Bank calculates the price of happiness today ... and it's £2.6m
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Cancel the order for the Rolls-Royce, ease the champagne cork back into the bottle. Winning £1m no longer buys a life of luxury, according to new research that may make us rethink our financial dreams.
Inflation has eroded the value of £1m so much that it no longer warrants life membership of the high-rollers' club, according to Coutts Bank.
After years of people trying to put a price on happiness, the private bank has stepped in with the precise figure of £2.6m.
That, according the experts, is what you need to tell the boss to stick the job and take off into the sunset for a life of leisure.
The sum would allow for a five-bedroom house with two staff (a maid and a butler, perhaps), two luxury cars, an apartment and a yacht in the south of France. It would also stretch to two luxury holidays a year.
Across England and Wales, that lifestyle costs £2,540,000 - but there are regional variations. In London, a "millionaire" needs £3.4m, and in Yorkshire £2.2m.
Sarah Deaves, chief executive of Coutts, said: "A millionaire used to be someone who was seen as super-wealthy - a person who didn't have to work if they chose not to, and who was able to live a life of luxury simply by having £1m in cash or assets.
"One million pounds is obviously still a sizable amount of money, which can afford a high standard of living and provide financial security in later life.
"However, while 25 years ago £1m would have been more than enough to comfortably live the 'millionaire's lifestyle' a few times over, today it will only afford a small portion of the trappings," she added.
Coutts says the property boom is partly to blame for shrinking the value of £1m. House prices have jumped by 575 per cent since 1980 and many four-bedroom houses in London now sell for £1m.
Meanwhile, 21st-century Britain is awash with millionaires. Thanks to a booming stock market, an influx of wealthy Russians and a surge in sports salaries, the number of people with £5m has surged by a fifth in a year. Almost 9,000 people can lay their hands on £5m without selling any property, according to researchers Datamonitor.
If you include homes, there are about 425,000 people with £1m - almost twice as many as five years ago. For a population of 59 million, that means almost one in 100 people is technically already a millionaire.
In old black-and-white films, millionaires lived in mansions, dressed in dinner jackets and played in Monte Carlo casinos.
The bank believes we should now aspire to being a "thrillionaire" - having assets of £3m.
However, even that falls short of some people's idea of true wealth. Bob Cooke, a self-made multimillionaire who retired eight years ago, has five homes - in London, Yorkshire, Staffordshire, Portugal and the United States. The 51-year-old owns eight Mercedes, two Bentleys and a yacht, and employs a housekeeper and gardener at his main residence. Mr Cooke, who recently bought a £33,000 watch for his wife, Alison, said: "To live a millionaire's lifestyle with several homes and cars and boats, then you would really need more than £2.6m.
"I wouldn't consider myself wealthy. To be wealthy, you probably have to have £40m. To be comfortable, you need £10m."
Big money can sometimes cause big problems, though. Viv Nicholson, a Yorkshire housewife was the first massive pools winner of postwar Britain when she scooped £152,000 in 1961, becoming a "thrillionaire" in today's money. When asked what she would do with her win, she replied: "I'm going to spend, spend, spend!" She went through five husbands and a large amount of alcohol before she was declared bankrupt.
Camelot, the National Lottery operator, which has created more than 1,800 millionaires, gives its winners financial advice.
"One million pounds means different things to different people," said Dot Renshaw, the head of player services. "If you have someone who is in their 60s and their house is paid for and they are coming up to retirement, £1m is a lot to live on.
"If they are a 20-year-old, they have got a lot more to think about."
So will the word "thrillionaire" enter popular culture?
Yesterday, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, the television quiz hosted by Chris Tarrant, said it had no plans to change its prize.
"Never say never, but the feeling is that £1m is still an awful lot of money by any standards," said a spokeswoman for its makers, Celador.
"No winner has ever said to Chris: 'Is that all?'"
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments