Is Wealthier Really Healthier?

This article is published with permission from InvestmentU.com.

A chart published by Barry Bosworth at The Wall Street Journal shows that the more money a person has, the longer they are likely to live.

The chart shows the longevity of both a 55-year-old woman and man in the US, comparing those born in 1920 to those born in 1940 and by their mid-career incomes. There is a 9-and-a-half-year spread in the life expectancy of the top richest 10% of women verses the poorest 10% for those born in 1940.

Interestingly, the spread for women in the top and bottom 10% born in 1920 is only 4.2 years.

Compare that to men, whose spread for those born in 1940 is 8.8 years while the spread for those born in 1920 only drops to 6.4 years.

Perhaps growing up during the Great Depression (those born in 1920) caused enough stress on all classes to reduce the “wealth effect.”

The life expectancy of the wealthy is growing faster than that of the poor.

Regardless of mid-career income, it’s safe to say that as technology and medicine continue to make great advancements, men and women are generally seeing longer life expectancies. That said, the increasing gap between the average life expectancy of the top 10% and bottom 10% of income earners is a good reason for concern.

It is proof that your health is often tied to your wealth.

Chris Rowe is the Oxford Club’s director of Investor Education. Read more by Chris here.

The information contained in this article should not be construed as investment advice or as a solicitation to buy or sell any stock. Nothing published by Physician’s Money Digest should be considered personalized investment advice. Physician’s Money Digest, its writers and editors, and Intellisphere LLC and its employees are not responsible for errors and/or omissions.