How do you become a millionaire if you are not born rich?

Sociology has so far done little to answer this question.

On the one hand, this is due to the lack of interest – people tend to research poverty rather than wealth.

Social inequality is considered a problem because too many are denied advancement and not because there are quite a few at the top who hardly have to fear falling down.

On the other hand, it was previously a problem of the small number of millionaires in the population and thus in the relevant data collections in order to come to reliable statements about this income group.

But that has now changed.

Three years ago, the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) of the DIW was supplemented by a random sample of more than 2000 “high net worth” people with an average net worth of around 4 million euros.

The richest participant in the study had around 130 million euros.

On the list of the 1000 richest Germans of "Manager Magazin" from 2019, he just made it to place 821. Nevertheless, the panel with its data allowed meaningful analyzes of this population group for the first time, according to the authors of the study.

Do we now finally know how to get rich – and stay?

Does success make personality?

Or is it the other way around?

One would expect typical sociological answers here: First, of course, the right family should help—most of the rich would then be heirs.

The SOEP does not confirm this: Only 12 percent owe their wealth exclusively to the heir.

For 42 percent it was a mix of inheritance and self-generated assets, while 43 percent had no inherited money at all.

Second, the right training.

And finally, thirdly, general economic structures.

You have to be in the right industry, operate in a boom time and benefit from innovations that would be the result of corporate cultures and successful management.

But the authors of the study come to a rather surprising conclusion: It is personality that matters.

According to the findings of the study, millionaires are more willing to take risks, more emotionally stable, more open, more extroverted and more conscientious than the general population.

They are also less interested in agreeing with others - at least if one believes the corresponding self-assessment of the respondents.

Of course, the question of cause and effect arises here.

The authors assume that this personality profile is the reason for the success, not its result.

They see this as confirmed by comparing the self-made millionaires with the rich heirs.

Their personalities differed significantly from one another: heirs were much less willing to take risks and more emotionally unstable.

Anyone who has only inherited is not a typical millionaire at all.

But even then the question remains whether their self-assessment is not a construct of their success.

The self-affirmation of success could lead to attributing everything to personal achievement, hard work, and discipline.

Especially if you live in a culture that appreciates exactly this personality profile.

But, according to the authors, if that were the case,

The study makes no if-then statements.

It does not promise success if you only have the right personality profile.

Surprisingly, she doesn't ask about other characteristics of the millionaires, such as their level of education or their age.

Anyone who simply speaks of “the rich” remains sociologically undemanding.

What is particularly surprising, however, is that the authors are obviously not interested in whether this typical personality profile actually differs between the sexes.

The study thus fails to provide an answer to the question as to why men tend to hold top positions in business.

Do women not have the right personality for this?

After all, the study claims "great social relevance",

because the rich have a special influence on “decision-making processes”.

According to the authors, their personality largely determines how they think and act.

But those who place so much value on their own performance as a reason for personal success probably consider the increase in income inequality in society as fully justified.

It is not only wealth that is drifting apart, but also personality profiles.