Earlier this year, Give & Take reported that U.S. household net worth grew by 14 percent, or $9 trillion, in 2013. The good news continues in 2014.
In its latest release, the Federal Reserve revealed that U.S. household net worth gained $1.5 trillion in the first quarter of 2014 to reach a new record high of $81.8 trillion.
Stocks and real estate also saw gains in the first quarter. The value of corporate equities grew by $361 billion while real estate values gained $751 billion.
Wealthy households
The number of U.S. households with assets of $1 million or more (excluding the primary residence) also reached a record high in 2013. According to Spectrem Group, the number of households in this exclusive group reached 9.63 million in 2013, up more than 600,000 from the year before. This latest gain follows four years of growth after the previous low of 6.7 million in 2008. This means that donors who may be in the major donor or major gift prospect pool have seen a 40 percent increase in wealth since 2008.
Gains across the spectrum
It is not only households in the $1 million range that saw record highs in 2013. Households with a net worth of $100,000 or more reached a total of 38.6 million while those with $5 million or more in assets totaled 1.24 million, 100,000 more than in 2012.
The ranks of the mega-wealthy also saw an increase. Those with a net worth of $25 million or more grew by 15,000 to reach a total of 132,000 in 2013. Details of the wealth report may be found at www.spectrem.com.
