When people think of the “rich,” they might imagine billionaire plutocrats presiding over yacht fleets. Reality shows have made these folks appear remarkably prevalent. Lost in our obsession with the extremely rich, though, is another trend: over the past two decades, the ranks of the somewhat rich have also exploded. Indeed, the 8.4 million American households—some 7.6 percent of all U.S. households—with a net worth between $1 million and $10 million comprise one of the fastest growing demographics in the country. 

“The rich are different from you and me,” F. Scott Fitzgerald once said. But according to The Middle-Class Millionaire (Doubleday, 240 pp., $23.95), by Russ Alan Prince and Lewis Schiff, these working-rich households are not so different from the rest of us, at least in their stated values. “Overwhelmingly, these millionaire households are headed by people raised in ordinary middle-class homes,” Prince and Schiff write. “Through their lifestyle choices and spending decisions, they wield influence in the overall economy in support of the same middle-class values and concerns they were raised with: security, health, self-betterment, family, and community.” Predominantly small business owners or principals in professional partnerships, these millionaires “have achieved the American dream the American way.” 

Prince, a marketing consultant, and Schiff, a private wealth manager, surveyed 586 members of the burgeoning “Middle-Class Millionaire” demographic about their lifestyles and their aspirations. They also surveyed over 3,000 actual middle-class people (with annual incomes between $50,000 and $80,000) for comparison. 

The results were surprising. According to Prince and Schiff, today’s millionaires may actually behave more like quintessential middle-class Americans than the actual middle class does. 

For instance, about 85 percent of both Middle-Class Millionaires and “middle-middle-class” people agreed that “providing your children with the best possible education” is important. The millionaires, however, were far more likely to consider the quality of an area’s public schools when shopping for houses. Nine in ten middle-middle-class and millionaire households agreed that “anyone can become a millionaire if he or she works hard enough.” But Middle-Class Millionaires said they worked an average of 70 hours per week, compared to only 41 hours per week for middle-middle-class people. The millionaires were also more persistent in the face of failure. 

Today’s 'Middle-Class Millionaires' may actually behave more like quintessential middle-class Americans than the actual middle class does.

Perhaps because of their adherence to these values, two-thirds of the millionaire households that Prince and Schiff surveyed said they belong to the “upper middle class.” The others considered themselves “middle class.” Essentially no one thought of themselves as “rich,” with its connotations of idleness and shipping the kids off to boarding school. 

Prince and Schiff weave these statistics into a narrative about the various industries and trends the working rich have inspired. For example, they are behind the “teardown phenomenon”—why settle for an old house in a good school district when you can build a new one in its place? They are the clients of concierge health care services, the members of fractional ownership vacation clubs, the patrons of career and life “coaches,” the lifeblood of college admissions counseling services, and the reason back-up home generators sell well. They are earnest and influential networkers. The message for marketers is simple: if you want a concept to take off, it’s a good idea to win over the Middle-Class Millionaire set first. 

All of this makes for a thought-provoking read, though The Middle-Class Millionaire does have its flaws. For a slim book, some of the narratives are just too long: Prince and Schiff spend so much time talking about concierge health care, for instance, that one suspects they actually wanted to write a book about the coming revolution in primary health care delivery. 

More fundamentally, the authors are so enamored with their demographic subjects that they don’t stop to ask some obvious questions. To take one example: over 90 percent of Middle-Class Millionaires say it’s “very or extremely important” to be a good parent. Yet they work, on average, 70 hours a week, which makes it nearly impossible to kick a soccer ball with the kids in the backyard before dinner, or even to eat dinner together most nights. Middle-Class Millionaires are five times more likely than middle-middle-class people to say they are always available for business, and they are three times more likely to regularly work weekends. Such hours lead to higher incomes, but they can also result in disappointed kids who realize Dad is going to miss their Little League game yet again. 

Also, Middle-Class Millionaires almost universally say it’s important to be ethical, yet Prince and Schiff gloss over the disturbing finding that about half say the key to achieving financial success is “taking advantage of weaknesses in others.” A certain biblical injunction about gaining the world while losing your soul comes to mind.

But whether the new rich are persistent, family-focused achievers or scheming workaholics, their numbers are growing. Everyone from corporate marketers to neighbors watching the construction of a McMansion next door will have to deal with them. Prince and Schiff have provided a valuable field guide to understanding this very American species and how they’re changing the way we live. 

Laura Vanderkam is a writer living in New York City.