The number of millionaires in the United States increased to a record last year, boosted by gains in stocks and global financial markets, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The number of US households with a net worth of one million dollars or more rose 21 percent in 2004, said the report, quoting a survey released Tuesday by Spectrem Group, a wealth-research firm in Chicago. It is the largest increase since 1998, according to the study, which was based on data from more than 450 qualified respondents.

There now are 7.5 million millionaire households in the United States, breaking the record set in 1999 of 7.1 million. The study excluded the value of primary residences, but included second homes and other real estate.

A separate study by Boston Consulting Group found that the United States continues to lead the world in creating new millionaires, the report said. The number of households in the country with liquid assets of 20 million dollars or more is increasing by 3,000 households a year.

The studies suggest that despite falling wages for nonmanagement employees in 2004, the fortunes of those at the top continued to rise.

Unlike many wage earners, the wealthy rely on investments for much of their increasing wealth. They also tend to invest in higher-risk and potentially faster-growing investments, including hedge funds, private-equity funds and debt instruments.

The findings mark the second straight year of growth for millionaires in the United States, the report said.

After rising rapidly in the late 1990s, the fortunes of the wealthy tumbled with the bear market of 2001 and 2002. Last year, however, with the economy expanding and stocks recovering, the wealthy staged a comeback.

Source: Xinhua