Number of millionaire US households tops pre-recession levels

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of at least $1 million rose to 9.63 million in 2013, a report by consultants Spectrem Group indicated. The 9.63 million is a 600,000 increase from 2012 and the highest number ever, CNNMoney reported Friday. It also is the first time the number topped the pre-recession high of 9.2 million in 2007. "The last few years, we've seen the number continually increase, but this was the first year that we're finally beyond the economic crisis," said George Walper, Jr., president of Spectrem Group, based in Lake Forest, Ill. He told CNNMoney the market reaching all-time highs last year, along with with an improving real estate market, helped the rich get richer. Walper said the number of households with a net worth of $5 million and above and households with $25 million or more reached the highest numbers since Spectrem started tracking the figure.