Poll Reveals How the Richest 1% are Perceived

How do you feel about the so-called 1%? According to a new study most Americans don’t think very highly of them, but at the same time they wouldn’t mind joining them. According to the poll, Americans believe that the 1% richest Americans live a life of luxury and ease. They believe the 1% doesn’t have to work hard or pay high enough taxes, according to the survey completed by 463 Communications and JZ Analytics.

The survey found that most people believe the 1% includes only people who make at least $1 million a year. But the truth is, according to the IRS, earning an annual salary of about $350,000 is enough to put someone in the richest 1% category. Liberals were more likely than conservatives to report that they were in the top 1% of earners while Born Again Christians and those in the suburbs were least likely to view themselves as being in the 1% category. “The question the survey provokes is do Americans understand who is in the so-called 1%? Is it Donald Trump landing on a rooftop in a helicopter or a well-off soccer mom in a minivan? The answer is it could be both,” said Tom Galvin, CEO of 463 Communications. “At a time of economic uncertainty and upheaval, it’s clear many Americans have a love/hate relationship with wealth and those who have it.”

How would you describe someone who fell in the 1% of earners? According to the majority of those polled, they fly on private jets, own two or more homes, have luxury seats for sporting events and take overseas vacations annually, while of course flying first class. They also believe that the 1% have someone to cook for them, clean their home, take care of their lawn and serve as a personal assistant. They are perceived as working as a financial executive, an entrepreneur, a politician or a lobbyist. And no matter what they do, it doesn’t require much work as only one in six Americans reported that the 1% works harder than the average American. On the contrary, 68 percent said that the richest of the rich either works about as hard or not as hard. “It’s not difficult to see why there is some finger pointing toward the 1%, given what people believe about them,” said Chad Bohnert, CMO of JZ Analytics. But no matter what they think of the 1%, two out of three would gladly join that club.