Home Equity Remains Prime Source of Wealth

Roughly 4% of American households have $1 million or more in net assets, while 42% of households--and 56% of households headed by someone 45 or older--had at least $100,000 in net assets, according to a study jointly sponsored by the consumer Federation of America and Providian Financial.

Despite the run-up in stock prices during the 1980s and 1990s, most of this wealth was from home equity, according to 1998 Federal Reserve data used in the study.

Besides home equity, the most important sources of wealth are business assets, holdings of stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and retirement assets. Inheritances were also important. Some 45% of millionaires had received an inheritance with a median value of $125,000, according to the study.