That report does not say how those people became millionaires. You seem to be assuming that those 600,000 millionaires became so due to working, but that figure must include people whose property value increased, inherited money, had legal payouts, or indeed won money through gambling.
Even if we assume most of those did become millionaires through "hard work", you can't say that becoming a millionaire is just down to the odds. If you already have $900,000 then your odds of becoming a millionaire next year are vastly greater than if you have $5.
Indeed. The odds of becoming a millionaire via ANY method are by definition better than the odds of becoming a millionaire by winning the lottery, since the latter is included in the former. The meaningful statistic would be obtianed by breaking down the new millionaires into categories by method of enrichment, and determining the odds of each method.
This. On paper I'm "wealthy," mostly because of how my home has appreciated. That's very, very different than someone who has 1m in the bank as cash or sitting in investments. Selling the house isn't an option, as this is where we live, raise our kids, etc.
Most middle-class retirees are millionaires now, considering inflation and property values, not to mention how much someone with even a modest salary can squirrel away over 40 years in savings and retirement funds. The metric the parent poster used is very misleading. Personally, I don't consider someone a proper millionaire unless that value is separated from the "need to live" stuff like a house or car or retirement fund.
I think getting rich like this is pretty darn rare. I don't belittle the "gambler's approach" or the crazy business idea approach. I've seen others win before with things I considered stupid or super risky. Life is funny that way. The guys who "made it" all remind me of Michael. They just didn't screw up step 2 - go low risk after the first big win.
Even if we assume most of those did become millionaires through "hard work", you can't say that becoming a millionaire is just down to the odds. If you already have $900,000 then your odds of becoming a millionaire next year are vastly greater than if you have $5.