Lee Soltow (1975) estimated that there were 41 millionaires in 1860 and 545 millionaires in 1870 (wealth was estimated by adding together real estate and personal estate). Although these estimates are subject to wide sampling error (Soltow 1975:112), they confirm the dramatic increase in the number of millionaires discussed in Chapter 4. Furthermore, Lee’s analysis yielded estimates for how the numbers of lesser wealth-holders increased during this period.
