ABC Online news Wednesday, July 6, 2005
Millionaires can't get no satisfaction
A study has found that only 5 per cent of Australian millionaires regard themselves as prosperous.
The Australia Institute has surveyed 12,000 people to determine their attitudes towards income and wealth.
It found that for those with household net worth of more than $3 million, only one-in-five regards themselves as prosperous, while 7 per cent say they are poor or "just getting along".
In households with incomes of $100,000, only 5 per cent described themselves as prosperous.
At the other end of the spectrum, only 9 per cent in the lowest income group of less than $25,000 say they are totally satisfied.
The same percentage in the highest income group or more than $100,000 say they are totally satisfied.
Institute executive director Clive Hamilton says the report also examines the relationship between wealth and overall satisfaction with life.
"It seems that the richer that we become, the less satisfied we are with our incomes - it's as if our levels of desire always stay ahead of our actual levels of income," he said.
"The Government says it wants a prosperous nation, but as long as success is measured by money, Australians will always feel deprived."
Mr Hamilton says 21 per cent of people in the lowest income group say they are totally satisfied with life, with only 13 per cent in the highest income group feeling the same way.
"You really have to ask why it is in our society that we pursue financial success more than anything else, when all of the evidence suggests that it is other aspects of life which really contribute to our sense of well being," he said.