Profile of the Rich

Scott Fitzgerald's bromide that the rich "are different from you and me" got a little new fizz from a Federal Reserve survey of upper-income families.

Originally ordered to determine the size of the market for bonds, the survey turned up some hitherto unavailable information about the 600,000 American families--1% of the population--whose yearly incomes are $25,000 or more. The most interesting statistics came from those that the Federal Reserve considers "rich" ($50,000 or more) and "very rich" ($100,000 and up). Items:

>Eight out of ten in the $100,000-plus income bracket own part of a business or profession.

>As a man climbs the income ladder, he gradually diversifies his holdings.' First come stocks, then real estate investments. When he reaches the top income bracket, a man moves heavily into tax-exempt bonds to avoid heavy federal income taxes; 70% of the $100,000-plus group owned bonds v. only 20% of the $25,000 group.

>The really well to do have access to unsecured credit, are rarely asked to put up collateral.

>A greater proportion of rich families is located west of the Rockies than in any other part of the U.S.; the smallest is located in the South.

>The rich tend to get richer. In the $50,000-and-over income group, $80 out of every $ 100 of assets is busy making money, while families in the $5,000,810,000 range hold only $36 out of every $100 in income-producing assets.

>As people reach the upper limits of accumulated wealth, fewer of them tend to own homes and autos. Mostly older, they favor rented luxury apartments and hired automobiles.

>While only half of those in the low-income groups manage to save as much as a year's pay, those who make $100,000 or more often have savings that equal 15 years' income.

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