Among heads of households with a net worth of at least $1 million, 30% own businesses, which amounts to about 2.5 million people, according to a new survey by the Phoenix Companies Inc., Hartford.
And many of them badly need help from financial advisors, Phoenix concludes.
The survey found, for instance, that among business owners, 69% do not have life insurance for business purposes. In addition, 63% don't have a business succession plan, and half don't have a plan for continuing or transferring ownership of their business.
The survey polled more than 1,500 high-net-worth individuals online early this year. Other survey findings show:
==Affluent owners' businesses have operated an average of 22 years and employed an average of 54 people.
==40% of these businesses gross at least $1 million annually, and 5% gross more than $25 million.
==25% are female owned.
==57% are family owned, which works out to 1.4 million high-net-worth family businesses.
"Advisors should point out to owners that sooner or later, someone else is going to own their business, either through death, disability or retirement," says Bob Primmer, senior vice president of life distribution and sales for Phoenix.
