"Self-Made Millionaires, Immigrant Millionaires Common In Canada, BMO Study Finds"

[applegrove]

Self-Made Millionaires, Immigrant Millionaires Common In Canada, BMO Study Finds

by Sunny Freeman at Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/13/self-made-millionaires-immigrants-canada_n_3435347.html?just_reloaded=1

"SNIP........................

Almost half of Canada’s millionaires are either immigrants or first-generation Canadians, compared to just one-third of wealthy Americans, BMO Harris Private Banking said Thursday.

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“From a private banking perspective, it’s clear that the face of wealth in Canada is changing and there is no longer one stereotypical type of high-net worth client. As an industry, we need to anticipate and exceed the unique needs of this diverse client base if we are to succeed.”

Overall, the bank said the results were encouraging and showed that wealth in Canada can be acquired in many ways and regardless of gender or birthplace.The findings are similar to a study by the Conference Board of Canada and others that suggest income mobility is more attainable in Canada than the U.S. However, the think tank also pointed out that income inequality is still a troubling problem in this country.

The report indicates one major link between opportunity and wealth: Higher education levels suggested a greater likelihood of higher wealth, indicating that 80 per cent of affluent Canadians have at least an undergraduate degree and 46 per cent completed a graduate or professional degree.



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[Nay]

1. Wellll.....they don't discuss it in the article, but one of the classes of immigrant is the "start

a business in Canada" immigrant. If you, the prospective immigrant, have a CA$1,600,000 net worth AND will invest CA$800,000 in your own business venture in Canada, you can immigrate. (This program, as noted on the CIC website, has been suspended for a while because of too many applicants.)

In the article, there's no mention of how many of these already-rich people immigrated to Canada under the business rules, but you're already a millionaire under those rules. There's no way to tell from the article whether these ppl already had the money or made it all in Canada.

Not sayin' Canada ain't great -- I'd be living there myself if Sonny Nay could be talked into moving, too....

[Joe Shlabotnik]

2. I wonder

how many of those millionaires' primary assets are overvalued real estate in Vancouver and Toronto.