Households w/ $1 million in assets rose 8% in 2005 to record 8.9 million

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

The 10 richest U.S. counties

A study of millionaire-congested areas offers some surprising insights -- mainly that their priorities aren't much different from yours. They just have more money.

By Kim Khan

http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/invest/extra/P148783.asp

The number of U.S. millionaires reached a record last year, and it's clear that a lot of them love L.A. Households with $1 million in assets, excluding value of or debt owed on their primary residence, jumped 8% in 2005 from 2004 to a record 8.9 million, market research company TNS Financial Services said this week. And that level is expected to rise again this year, according to the manager of the study.

California claims the most millionaires, with the majority living in Los Angeles County and Orange County. L.A. County holds the top spot, with 262,800 millionaire households, about 23% of all affluent households in the state. Orange County came in at No. 3 with 113,299 households, or about 10% of California's millionaire households.

Chicago may have to change its nickname form The Windy City to The Wealthy City. Illinois' Cook County hit No. 2 on the list with 167,873 millionaire households. That's 41% of all the millionaires in Illinois.

Rounding out the top five is Arizona's Maricopa County, with 106,210 millionaire households, and California's San Diego County, with 100,030 households.

[corporate_mike]

1. The economy is booming

LOL