A Profile of Owners and Investors of Privately Held Businesses in the United States in 1989–1998

George Haynes and Charles Ou ()

The Office of Advocacy Small Business Working Papers from U.S. Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy

Abstract: This study gives estimates of the number of households owning privately held businesses in the United States, compares the demographic and economic characteristics of business owners and non-business owners, and examines the relationship between the growth in the total number of business entities and total business owners from 1989 to 1998. The analysis is based on the Federal Reserve Board’s Survey of Consumer Finances for the years 1989, 1992, 1995, and 1998. This study concludes three things. (1) Between 13 percent and 14 percent of U.S. households own privately held businesses. (2) These households have relatively higher income, significantly higher net worth, were in the prime age group of 35 to 60 years of age, and have more education. (3) The increase in the total number of business entities during the 1990s seems to be the result of individual households owning more than one business, not of an increased number of business owners or entrepreneurs. This appears to be the case, given that the ratio of business-owning households to total households stayed the same or declined slightly during the 1989-1998 period, but the total number of business entities relative to total households and the nonfarm labor force rose during the same period.

Pages: 16 pages
Date: 2002
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