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Millennials are either impressively optimistic or blissfully ignorant.

More than a quarter of them expect to become millionaires in their lifetimes—even as 46 percent of them still live at home with their parents.


Those numbers are from Fusion’s Massive Millennial Poll, which surveyed 1,000 Americans aged 18-34. (For full results and methodology, click here.)

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This image was removed due to legal reasons.

The apparent disconnect doesn’t end there: While 28 percent of millennials don’t have full-time jobs at the moment, and 40 percent still receive financial support from their parents, nearly every one of them expects to buy a home.

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Fusion reported Tuesday that the top one percent of millennial income earners took in about $129,000 in 2013. But those were the lucky few; Fusion also reported that some 28 million people between the ages of 18 and 34 neither go to school nor earn more than $10,000 per year.


Among all demographics, black millennials expressed the greatest confidence that they’d reach seven figures, at 46 percent. Men were next, at 38 percent — compared with 19 percent of women. Older millennials (32 percent among those aged 30-34) and college grads (31 percent) also had high expectations of becoming millionaires.

Those beliefs seem to be at odds with a dismal employment situation, even for college grads. Nineteen percent of 18- to 34-year-olds with at least a bachelor’s degree said they still don’t have full-time jobs. Thirteen percent of them have only part-time jobs, and 6 percent are unemployed and looking for work.


The job market appears least friendly for non-white college grads. Nineteen percent of this group said they only had part-time jobs, and seven percent said they were unemployed and looking for work.

Nevertheless, 65 percent of all millennials, and 75 percent of college graduates, said a degree is “worth the expense.”


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Fusion’s Massive Millennial Poll surveyed 1,000 people between the ages of 18 to 34, with a general population sample and an overall margin of error of plus-minus 3.1 percentage points. The interviews were conducted via telephone from Jan. 6 to Jan. 11. For more on our methodology and poll results, click here.


Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.