A Million For Your Thoughts

It's not your imagination. Millionaires are hot--and they're multiplying. When they aren't the focus of newspaper and magazine articles, they are the magazine. Consider Millionaire, a thriving luxury and lifestyle magazine. Last year, it went from being published four times to 10 times a year. (It's $7.95 an issue, but if you're a millionaire, who cares?) Meanwhile, ABC's sporadic television series, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, is a bona fide hit. "I think the reason . . . Millionaire has struck such a chord is that it taps into that idea that you can become instantly rich," says ABC's Kevin Brockman. "It's the American dream."

These are no pipe dreams, though, in the pages of Millionaire magazine. According to Vanessa Berkling, editor-in-chief, while many readers are millionaire wannabes, she's received messages from callers thanking her for some of the ads they've run: "This is just the jet I was hoping to find," said one. Another was pleased to find an ad for a helicopter. "Buying a helicopter isn't one of my top priorities," admits Berkling, and as far as her non-millionaire status goes, she says, "I'm working on it."

And she just might do it, if her take on the new millionaire is correct. "I don't believe it takes money to make money," says Berkling. "I think if you want to make your dream a reality, you really need to take the world on, and don't let anything stand in your way. It's just the result of a lot of hard work."

Contact Sources

1-800-SOLD-OUT, http://www.soldout.com

ABC, http://abc.go.com

Digital Mafia Entertainment, (212) 422-6600

Millionaire, vberkling@millionaire.com

Noble Financial Group, (800) 688-6262, dlogullo@noblefinancialgroup.com

Shelton Communications Group, (972) 239-5119, http://www.sheltongroup.com

Waterwaves, (626) 294-9084, http://www.waterwaves.com

This article was originally published in the March 2000 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: A Million For Your Thoughts.