New Poll Examines “Who Wants To Be Rich?”
May 5th, 2008 • Posted in: Research Report“The currently hard-pressed put a higher personal priority on being wealthy than do the well-to-do,” survey finds
From the Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends project:
“Who says Americans worship at the feet of the almighty dollar? Not the American public. Only 13% of adults say it’s ‘very important’ for them to be wealthy, ranking this personal priority far behind six others measured in a new survey by the Pew Research Center Social & Demographic Trends project.
“But don’t get Americans wrong — a majority certainly wouldn’t mind being rich. According to the survey, another 43% of adults say being wealthy is ’somewhat important’ to them, while about the same proportion say it’s ‘not too important’ (33%) or ‘not important at all’ (10%)….
“Four times more people say ‘doing volunteer work or donating to charity’ is a very important priority than say the same about being wealthy (52% vs. 13%). And about five times more Americans (67%) say it’s very important to them to have enough free time, the top-rated value in this survey….
“Who most wants to be rich? Those who aren’t, this survey suggests. Fully 22% of those with family incomes of less than $20,000 a year say it’s ‘very important’ for them to be wealthy. That’s more than double the proportion of adults who earn $100,000 or more a year.
“Paradoxically, while the least affluent are the most likely to value wealth the most, they’re also among the most likely to value wealth the least. Fully 13% of those in the less-than $20,000 income category say becoming wealth is ‘not important at all’ to them, nearly double the proportion of those in the $100,000 or more category who hold this view. As it turns out, there’s an age-related explanation for these seemingly inconsistent results. Those in the lowest income tier contain disproportionately large numbers of adults under the age of 30, a group that most values wealth, but also a heavy share of retirement-age adults, a group that values wealth the least….
“Wealth holds a great attraction for the young, this survey finds. Fully 20% of all adults under age 30 say being wealthy is a top priority — easily the largest proportion of any age group. Another 42% say it’s at least somewhat important to them. But the dream apparently diminishes with age. Only about 14% of adults between the ages of 30 and 49 place a high premium on being wealthy. And by the time adults reach their 50s, just one-in-ten place a similarly high priority on riches.
“Minorities also are significantly more likely than whites to value wealth. More than a quarter (26%) of all blacks says that it’s very important to them to be rich, nearly three times the proportion of whites (9%). Hispanics are more than twice as likely as whites to rate wealth as a top priority (21% vs. 9%). Overall, first-generation Americans are twice as likely as subsequent generations to say it’s important to them to be rich (25% vs. 12%).
“Education follows a similar pattern….
“Being wealthy tends to be highly valued by many whose current circumstances suggest they face long odds of ever becoming well-off….”
For more information, see: Full press release, Apr. 30 — Full poll results from Pew.
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