Poll: Most U.S. adults want to be rich PRINCETON, N.J., May 11 (UPI) -- Most U.S. adults say they want to be rich but only 10 percent say rich people are happier than they are, a Gallup survey indicates. The poll of 1.024 adults, conducted May 3-6, indicated more than six in 10 Americans said the United States benefits from having a class of rich people -- the same number as when Gallup asked the same question in 1990. "The remarkable similarity in Americans' views over this 22-year span shows that despite the recent economic recession and the renewed focus from the Obama administration on the unequal distribution of wealth in contemporary society, Americans' belief in the value of having the "rich among us" has not changed," Gallup officials said in a statement. There are virtually no differences by partisanship in the desire to be rich -- 64 percent of Republicans, 64 percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents said they would like to be rich. Although most said they wanted to be rich, only 28 percent said it is at least somewhat likely that they will ever be rich, down from a peak of 34 percent in 1996. Thirty-two percent ruled out the possibility of ever becoming rich. Most of the people who think they have a chance at being rich were age 30 and under, but by the time Americans reach age 65 and beyond, only 8 percent said they might be rich. The survey has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.