Skip to main content

77,000

The number of Singapore’s millionaires (defined as Singaporeans having a net worth of US $1 million in net assets, excluding housing property) surged up to 77,000 from the previous official figures of 66,600. This figure makes up about 2% of the total Singapore population of 4 million and Singapore ranks 7th globally among the countries with the highest proportion of millionaires.

Thus out of 50 locals one meets, one of them might be a millionaire, not having just S$1 million in accumulated worth but owning a US $1 million in net assets! I have personally observed that Singaporeans are getting wealthier, judging from the slew of luxury items they are lapping up distinctly and readily off the shelves!

While it is still common to hear of Singaporeans earning a modest income of $2000 in our society, a bulk of our people are starting to earn big bucks and at a much earlier age. Newspaper reek of stories of the fresh graduates earning starting salaries of $20,000 and more per month in jobs, mainly in the finance line. Banking seems to be the most lucrative career and an investment banker seems to be the most coveted job in terms of monetary payout (provided one can take the stress and strain of some of these highly demanding jobs).

Many others, in their quests to join the ranks of local millionaires are also exploring entrepreneurship. Newpapers abound of free seminars on the varied routes to become entrepreneurs (for more information on such seminars, please refer to my earlier posts) and the take up rate for such entrepreneur programmes seems to be pretty encouraging.

In a nutshell, to become a millionaire in Singapore and join the ranks of the 77,000 uber-rich, one could explore the following means:

a) Inherit a profitable family business
b) Investment (think of Warren Buffet who becomes the world’s wealthiest man via this mean)
c) Join banking (especially investment banking) and other traditionally lucrative industries such as insurance, property agents and strive to be the next MDRT, Court of the Table or even Top of the Table)
d) Be an entrepreneur

If the above four methods are not for you, then one could only explore the traditional method of working hard and saving hard (though it may possibly take a lifetime to garner a million bucks in this way). Alternatively, one could also join the long queues at the Singapore Pools outlets!

The important thing to note is that one shall not indulge in the heedless pursuit of money, as happiness and health are more important in life. All said, with the rich in Singapore getting richer, the income gap between the rich and poor further widens.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Vernon Leong Jun Wei

What happens to the 31 year old bride groom, Vernon Leong Jun Wei? As the news of this latest unnatural and bizzare death developed, it seemed that Vernon did not jump from the 24th storey of Hilton Hotel as was believed earlier. There were 3 video camera footages which might prove otherwises for the cause of Vernon's death. The first video footage showed Vernon at the 24th storey, making his way hurriedly into the fire escape staircase. The next video footage showed Vernon at the 2nd storey which also holds some shops and the final footage showed an unconscious Vernon motionless at the ground of the hotel. Vernon was cladded casually in a T-shirt and pants and have left his hotel room while his wife was taking a shower. It seemed that he might be escaping from something or somebody or that he might be chasing after something or somebody. What did Vernon see and experience at his last moments? The police is still investigating the case. It is really a very tragical and sad

Kampong Lorong Buangkok

Amidst the blazing afternoon sun today, my Dear and I made our way to Kampong Lorong Buangkok. The visit was a timely one as there is such a high buzz being generated over the last kampong in modern Singapore. After alighting from Bus 854 from Eunos, it was not difficult to find our way to the kampong. The entrance of the kampong was distinct as you could see from the picture: the 'ulu-ness' (rural charm) is evident from the attap-roofed buildings and more unkempt conditions. A signboard with hand-written text welcome my Dear and I to the last kampong in Singapore: As we entered the kampong, I spotted a middle-aged woman talking to an old man. I had seen the old woman before on TV. She was none other than the owner of the kampong land. In the documentary, I learnt that the whole kampong land was passed to her by her late father. She has kept the land and have not gone on to sell the land to the government. If she were to sell the land, she would be an instant multi-millionair

Performance Bonus

It is the time of the year civil servants receive their performance bonuses (PBs). In the coming two weeks, civil servants will not only receive their performance bonuses, special ‘growth bonuses’, would also await them for the very first time. These PBs and growth bonuses are only applicable to performers, defined as officers with assessed performance gradings above the ‘D’ grade. Typically, civil servants receive their performance bonuses in March, a 0.5 month of bonus in July and a 13th month plus AVC in December. Are all the bonuses good? To be frank, the bonuses dished out in Civil Service are averages at best. With the various bonuses being given out in these months: July, December and March, a civil servant who would like to quit would most likely try to find a ‘suitable’ month to quit so as not to forfeit his bonuses. The December bonus is generally the most generous portion. To quantify for this bonus, an officer would have to be in service till the end of January ne