Some New Data

Disappointing News.

I just saw a depressing report from the Spectrem Group of Chicago. They spend their time tracking trends among the wealthy. This is the first feed-back that I have seen on the effects of the economy specifically on the wealthy. The first question answered is whether the rich have, through access to some secret club, remained unscathed by the current downturn. The Spectrem Group reports that households with assets over $1 million have lost an average of 30% of their assets and nearly 20% have lost over 40%.

Most of the wealthy (90%), expect a prolonged economic downturn. There is no reason to expect the wealthy to be any better interpreting the tea leaves than anyone else (if they were, they would not have lost 30% of their investments), but it will affect their behavior.

The statistic that I find most threatening for fundraising is that a majority of the wealthy (55%), are worried that they may not have sufficient assets to maintain their lifestyles. It is tough enough to raise money from individuals who have lost a significant part of their wealth, it’s really tough if that donation requires the donor to give up something significant.