4runner wrote:
The people with real money aren't hard-working savers. The people with real money borrowed other people's money and took huge risks with it.
...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
4runner wrote:
The people with real money aren't hard-working savers. The people with real money borrowed other people's money and took huge risks with it.
...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
Zuckerberg wouldn't have gotten anywhere without other people's money (venture capitalists).
My CEO is a normal person and a multi-millionaire. He was in the right place at the right time.
Lyndon Larouche wrote:
...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
Yes-- but he took huge risks making that idea work.
It is not the safe-but-steady hardworking grinds who make 100 million or more. It is the gamblers.
Think about it-- the safe-but-steady grind who graduated top in his medical school/law school class and sticks it out in that profession for 20-30 years may be worth 10 million or so at the end of his/her career with very little risk along the way.
On the other hand, the person who borrows a ton of other people's money and makes leveraged bets with that money-- be it in real estate, stocks, or a company-- that's when you get into the real money.
Zuckerberg was a 20-something with nothing to lose. He took advantage of that status and hit the jackpot.
Lyndon Larouche wrote:
...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
Yes-- but he took huge risks making that idea work.
It is not the safe-but-steady hardworking grinds who make 100 million or more. It is the gamblers.
Think about it-- the safe-but-steady grind who graduated top in his medical school/law school class and sticks it out in that profession for 20-30 years may be worth 10 million or so at the end of his/her career with very little risk along the way.
On the other hand, the person who borrows a ton of other people's money and makes leveraged bets with that money-- be it in real estate, stocks, or a company-- that's when you get into the real money.
Zuckerberg was a 20-something with nothing to lose. He took advantage of that status and hit the jackpot.
Azaleas wrote:
Zuckerberg wouldn't have gotten anywhere without other people's money (venture capitalists).
It's the other way around: venture capitalism wouldn't exist without people like Zuck to create the ventures in which they invest.
Azaleas wrote:
Zuckerberg wouldn't have gotten anywhere without other people's money (venture capitalists).
there is always more money than ideas. So if you have a good idea, can develop a, "proof of concept" and have some basic marketing skills, you can raise money. Its not that easy, but you figure it out along the way.
The vast majority of people do not take risks. It scares them. You have to have that "gambling" mindset. Not gambling like going to the race track, but gambling like wanting to take your current successes, and leveraging them to get even bigger. There are plenty of billionaires who came close to going bust when they had $100-$300mm. they took all they had and threw it into a new project. Success is by no means guaranteed, and you have to be comfortable with the outcomes regardless.
anonymous coward wrote:
none of the above are any good because the money is not earned
most people with 100MM of net worth never actually earned the money through income, most of them made it through equity in something. whether it be their business, ownership of investments/land/legal rights to their property or patents, their brand (athletes getting paid by sponsors rather than prize winnings)etc
bill gates make most of his money through the value of his business rather than the salary he paid himself. even if he kept most of the earnings from his business... the value of msft was at point over half a trillion dollars! msft to date has not retained earnings of 500 billion.
Become a plaintiffs' personal injury attorney. All u have to do is graduate from the even the lowliest law school and get admitted to practice in the state of your choosing. Getting into and completing law school is super easy and any "normal person" can do it. Once you're out of law school u then hang out a shingle and start signing up clients. Typically, you get a third of whatever they recover (some situations are different but u always get paid if the client recovers). Many, many normal people have made tons of dough this way and $100 mil is not out of the question.
Electronic arbitrage. Surviving to age 70.
Start a religion.
the hobby jogger wrote:
Become a plaintiffs' personal injury attorney. All u have to do is graduate from the even the lowliest law school and get admitted to practice in the state of your choosing. Getting into and completing law school is super easy and any "normal person" can do it. Once you're out of law school u then hang out a shingle and start signing up clients. Typically, you get a third of whatever they recover (some situations are different but u always get paid if the client recovers). Many, many normal people have made tons of dough this way and $100 mil is not out of the question.
There are very few PI attorneys who make big money. While PI attorneys do pocket 30-40% of recovery, they also have to front all the expenses. In big cases that can mean paying experts hundreds of thousands in med mal or products liability cases to spending millions on the administration of multi-state or class action litigation. I know a Vioxx attorney who had hundreds of cases and was on the MDL panel. All the cases settled and got paid. Net litigation expenses and loans to cover salaries etc. while the case was pending, the attorney took in about 7-8 million. The attorney took about 2 million in income and left the rest in the firm to fund the next battle. Most PI attorneys make less than there counterparts on the defense bar.
100 million in net assets is rare. I know a guy who owns medical plazas, develops hotels and restaurants, and owns a dozen car dealerships. With all of that, he barely cracks 100 million.
The best way to break 100 million is to start a business or to be a venture capitalist or become the CEO of a fortune 500 company.
become a teacher, and do not spend a cent for 2857 years. BOOM! it was THAT easy.
Mr. Doritos wrote:
most of the superrich made their money from a few lucky investments or ownership of a specific company, not from diversification. the genius investors like buffett or soros are the exceptions, and plenty of people have made money siphoning money from others.
People with $2 or $3 million are multimillionaires but not super-rich.
You can become a multimillionaire simply by putting 10% of your salary in to your 401K for 30 years and buying property.
Most people in my Co-op building would have paid well under $200K for their 600 square feet apartments, which are now selling for over $750K.
Add that to savings and pension schemes and you could easily be a multimillionaire.
You guys probably won't believe me, but I know a few self-made millionaires and
also a self-made billionaire. When I say self made, I do mean totally self made.
A few things that I see in common:
-An almost goofy level of specialization. These people all seem out of place in some rather typical situations, but absolutely thrive in the discipline which earned their fortunes.
-A typical level of desire to make money. They have found something that they are very good at, or have made themselves very good at something and busted their ass. It is not about the money, it is about doing what you love or are good at, the money follows.
-Intense drive to be the best. This can be pathological, you miss out on family events, moments of personal reflection, etc.
-Borrowing money and risking money in an intelligent way.
-Being loyal to those that have earned it and having a good reputation, be good to good people, make them like you and treat them well if they treat you well.
Lyndon Larouche wrote:
4runner wrote:The people with real money aren't hard-working savers. The people with real money borrowed other people's money and took huge risks with it.
...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
He also had an incredible amount of luck. One of the reasons Facebook was popular in the beginning was that it was exclusive. It was originally only for Harvard students and then more Ivy League schools were added. That gave it this exclusive air, which helped when it expanded to other schools. Of course, then it opened up to everyone, which sort of killed the exclusive thing. But then it was popular enough that it didn't matter.
Facebook is also pretty flexible as a platform, which let other companies add games and whatnot.
It was hardly just "a good idea". Ideas are cheap in tech. Implementation is everything.
Randy Oldman wrote:
...
You can become a multimillionaire simply by putting 10% of your salary in to your 401K for 30 years and buying property.
....
That's what I've been doing. But a lot of good 2M will do me when I'm fuking old and decrepit. Maybe I can pay for a posh nursing home?
DontFeedTheTroll wrote:
Lyndon Larouche wrote:...or they had a good idea that they made work. e.g. Mark Zuckerberg
He also had an incredible amount of luck.
Just ask those poor schmoes who founded Friendster!
I have spent many years researching and thinking about this
there are two forces to consider
1 - there are two books out there that each profile a couple dozen guys who are at the top of their fields in hedge funds, and tech start-ups that hit big. Most of the hedge fund guys started out getting their phd's at top schools, and worked their ass off before and during their programs, which from the outside appears a gloryless pursuit. Of course, smart to boot. The same thread for the tech guys - they had an idea and worked passionately around the clock for years. Sure there may be some luck involved for bubble companies, but the story of the crypto behind PayPal was particularly moving. Before some crucial demo, he worked for five days straight, then after the cameras left at the restaurant they were at, he just fell asleep at his table with food for like three hours and no one touched him. Anyway, the commonality was bright guys who mercilessly worked as hard as they could
2 - Another book out there is called the Millionaire Mind. Sampling bias aside, a bunch of surveys and stats were sent out to millionaires, and found a significant amount were just really stingy. A lot of people can become millionaires by living below their means, being frugal as hell, never eating out, etc. My friend's dad who is a well-off accountant refuses to eat out citing a waste of money - the family will go out and he won't go with. Once they've accumulated enough at an older age, this demographic of millionaires will live in good neighborhoods with nice houses of value, but bottom line is nothing lavish, even though they're millionaires.
These two points make me conclude that becoming a millionaire is possible for many, you just need to work your ass off without thinking about the money and not spend money like you want it. Nothing surprising.
Also, the book Rich Dad Poor Dad is pretty inspiring and gets you thinking outside the box on how to make money. That is, how to make money work for you. All pretty valuable stuff.
But wanting to be a millionaire is the wrong mindset. A thread about how a 'normal person' can become a millionaire contradicts the point I hope readers take with them. Being a millionaire is not about the money, but the discipline and accomplishment behind it...
I own a franchise store (gas station). It does over $1 million per year in profit and I've got 5 employees.