Michigan: This Salary Makes You Middle Class

For years, people have placed themselves into classes such as upper, middle, working, and lower class. It's a social hierarchy that's defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. Recently, SmartAsset analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau's 1-year American Community Survey data for the median household income in all 50 states, as well as the 100 largest U.S. cities.

When it comes to Michigan, the middle-class range for the state is $42,544 to $126,996. In places like Maryland, Washington D.C. and Massachusetts, it takes an annual income of more than $60,000 for households to be considered middle class.

While several cities ranked with the highest middle class ceilings others were lower by significant amounts. Detroit did rank high on the list but not for what you think. Below Cleveland, Ohio, Detroit is the second city with the lowest income limits for middle class. The income amounts for the upper and lower limits range from $24,214 to $71,124.

According to the study, salaries in northeastern states are about 20 percent higher than those in southern states, even when the cost of living is considered.

In the northeast, many middle-class salaries fall between $60,000 to $170,000. However, many southern middle-class salaries are between $35,000 to $100,000.

Also, the study shows that you are considered middle class even if you make $310,000 in California. They mentioned that middle-classoh  status is the hardest to attain in tech cities like San Francisco, Fremont, Seattle, and San Jose.

Forbes recently dropped their 37^th Annual World's Billionaires List. It features a list of the wealthiest people in the world. They say there's a total of 2,640 billionaires in the world. Over 730 billionaires reside in the United States. These billionaires have made their money from manufacturing and food to grocery stores and mortgage lending.

On this year's list, Forbes added some newcomers. Elisabeth DeLuca, the widow of Subway cofounder Fred DeLuca and Annette Lerner who started a real estate company are new billionaires. Fun fact about Lerner: in 1952, she loaned $250 to her husband, Ted to start a real estate company, selling homes for developers.

Also, this year's list had some major changes compared to past lists. According to Forbes, the number of billionaires around the globe has declined from 2,668 in 2022 to 2,640 this year. They also said that the total billionaire wealth has dropped down by $500 billion to $12.2 trillion. A total of 254 people have lost their billionaire status altogether including Sam Bankman Fried, his FTX cofounder Gary Wang, and musician Kanye West.

Overall, most of the Forbes list of the World's Billionaires are self-made. "Meaning they founded or confounded their company or established their own fortune, rather than inheriting it," said Forbes.

When you think about Michigan billionaires, a few names might come to mind such as Dan Gilbert or Marian Ilitch. There are more billionaires in Michigan than you think.

Here are Michigan’s billionaires.

He owns a stake in his family's steel business, Zekelman Industries. Zekelman's net worth is $1.8 billion, ranking as the 1,647th wealthiest person in the world. Though he has citizenship in Canada, he is a resident of Bloomfield Hills.

He is the CEO of plastic container maker Plastipak, which makes more than $3 billion in annual sales. Young's net worth is $2 billion, ranking as the 1,516th wealthiest person in the world.

Former race car driver Roger Penske is the founder, chairman and CEO of publicly traded car and truck dealer Penske Automotive Group. Penske’s net worth is $3.2 billion, ranking as the 905th wealthiest person in the world.

She and her husband, Mike Ilitch, who died in 2017, cofounded Little Caesars Pizza in 1959. Her net worth is $4.3 billion, ranking as the 636th wealthiest person in the world.

Together they own the Michigan-based grocery chain Meijer. Each of them has a net worth is $4.6 billion, with a tie ranking as the 591st wealthiest people in the world. Mark has no role in day-to-day operations but serves on the company's board of directors.

He is chairman and CEO of Michigan-based mortgage lender United Wholesale Mortgage, now UWM Holdings, founded by his father Jeff in 1986. Ishbia's net worth is $5.4 billion, ranking as the 486th wealthiest person in the world.

She is a director of Stryker Corp., the medical equipment company founded by her grandfather, Homer Stryker who died in 1980. Her net worth is $6.9 billion, ranking as the 344th wealthiest person in the world.

Stryker's grandfather founded Stryker Corp., which sold $14.4 billion in medical equipment in 2020. His net worth is $4.3 billion, ranking as the 636th wealthiest person in the world.

Stryker is a philanthropist and founder of Bohemian Foundation, which supports music, community, global and civic programs. Her net worth is $3.2 billion, tied ranking as the 905th wealthiest person in the world.

He ran Stryker Corp., a medical device and software company, for 32 years before retiring as chairman in 2009. His net worth is $5.7 billion, tied ranking as the 445th wealthiest person in the world.

Gilbert cofounded what would become Quicken Loans, the largest mortgage lender in the U.S., in 1985 at 22 years old. His net worth is $20.6 billion, ranking as the 92nd wealthiest person in the world.