The Importance of Self-Reporting

There's usually one statistic that gets thrown around a lot when we talk about meritocracy, that most millionaires are self-made. The claim seems to originate in a US news article that cites a 2017 Fidelity Investments study. This statistic is referenced all over the place, but the issue with a small sample size of self-report data on this particular question or topic specifically is probably obvious.

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“Luck” is where opportunity meets preparation, right? Fantastic financial outcomes are the culmination of a lot of factors coalescing in a very specific way, but we tend to only focus on one: effort.

So much American lore (and by extension, American…personal finance advice?) is constructed on the foundation of the self-made meritocracy.

One such “statistic” that often gets touted in these conversations: Somewhere in the ballpark of 88% of US millionaires are “self-made.” But where does that figure come from? How was it determined? And where do its implications fall dangerously short?

We chat with Shannon McNamara, host of the Fluently Forward podcast, all about it.

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Transcripts can be found at podcast.moneywithkatie.com.

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Mentioned in the Episode

The Fluently Forward podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/mk/podcast/fluentlyforward/id1589952385
Here's How 9 Billionaires Start Their Mornings, per Insider: https://www.businessinsider.com/billionaire-morning-routine-mornings-oprah-zuckerberg-bezos-musk-buffett-gates-2019-1
A History of Hating the Rich for the Saturday Evening Post: https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2020/02/a-history-of-hating-the-rich/
"88% of all millionaires are self-made," per US News: https://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/on-retirement/articles/7-myths-about-millionaires
2017 Fidelity Investments Study: https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/proxy/content?literatureURL=/9884619.PDF
The National Study of Millionaires from Ramsey Solutions: https://www.ramseysolutions.com/retirement/the-national-study-of-millionaires-research
US Bureau of Labor Statistics on inheritances: https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/2011/pdf/ec110030.pdf
Hailey Baldwin Bieber on the Forbes 30 Under 30: https://people.com/style/hailey-bieber-lands-cover-of-forbes-30-under-30/
Kendall Jenner on work: https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2018/08/207820/kendall-jenner-modeling-comments-response
Kendall Jenner on "having to fly all over Europe:" https://www.the-sun.com/entertainment/6416481/kendall-jenner-kardashian-out-touch-delusional-modeling-career/
Elon Musk on now-deleted Forbes article on his father's emerald mine: https://web.archive.org/web/20140802011449/http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2014/07/28/elon-musk-tells-me-his-secret-of-success-hint-it-aint-about-the-money/
90% of millionaires are male: https://www.verdict.co.uk/90-percent-millionaires-male/
8 Ways Rich People View the World Differently: https://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/11/8-ways-rich-people-view-the-world-differently-than-the-average-person.html