Rich in America - Secrets to Creating and Preserving Wealth doc

[...]... Trust to catch on In the mid- to late 1800s, most affluent Americans held their assets in local real estate or business ventures Cash holdings were not abundant, and there was little opportunity to invest in stocks, because few business were publicly held But U.S Trust managed to flourish by offering personal banking, including commercial and personal loans, and by purchasing mortgages and other investments... in income, 14 Rich in America What Does It Mean to Be Rich in America? In its early days, America was a relatively egalitarian society Compared to the situation in other countries, wealth was more equally distributed and wage gaps between different groups were smaller However, beginning in the nineteenth century, wealth and income inequality began to rise; from 1774 to 1860, the share of total assets... immeasurably, and cycles that used to last years now appear to come and go in a relatively short time The reliable and tax-efficient buy -and- hold strategy employed by many, including U.S Trust, must now be augmented with a more active asset allocation (Buy and hold means that you buy a stock, hold onto it for years, and sell it at a much higher price By buying and holding, you enjoy the increase in value and in. .. family came in to see us Their progenitor had worked equally hard and had also created a well-known business But this man had required his children to find jobs (and keep them), and he treated them as would the father of any ordinary child Today the man’s six grandchildren are well-adjusted and hardworking One is training to become a social worker, but also wants to live in a nice neighborhood, and the family... tax-efficient as buy -and- hold equity investing because they tend to produce short-term capital gains (taxed as ordinary income) rather than long-term capital gains, they benefit from a higher risk-adjusted rate-of-return than equities This tradeoff seems to make sense in the environment in which we now find ourselves This is one of many new approaches that require someone with a great deal of time and. .. an increase in the growth of skills and education, which increased the relative incomes of people at the lower end of the income distribution After the great compression, income disparities began to widen again, beginning sometime between 1974 and 1980 and reaching a new extreme at the end of the twentieth century, similar to their zenith at its beginning The top 5 percent of households gained in income,... become wealthy So you can forget the notion that investing alone will make you a fortune Although some people are able to do this, few do it well, and even fewer have become rich from it The real purpose of investing is to help you protect your- 8 Rich in America self and your wealth against inflation, and to take the assets you possess and preserve them All those books that say you can make millions in. .. life’s luxuries According to the U.S Trust Survey of Affluent Americans, the average affluent person spends 24 percent of his or her after-tax money on housing, utilities, and maintenance, followed by 23 percent 4 Rich in America on savings and investments, 15 percent on children, 13 percent on food and clothing, 9 percent on health care and insurance, 8 percent on vacations and travel, and 8 percent on... Wiley, for her steadfast commitment to the project, as well as my agent, Andrew Wylie In addition, I am grateful to Gene Stone, who was able to grasp the complexities of wealth management at U.S Trust and turn my experiences, ideas and advice into enlightening and entertaining prose Finally, I must give a special thank you to Allison Kellogg Allison was there at the beginning of this project, she was there... accruing to the richest 1 percent Consequently, the most affluent Americans regained their relative position of influence, and their absolute level of income also rose to a new high From $221,000 in 1953, the top 1 percent saw their average incomes soar to $791,000 by 1998 Furthermore, their share of the national income returned to what it had been, 18 percent, in 1903 By any standard, wealthy Americans . Data: Maurer, Jeffrey S. Rich in America : secrets to creating and preserving wealth / Jeffrey S. Maurer. p. cm. Published simultaneously in Canada. ISBN: 0-4 7 1-4 454 8-7 (cloth) 1. Finance, Personal—United. class="bi x2 y2 w1 h3" alt="" Rich in America 00 FM Maurer 6/20/03 4:55 PM Page i 00 FM Maurer 6/20/03 4:55 PM Page ii Rich in America Secrets to Creating and Preserving Wealth Jeffrey S. Maurer for. abundant, and there was little opportunity to invest in stocks, because few business were publicly held. But U.S. Trust managed to flourish by offering personal banking, includ- ing commercial and