, is one of an estimated 17.3 million millionaires living in the U.S., by one measure at least.
He’s also a self-described democratic socialist who has placed income distribution and inequality at the center of his two presidential runs. He has said the country is owned and controlled by a small number of billionaires whose greed has torn the fabric of society and because of them, the U.S. is becoming an oligarchy.
That kind of populist rhetoric can make the 77-year-old senator’s perch in the top 5 percent of wealth in America feel a bit, well, awkward.
In any event, that the U.S. is home to more millionaires than ever makes sense. A big wave of baby boomers, many with 401(k)s and perhaps even pension plans, has been moving into retirement after enjoying a decade-long bull market. Before last December’s market rout, Fidelity Investments reported having 187,400 401(k) accounts with balances of $1 million or more, a record high.
That, though, represents only about 1 percent of all Fidelity accounts. Most Americans are far from achieving what Sanders has. Only about 55 percent have 401(k) retirement-savings plans. And four in 10 adults faced with a $400 emergency expense would have to borrow, sell something or not be able to cover it, according to a 2018 report by the Federal Reserve.
Sanders’s rise from a lower-middle-income family, with parents who didn’t go to college, used to be a classic American not-quite-rags to riches story. Statistics show it is is becoming harder to write.
A report by The Pell Institute and PennAhead found that 24-year-olds who grew up in households with at least $116,500 in annual income represented more than half of the college degrees earned in 2014; households with incomes below $35,000 produced just 10 percent of the graduates.
Until a few years ago, Sanders’ net worth was likely below the $1 million mark. Financial-disclosure forms for politicians allow for wide ranges in asset values, making it hard to get a good grasp on how wealthy he is. But in 2015, Sanders clocked in at No. 77 of the 100 senators in terms of net worth, within the range of $271,033 to $1,153,999, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The group estimated Sanders’ net worth at $712,516.