Who wants to be a millionaire?

That’s both the name of a television game show and what’s got to rank as one of the most ironic rhetorical questions ever posed. While there are perhaps a few people who’d answer “No thanks. I’m good.” I’m willing to bet — $1 million in fact — the vast majority of people would respond “Heck yeah.” Or something like that. How else to explain the large number of people who buy lottery tickets even though, statistically speaking, they’re far more likely to get struck by lightning.

I bring this up for two reasons. 

First: I suspect most business owners and managers, along with nearly everyone else who works for a paycheck, dreams of becoming a millionaire. Money isn’t the only motivation for entrepreneurs, managers and employees, of course. It likely doesn’t top a top 10 list. But there’s no denying money constitutes a measure of success.

Second: It gives me a good excuse to use the interesting information I receive nearly every day by email, but can’t otherwise publish in the Business Times or post on the website.

More specifically, I received a news release about a question posed by the Solitaired.com online gaming site asking what Americans thought they’d need to live a millionaire lifestyle.

As it turned out, it’s much more than $1 million. Not surprising given the different costs of living, the answers varied depending on who you asked and where they lived. Among those in California who answered the question, the average came to nearly $6.3 million. Those in Colorado said they could get by with less — an average of about $4.8 million. For those keeping score, the nationwide average was almost $5.5 million.

How do you accumulate that kind of money? The answers to some more questions revealed that 26 percent of those who responded thought their best prospects of becoming millionaires were found in the technology sector. That was followed by 18 percent in renewable energy, 13 percent in real estate, 11 percent in health care and 10 percent in finance.

Now, who wants to be a billionaire? OK How long do you think it will take?

A study conducted by OLBG, which operates an online betting guide, found it takes on average 20 years to earn $1 billion.

Of course, some people zipped past that milestone far more quickly. And that’s where the notion developed of the technology industry offering the best path to wealth. The top seven billionaires to make their money the quickest work in the tech sector. Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, spent only four years to earn
$1 billion. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos took six. As did Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

I doubt I’m alone in my firm belief money doesn’t buy happiness. And most of the entrepreneurs I’ve interviewed over the years are more motivated by other factors.

Still, who wouldn’t want to be a millionaire?

Phil Castle is editor of the Business Times. Reach him at 424-5133 or phil@thebusinesstimes.com.