ZURICH Switzerland, traditional playground of the rich, has 120,000 millionaires who make up only three percent of taxpayers but own half the country's private wealth, according to a new study.

Two sociologists who interviewed a sample of the nation's wealthiest discovered a class with a high self-esteem who often ponder the meaning of life, follow the arts and believe they must help others -- but strictly on a voluntary basis.

Out of the favoured 120,000 some 12,000 individuals or families have fortunes of at least five million Swiss francs (3.4 million euros,) according to ****"Wealth in Switzerland"*****, authoried by Swiss sociologists Ueli Maeder and Elisa Streuli.

But a third of Switzerland's population of 7.28 million does not pay taxes, says the study, quoted by the news agency ATS.