How old are the millionaires? The average millionaire is 57 years old. Despite the media highlighting 30-year old millionaires, most millionaires took decades of hard work to amass a million dollars. It doesn’t happen overnight and it’s even rarer for a young person to be a millionaire.
The average age to be a millionaire is 57. That means it took 3 to 4 DECADES to get there. Of hard work. Of putting in the hours day in and day out. Even though I have a goal to be a millionaire by 31, I know I’ll have plenty of time to get there if I don’t.
However, I’m still putting in work every single day to be a millionaire as early as I can. Even though a million dollars isn’t what it used to be, it’s still a very important milestone because so few people are millionaires today. There’s no one who doesn’t want to be millionaires.
Today, we’ll be talking about anything and everything related to age and millionaires. I suspect the average age of millionaires are declining every year due to the internet and people having more access to information than ever before.
More people are recognizing that they don’t want to go through the outdated 9-5 model and work until 65. They want to be wealthier sooner and escape the rat race a lot sooner. Age is just a number. There’s no reason not to be a millionaire by your 30s and even 20s.
However, we will be going over how old are the millionaires using present day data.
How Old Are the Millionaires? The Billionaires Who Got Their Start
The world’s richest 100 individuals earned their first $1 million at age 37, on average. Versus the average millionaire age of 57. How old are the millionaires? The billionaires understandably had a faster start than others. The list is as below:
- Mark Zuckerberg, Meta Founder: 22
- Evan Spiegel, Snapchat Founder: 23
- Sir Richard Branson, Virgin Group Founder: 23
- Carlos Slim, Telecom Founder: 25
- Larry Page, Google Co-Founder: 25
- Bill Gates, Microsoft Founder: 26
- Elon Musk, Tesla Founder: 27
- Sara Blakely, Spanx Founder: 29
- Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway Founder: 30
- Mark Cuban, Dallas Mavericks CEO: 32
- Oprah Winfrey, host of the Oprah Winfrey show: 32
- Jeff Bezos, Amazon Founder: 33
- Meg Whitman, eBay and HP CEO: 40
- Larry Ellison, Oracle Founder: 42
The billionaires who got their start had wildly varying degrees of when they made their first million. Just because you didn’t make a million dollars by 22 like Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t mean all is lost. Larry Ellison became a billionaire even after having the latest start out of everyone on the list.
Even the top 1% of the top 1% took their time to become rich. They didn’t rush, they just took steps that worked to their timeline. Not to anyone else’s timeline. How old are the millionaires? The exceptional ones absolutely got their start before the average millionaire.
However, becoming a millionaire is still a very commendable feat. There’s no need to try to beat any of these superstars because they were the world’s top richest 100 people. Out of 8 billion people on Earth, they were the top 100.
There’s no need to adjust your schedule to anyone else’s schedule.
How Old Are the Millionaires? Broken Down by Age Bracket

How old are the millionaires broken down by age brackets? The statistics are as follows:
- 18 – 24: top 1%
- 25 – 29: top 1%
- 30 – 34: top 1%
- 35 – 39: top 4%
- 40 – 44: top 6%
- 45 – 49: top 11%
- 50 – 54: top 11%
- 55 – 59: top 16%
- 60 – 64: top 16%
- 65 – 69: top 16%
- 70 – 74: top 15%
- 75 – 79: top 11%
- 80+: top 15%
If you’re a millionaire by 18, then you are better than the top 1% because this is a rounded figure. If you’re not a millionaire by 40, you still could be in the top 5% of your age group. It’s no surprise that the older you get, the less being a millionaire means.
This means compound interest truly does its wonders. How old are the millionaires? Aside from the hyper overachievers like our billionaires, the majority of people become millionaires as they get older. It’s not uncommon to see 50 year olds become multimillionaires.
I personally am aiming to be a millionaire by 30/31. If I don’t get there, then so be it but I am doing everything I can to achieve my goals. There’s no need to be envious of the 25 year old millionaire because you never know what other kinds of bad investments they will make going forward.
Many lost their shirts in the cryptocurrency craze of 2022. Many who thought they made it and became multimillionaires saw their wealth vanish overnight. Just like that. It’s OK to take your time to become a millionaire. By trying to rush, you expose yourself to losing everything.
Buy and hold is the tried and true method.
How Old is the Typical Millionaire?

The typical millionaire is 57 years old. Assuming a start year of 22 – 23 due to graduating college, that means the typical millionaire needs 35 years to make it. That’s over 3 decades! That’s an insane amount of time! People underestimate just how much time a year actually is.
Then multiply it by 35 and you really got a long time. Social media and the media will have you believe the young superstars are the norm. Those who become millionaires by 30. How old are the millionaires? Nowhere near 30. It takes multi decades to get there, and even then, you might not get there.
Millionaires depend on investment results to build wealth. That might not be possible if the stock market or the real estate market doesn’t cooperate with the past results. The United States experienced some of the greatest booms in asset prices in its history and existence.
How old are the millionaires? They are 57 years old and require decades of diligent saving and investing to get there. Even then, you might not even get there depending on the asset class of your choice. Cities may not always be booming in population.
Stock markets may not always cooperate as demonstrated by the 2022 bear market in which the policy makers raised interest rates way too late. Now the consumers are left holding the bag, dealing with record high inflation in a declining asset price environment.
In which layoffs were the norm.
The Path to Millionaire Takes Real Work

The common theme behind how old are the millionaires is their age. There’s few people who got there before 50 and even fewer in their 20s and 30s. The millionaire path takes diligent saving, investing, and possibly starting a business to get there.
I’m putting in so much work myself to be a millionaire. Someday, I’ll look at my journey and be proud of how far I came. I’m currently in the 7th year of the journey and I’m trying to get there in the next 2 – 3 years.
Let me tell you, it is a SLOG to get there. Every paycheck feels restrictive because after essential expenses, I’m putting everything I can into the stock market. Even after toiling day after day, week after week, I still feel like I’m living paycheck to paycheck.
And even then, I have no guarantee it’ll work out by the end. Some say that is predatory capitalism at work. It could be. In either case, I can only hope that my hard work pays off one day. How old are the millionaires? While the typical millionaire might be 57 years old, I’m trying to get there faster.
In my 30s. Trying to beat the typical millionaire by over 2 decades takes real work. I fully understand I have to be exceptional to become a millionaire by 30. I’m putting all the extra hours I have into creating side businesses, reading, and learning how I can increase my income.
One day, the effort will pay off and turn into results.
There’s No Need to Compare Yourself to Any Millionaire
Some millionaires got there by 25 and some millionaires got there by 50. As long as you’re a millionaire, you are well off. Due to inflation, a millionaire is only in the top 8% bracket these days, rather than the top 1% it was before. However, that doesn’t take anything away from the accomplishment.
How old are the millionaires? It doesn’t matter how old they are, what matters is what your story is to get there. Unlike what others believe, the American Dream is still alive and attainable for many. Even through a regular 9-5 job. There’s no need to be the next Bill Gates.
You just need to remain patient and put in the work. Get lucky once in a while and see your results speak for itself. It’ll have been all worth it more if you got there on your own instead of relying on someone else. Self dependency is a powerful concept.
There are many superstars I see who become millionaires by mid 20’s. I’m past my mid 20’s but that’s completely OK with me. As long as I’m happy with my progress, that’s all there is to it. I won’t compare myself to the young superstars because they’re just on a different path than me.
How old are the millionaires? Even if you’re not a millionaire by 40, you still have plenty of time to get there. It takes hard work and even more sacrifice but everyone has the willpower in themselves to be a millionaire. You just can never lose hope in the journey.
Giving up is the worst way to lose the fight to be a millionaire.
How Old Are the Millionaires? Takeaways
The biggest takeaway from finding out how old are the millionaires is that you have more time than you think you do. AND you just need to put in the work to get there. No one accidentally became a millionaire. Everyone got there through intentional steps and through decades of sacrifice.
It’s so difficult that only the minority of people get there. You don’t have to be a genius. Like this millionaire janitor who became a millionaire through a regular 9-5. You just need a long term outlook and willingness to invest as much money as you possibly can.
I’ve been saving 50%+ of my income for the better part of 7 years and I fully intend to continue that trend going forward. I spend weekends scheming on how to increase my net worth and achieve upward mobility. It’s taking much longer than I thought but that’s completely OK.
Even if I don’t get there by my goal of 31 years old, I know for a fact I can get there eventually. Especially even more so after decades of hard work under my belt. I am not going to take insane risks to get there like risking all my capital to start a business.
However, I am going to get there through the traditional path of paid employment. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day. I’m no different than the millionaires who got there. All I need to do is make the same choices they did throughout the journey and it’ll be a success.
Success rewards patience and effort.