“Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.

Fish don’t fry in the kitchen;
Beans don’t burn on the grill.
Took a whole lotta tryin’,
Just to get up that hill.
Now we’re up in the big leagues,
Gettin’ our turn at bat.
As long as we live, it’s you and me baby,
There ain’t nothin wrong with that.

Well we’re movin on up,
To the east side.
To a deluxe apartment in the sky.
Movin on up,
To the east side.
We finally got a piece of the pie.”

Did you watch the Jefferson’s in their  “apartment in the sky”? Life was good, goofy, and gilded; they “finally got a piece of the pie.”

High net worth families have a net worth of one million dollars. How they got there is a prism reflecting unique ideas, good timing (luck), passion, determination, prudence, and focus.

Keeping their wealth takes momentum, persistence, risk-taking, and entrepreneurial instincts. Adding complex global economic trends, currency and commodity values gives wealthy folks economic vertigo.Wealthy living on the upper east-side or a Tuscan village differs.

A successful, high-net worth hairstylist said to me, “In Italy you live, but make no money. In America, you make money, but have no life. My best times in Italy are sitting at a cafe, drinking coffee, reading the morning paper, and watching ocean waves. When leaving, I say, ‘Thanks…I’ll be back.’”

Making it and maintaining it became difficult and frustrating for wealthy Americans during this recession, just like the rest of us.

Millionaires don’t feel as good about their income:
• Most, like the rest, consider their cash flow worse.
• 54% feel “worse off”
• 32% think this could be a better year (optimism matters)
• 42% think not much’s gonna change
• 26% are downright pessimistic: things won’t stay the same, they’ll get worse.
• 38% shifted funds or will shift funds to certificates of deposit

Read, “Hard knocks for the high net worth” by Investment News, August 17, 2009