For decades, becoming a millionaire symbolised the end of financial stress and the beginning of freedom. In popular culture, crossing the million-dollar mark meant that life’s major costs, from healthcare
to housing to retirement, were comfortably taken care of. But this year, that benchmark is rapidly losing its meaning.
A rising number of Americans, especially those in the upper middle class, now find themselves tagged as “millionaires” without feeling financially secure. Their net worth may have crossed the seven-figure line, but their monthly budgets tell a different story.
The US now has almost 24 million millionaires, the largest such population in the world, and it added nearly 1,000 new ones every single day in 2024. But surveys show that these individuals, many of whom live in expensive coastal cities, describe themselves as “worried,” “stretched,” and even “broke.”
This phenomenon, which financial analysts call the “everyday millionaire moment,” is no longer just an American story. In India, too, rising property values, booming equity markets, and record gold prices have pushed urban families into the asset-rich category. Yet many of these same households report a sense of mounting financial anxiety, struggling under home loan EMIs, education costs, and healthcare bills that rise faster than incomes.
As 2025 redefines what wealth looks like, both countries are grappling with the same question: If you can be a millionaire and still be stressed about money, what does it really mean to be rich?
The Rise Of The ‘Everyday Millionaire’
The American millionaire explosion did not begin with people suddenly earning more. Instead, it was driven by the quiet rise of assets that sit on household balance sheets. Home prices in major US cities surged more than 40% over five years. Retirement accounts ballooned thanks to a decade of strong stock market performance. And inflation alone—at 40-year highs in 2022–23—pushed the value of the dollar down, even as the nominal figures on paper went up.
The result was a statistical illusion. When GoBankingRates analysed household data, it found that many families who bought homes 20 or 30 years ago suddenly “became millionaires” purely because their property value had crossed $700,000-$800,000, and their retirement savings added the rest.
But these families were not withdrawing that wealth. They were not selling their homes. Their costs, meanwhile, were soaring — childcare, insurance, college fees, and basic groceries. So, while the label “millionaire” suggested prosperity, their lived experience suggested strain.
This is why analysts joke that the “new millionaire” could easily be someone who still uses coupons, monitors grocery discounts, and worries about out-of-pocket medical expenses. Wealth has become a number on a spreadsheet, not a lived reality.
What’s The Hidden Problem With Wealth Locked Away?
Part of the disconnect between net worth and financial comfort comes from the nature of modern wealth. Most of it sits in assets people cannot or do not want to sell.
In the US, two large components dominate: home equity and retirement accounts. Both are illiquid. Accessing retirement funds early triggers penalties and taxes. Selling one’s home, especially the family home, is neither emotionally easy nor financially straightforward, since buying a replacement home in the same area may be even more expensive.
This illiquidity is not unique to America. It mirrors the Indian urban middle-class experience in surprising ways.
In India, home values in metros like Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi have risen sharply, especially post-pandemic. Many households technically sit on property worth Rs 1–5 crore. Stock investments, pushed by the retail boom, have also grown. Gold has hit record prices. On paper, these families appear much wealthier than they would have been a decade ago.
But their cash flow tells a different story. Home loan EMIs can consume 40-60% of income. Schooling and tuition costs have risen faster than income growth. Health insurance premiums have escalated. And lifestyle inflation, eating out, transport, domestic help, and digital subscriptions add pressure.
Thus, Indian households and American households are trapped in a similar paradox: wealth is growing, but access to that wealth is shrinking.
“In 2025, crossing traditional net-worth milestones no longer guarantees financial comfort. Asset inflation, especially in housing and equities, has mechanically lifted household balance sheets, but this has not translated into proportional improvement in daily living standards. Much of this wealth is locked in illiquid assets, offering little flexibility against rising costs of food, healthcare, education, and housing. A seven-figure net worth today often reflects past asset appreciation rather than current income strength. In India, the picture is similar: headline wealth has grown, but real purchasing power remains under pressure as inflation in essentials stays sticky. For investors, this highlights a critical shift — wealth must be measured not by net worth alone, but by cash flows, liquidity, and the ability to sustain consumption without financial stress,” said Narender Agarwal, CEO & Founder, Wealth1, in Mumbai.
How Inflation Quietly Redefines What It Means To Be Rich
Inflation has played a major role in reshaping the idea of wealth. In the US, the cost of living has jumped so sharply that $1 million simply does not stretch the way it used to. In many cities, financial planners say that a retired couple needs close to $3 million to sustain a comfortable lifestyle without worrying about medical bills or long-term care.
The inflation story is even more visceral in India. Middle-class families feel the squeeze every day—whether in rising vegetable prices, higher rent, or the increasing cost of private schooling. Real wages have barely kept pace with inflation for a decade, meaning that despite earning more on paper, the purchasing power of Indian families has eroded.
This creates a strange psychological effect: people feel both rich and poor at the same time. Their net worth charts show an upward trend. But at the grocery store or pharmacy counter, the wallet feels lighter.
So, the idea of “being rich” is no longer about the assets you own. It is increasingly about the monthly comfort you can afford.
“For India’s middle class, rising net worth does not automatically translate into a better quality of life. Asset prices have risen meaningfully, but so have the costs of essentials, from housing and healthcare to education and commuting. As a result, disposable income remains stretched despite growing balance sheets. This mirrors a global trend where nominal wealth growth masks underlying pressure on household budgets. The implication is clear: financial comfort is increasingly driven by real income growth and liquidity rather than asset appreciation alone. For Indian households, the focus must shift towards maintaining adequate emergency buffers, controlling leverage, and ensuring investments deliver returns above inflation. Wealth that cannot support day-to-day resilience offers limited comfort in a high-cost environment,” added Agarwal.
Why Net Worth Is a Misleading Measure Of Financial Security
The obsession with net worth milestones such as Rs 1 crore, Rs 5 crore, or $1 million, is increasingly outdated because it hides the real question: Can your money take care of you month after month, even if your income stops?
Financial planners now argue that wealth must be seen in terms of:
Stability: Do you have enough cash to handle a medical emergency?
Freedom: Can you choose the job you want, rather than the job you need?
Time: Can you take a break without financial panic?
Quality of life: Can you afford healthcare, education, and retirement without debt?
Net worth alone cannot answer these questions, because it measures assets, not access. In both India and the US, a family may have high-value real estate but still worry about paying insurance premiums. They may have growing equity investments, but remain one job loss away from financial distress.
The modern economy has changed the rules. Wealth is no longer the assets you accumulate—it is the stability and flexibility those assets actually provide.
Why India’s Middle Class Is Feeling The Squeeze Despite Rising Assets
If the American millionaire crisis is a story of paper wealth without real comfort, the Indian version is a story of asset inflation without income growth.
For many Indians, the family home has appreciated dramatically in value. But buying a second home or upgrading is now beyond reach. Savings rates are declining because monthly costs are rising. And unlike the West, India lacks widespread social security, meaning families must self-fund retirement, healthcare, and even children’s higher education.
The burden of these costs is pushing young professionals, especially in metros, into a long-term anxiety cycle. A steady salary does not feel steady anymore. A promotion does not guarantee stability. And a Rs 1 crore net worth, once unimaginable, feels insufficient for future security.
As property prices, medical expenses, and private school fees climb faster than salaries, the middle class faces a stark question: If this is what “wealth” looks like in 2025, why does it feel so stressful?
What India Can Learn From America’s Millionaire Paradox
The US is a few years ahead in experiencing the disconnect between net worth and real-world financial security. And the patterns emerging there can serve as warning signals and lessons for Indian households.
The key lesson is this: relying solely on asset appreciation is a risky strategy. Homes and gold may rise in value, but they do not pay bills. Illiquid wealth cannot substitute for emergency funds or stable income. The Indian middle class must therefore rethink its approach to saving and investing.
“The widening gap between paper wealth and real comfort offers an important lesson for retirement planning in India. Chasing net-worth targets can be misleading if portfolios lack sufficient liquidity and inflation protection. Retirement security depends not on how large the corpus appears, but on whether it can reliably fund living expenses over decades. Rising healthcare costs, longer life expectancy, and periodic inflation spikes demand a more balanced approach. Investors should prioritise inflation-adjusted income streams, adequate liquid reserves, and diversified assets that protect purchasing power. A successful retirement plan is the one that delivers consistent cash flows and flexibility, not just impressive valuation figures. In today’s environment, financial security must be defined by sustainability, not symbolism,” explained Agarwal.
India is entering a phase where building wealth requires more strategy, not just more assets.
What To Conclude?
The word “millionaire” once evoked luxury, comfort, and freedom. Today, it often reflects little more than rising prices and inflated valuations. What matters now is not how much someone owns, but how secure, stable, and flexible their financial life actually is.
The US experience shows that becoming a millionaire is easy when assets inflate. Feeling financially secure is much harder. And as India’s middle class sees its own assets rise while costs soar, the country is beginning to experience its own version of the “everyday millionaire paradox.”
In 2025, wealth must be understood differently. It is not a number, it is a feeling. It is not an asset, it is access. And it is not about being rich on paper—it is about being stable in life.
That shift in thinking may be the most important financial change of the decade.
