The Mediocrity of Millionaires: Catholics Are Rich Despite Inflation

Millionaires 

Claudette Colbert starred in The Palm Beach Story in 1942. Her character traveled to Palm Beach, Florida, in hopes of marrying a millionaire. 

Marilyn Monroe starred in How to Marry A Millionaire in 1953. The plot of that movie needs no explanation.  

In 2026, “millionaire” is still said to connote wealth, success, glitz and glam, financial security.

Having “made it.”

Inflation

I asked AI what a million dollars in 2026, adjusted for inflation, would have been in the years of those movies, and how much a million dollars back then, adjusted for inflation, would be now.

Bottom line, it said…

A million dollars in 2026 would equate to about $49,000 in 1942 and about $80,000 in 1953.

A million dollars in 1942 and 1953 would equate to about $20.5 million and $12.5 million, respectively, in 2026.

Wow.

So if one reaches “millionaire” status in 2026, it does not mean one gets the cushy life of millionaires seen in the old movies.

So why is “millionaire” still thrown around like it means “millionaire”?

Maybe its dark forces wanting us to think we have more than we have? Maybe it's pride?

Symbolism

“You in the West have the spiritually poorest of the poor much more than you have the physically poor. Often among the rich are very spiritually poor people.” —Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Spiritually speaking, do the materially-rich-but-spiritually-poor, mistakenly think that they are like millionaires of the Old Hollywood era, but not realize they are only like millionaires in 2026?

Spiritually speaking, are the spiritually-rich like the real millionaires of the Old Hollywood era?

Of course, the difference between spiritual poverty and spiritual wealth cannot be quantified. 

But, just thinking about those comparisons, can be an interesting way to help process the extreme gaps in our midst.

Not materially.

Spiritually.

Another reflection on image: "I Don't Trust People Whose Phone Screens Aren't Cracked"